One day on...

In my post "On the Up", I commented that my PC was now working again, and the Sky guy was coming to fix my system. Last night, I was putting these to the test...

The first thing that happened was I tried to burn a CD using my PC. The burner software (which is rather better than the default Windows tool) decided it couldn't find a CD-RW drive. This wasn't too surprising - the Microsoft guy warned me that this might happen, and how to fix it.

So, I uninstalled the software, and made ready to re-install it (this, 'restart your PC' and 'format & reinstall' represent the fixes to 95% of all PC problems). However, once the software was removed, my PC started acting up again. This time it decided it wouldn't read from either CD drive!

Sigh.

Anyway, I engaged in the #2 fix for PC problems, and restarted the machine. At this point the CD drives woke up, and I was able to reinstall the software. Sadly, doing this took long enough that I didn't actually get around to burning the files to CD. I'll try that again tonight.

While this was going on, I was lamenting that there was nothing on TV. So, although my shiny new digibox can get all the channels, it was proving less of a boon than might be expected. However, I did find "The 100 Greatest Power Ballads", which had reached the top 10. (It was a travesty, too, as "Total Eclipse of the Heart" was #1, when that's not even Bonnie Tyler's best work. The #1 should have been either "Bat Out of Hell" or "Don't Wanna Miss a Thing".)

Anyway, at one point there were adverts, at which stage I wondered what else might be on ('cos sometimes channels have different programmes at different times in the evening). So, I duly pressed the button to bring up the Sky Guide and... nothing happened! (However, the remote still worked those TV controls it was programmed to handle - more on this later.)

Now, to be fair, it wasn't the worst channel to be stuck on, what with all the Power Ballad-iness of it all, but, as indicated, sometimes channels change what they're showing. So, I felt this really needed resolved.

So, I got the user manual, which I had chosen not to read as I'm generally aware of how to use a digibox - they're all much of a muchness. I flicked to the troubleshooting section, and looked up "My remote control doesn't work with my digibox".

The advice was "maybe your remote is in TV-mode. Press the SKY button to put it into SKY mode". "Is there something between the remote and the digibox? Make sure there is a clear line between the remote and the digibox". "Are the batteries dead? Try replacing the batteries."

Not being a complete moron, I had actually tried all these things previously, so I looked for "if this fails", to find the contact number for Sky. Of course, that wasn't in the user guide, but instructions for finding it were - "Press the SERVICES key, and then..." Not too much use if the remote doesn't work, is it?

Of course, the number is available online. Fantastic! Except... no internet connection!

Anyway, in the interim, I looked up the remote programming code for my TV manufacturer, and tuned my Sky remote to control the mute button (a vital function, as I mostly use my surround-sound speakers for TV, and they require that the TV be on mute to sound right).

At some later point, I decided to switch of the Sky box by hand. This naturally required walking across the room, itself an ordeal, but I duly pressed the 'Off' button and... nothing happened!

Aha! I thought.

It turned out there was nothing wrong with the remote control at all - the Sky box had just crashed. (Yes, it's now not just PCs that crash. Other devices make use of Microsoft operating systems, in this case Windows CE, and so are prone to random and frustrating crashes.)

So, I used the #2 solution to PC problems, pulled the power cable, waited a bit, returned power, and waited for the system to boot up. And, lo and behold, the system worked again!

Just to ensure that behind every silver lining there's a cloud, though, there still wasn't anything worth watching on.