It’s highly unlikely the patch notes would warn me that I may have to adjust HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServices
LanmanServerParametersIRPStackSize after the update. And even if it did, it’s a ridiculous burden to place on the average user.

It’s that type of dismissive attitude that some Windows developers have toward users that makes the Mac so much more appealing to the general public.

A general-purpose system that requires highly-trained users to spend hours searching for a solution and performing an obscure fix to patch a routine update is seriously flawed.

Honestly I don’t know what items were included in the Windows Update. But I could access the network immediately before the Windows Update, and then not immediately after, so the culprit seems clear.

Re: you simply revert to that restore point

Good idea, but the problem with using restore points to undo Windows Update problems is that eventually you will have to perform the problem update. So I decided to face the music and fix the problem now when I had the time.

Don’t get me wrong, everyone. I’m a big Windows fan, and IMO there’s no better development environment than Visual Studio 2008 and Microsoft .NET Framework. But occasional problems that waste my time and require complex technical fixes such as this one (and my initial unsuccessful attempt to upgrade to Windows Vista when it was first released) indicate that Windows still has some major underlying flaws that need to be addressed.

But the good news is that Windows 7 looks like a real winner and is most everything that Vista should have been. I’ll be doing a review after it’s commercially released.

A few months ago after an update my network stopped working. It took me a better part of the day before I could get online again. I was mad, but I also knew this could have been a problem with my router and/or cable modem. I still have problems after my system comes out of hibernation mode where I have to manually go into Network and Sharing Center, Manage Network Connections, and disable/re-enable the Network.

Either way, this is the FIRST TIME something like this has happened since I started using Windows when 3.1 came out. Think about that for a second. That’s quite a track record and IS very acceptable.
With so many things on my system, and all the hardware between it and the wall, sometimes things just might break/conflict/have a quirk.

Linux only works if you have no problems. I know because I’ve been there. With Apple, I have no idea.

It’s really flashy too with the multiple desktops and such. Runs very smooth on my Intel Atom netbook with integrated graphics.