How SE killed Microsoft...Follow

Ermmm... ok, so yesterday was definately one for the books. Not only was work sluggish and torturing, but I get to wait forever for the imaginary bus route... It would take me 30~35 min to walk straight home... 10~15 min if I can catch the bus just as it gets there. So usually, it is in the interest of time to catch the bus. Sadly, it took me an hr and 15 min to walk home thanks to my decision to wait for the bus...

Ok, no biggie, I'm home and now I can start my update and play right? I load up POL, update that, reload and begin the FFXI update. I download all nine hundred some odd files and on the last one, POL stops responding. It didn't lock up, but it would not progress from step 2 of the update and move onto step 3 (which is installation). I closed out POL and figured I'd try the update again (as I've had to do in the past due to POL-1100 errors, etc). I try to play FFXI and it says: "Final Fantasy XI has failed to update successfully. Please reinstall Final Fantasy XI." or something very similar to that dialog.

I figure: "Ok, time to back up some .dat files and reinstall." After backing up my .dat files, I decide it'd be better to remove FFXI and reinstalling rather than just installing over itself for 1) storage space limitations and 2) fresh, clean install. During FFXI uninstall, it asks if I'd like to delete (directory)\(filename) but doesn't list the full path. I figured they were files that would be replaced upon reinstalling FFXI and after four or five files, I hit "Delete all files" button.

Next, I pop in my POL CD and nothing happens. I go into my computer and into the CD drive and it says the disk is not the right format and asks if I'd like to proceed formatting the CD. The same scenario repeats for a couple of other cd's and eventually I reboot. During boot-up, I'm greeted with a black screen w/ white text stating that one or more of the necessary files for windows 2000 to run is missing... file name was something like ntkrnl32.exe.

Basically, my major OS files were deleted by the uninstall for FFXI. Why any 3rd party (gaming) software manufacturer would put crucial windows OS files in the list of files to be removed when removing the game is beyond me. Personally, I don't think they should be removing ANY files that they did not place on your PC during install.

However, sadly, having done all that, I got a new install of win2k for the first time in 5 years... so I guess it was about time. Now tonight I get to go home and install all the CD's and then do about a day and a half worth of updates...

I'm sooo looking forward to that... but at least Nebz is ~1.5k exp from lvl 64 and logged out in Ifrit's Cauldron w/ Empress Band Dedication effect still remaining for a good couple hrs, or 1.8k exp (whichever comes first).

it was more than just one file I'm sure... and it would have taken too long to copy files over... not to mention that's a good way to hose SP4 with someone's SP2 files. :-\.

As for DOS boot disk, I used mine to make the necessary backups of files I wanted to keep. Sadly, however, they are now trunc'd w/ ~1's. :(

oh that's niiiice.... they make that note a day to a day and a half after I ruin FFXI and kill off my OS...

Oh well, I reinstalled Win2k now and I thought having a fresh copy of it would help my system run a little more stable. Sadly, update has hard locked my system 3 or 4 times now while downloading files in stage 2. Luckily, while still downloading files from stage 2, I can resume and just have to continue downloading what I have not yet downloaded... I'm not SOL like last time till it freezes switching from step 2 to step 3. The downside is until step 3 is complete, POL will check ALL my FFXI files to see what needs to be updated... so each time it crashed I had to sit at step 1 checking 12,837 files each time...

I'm also thinking I'm not the only one this happened to if they're just now making a memo about this/these issue(s). Afterall, I've never had a problem with any version updates till Monday's... and a day later, SE puts out this memo? I think there's others that have had the same problems as me...

Anywho, I'm hoping my update is done and complete this evening when I get home from work, and also that my PC will remain stable from now on. All in all, I just hope FFXI doesn't start locking up on me without anything else running on my PC.

OMFG, this is some BS!!!

OMFG I wish I would have been told that BEFORE beginning the update cause that's exactly what had happened... POL's animations and everything stopped and looked like it locked up between step's 2 and 3... I heard music, and my PC itself wasn't locked... so I closed POL and thought I'd try to re-update...

I personally blame SE for tooling around with both FFXI and POL on the same update. Reason being is they screwed up POL on the update and it wouldn't update FFXI as normal (IE: moving onto step 3). Instead, it looks like it locks up and hoses my install... Then a day later, SE posts this and a day after this post, they post what Neera has shared with us above...

SE is getting really good at being a day late and a dollar short... they're also getting fairly ignorant in policies, proceedures and planning... seriously tho... I know when I make a new script, I do not roll it out till I've debugged it endlessly... does SE not have an R&D department to test the POL and FFXI updates before they "finish" maintenance to make sure this wouldn't happen or that some documentation should at least be detailed on it giving you a pheasible work around instead of a "Don't push the red button" type of comment with no resolution of what to do IF you hit the red button.

Quote:

Upon reinstallation, users will be instructed to uninstall existing files. During this process, users will be asked if it is okay to delete the dll files. Please select "No to all" option. If you select "Yes" and delete the files, severe problem can occur to your computer hardware, such as Windows OS not starting. Please be very careful upon reinstall process.

From a Microsoft baby, self professed computer nerd and Network Admin for pay, for future delaings with un-installing ANYHTING on a computer....

NEVER say yes to all unless you know what "all" you are deleting, if the "all" are shared files, and how they effect not only the program that are using them but any other programs that may also be using them. That warning which ASKED YOU to delete the files is there for a reason.... sorry that you had to find this out the hard way.