Installing XP via USB, wurk, oekaki.

1. Finally got rid of Vistaids. It took sometime, but thanks to some good articles (this one did the most help), my Mini-Note is now running without any excess baggage. Speedy booting times! Minimal to no lag! D:

I'm thinking of writing my own guide on how to install Windows XP on netbooks (or any laptops, for that matter) that do not have any optical drives, since I found out that installing via USB sticks is mainly a hit-and-miss affair. It's just that I'm either always too tired when I finally get home or simply have something else to do. :/

The one I linked above is good, but I here are some things that I learned elsewhere in the murky corners of the Net:

• Windows XP Installers with Service Pack 3 are not recommended (SATA problems?). Install Win XP SP2 and just upgrade afterwards to SP3. However, if you're one of the people who try out exotic XP installers (like Black, etc), you'd best buy at least four installer variants so you have back ups in case some don't work. Custom installers have settings that may cause compatibility problems. I tried out a Black installer but it didn't work, despite it being SP2.
• If you can't boot from your hard drive after a successful install and are queasy about modifying the boot.ini file, do this: just delete the boot.ini file. All you'll get by deleting it is an error message appearing for a split-second in the booting sequence, but the machine will just right itself afterwards and load Windows. Too nervous? Back up, back up, back up.
  

Of course, doing a fresh install using another OS apart from the one that came with your netbook will wipe out everything, even the preloaded installer. I read that there were some ways of not wiping the partition that contains the preloaded installer, but I didn't bother since Vista sucks and is not worth the 12GB that its installer takes up.


2.  Something work-related: Now that I'm finding myself conducting meetings (and quite possibly training, maybe), everything feels like my skin is gradually feeling, responding to the large bucket of ice-cold water dumped over my person. I think both my JT and JD are no longer just what they currently are.

I need to step up to see this curious development through. I want to read this very entry one year after today, wearing a nostalgic smile on my lips. Perhaps I'll even say "Ah, this is when everything picked up."

3. I've started changing some elements of my layout, thanks to the (cheap) tablet that Ryan and I got (yay, pseudo-conjugal property). The first few moments I've had with the device were fraught with words such as "sira naman to eh!" (it's malfunctioning!) though I eventually acquainted myself with the basics of tablet control. It's not a mouse, for one. Or at least, it's more precise than a mouse.

And after an hour of setting up everything, I finally made myself my first oekaki-ish doodle evar:

Not sure why she turned out like...that. Ah, well. I wanted to draw something, and a few minutes later out comes something else.

I'm like a printer that prints out documents like I should, only translated in gibberish.