@TheFu: Well partially dreaming. I have a retail copy of XPpro. And along with other hiccups I learned the system state and system backup the hard way when I borked my fresh install. Lesson learned. Atleast I could rebuild my program files and some of my settings.
After a good effort it worked out.
Now to bug hunting.
HTPC thrash this weekend, new mobo, processor, ram, and a spacious 1 TB drive. I backed up windows and drivers, SageTV, and my codecs. Hopefully after my fresh install of XP I can restore and save myself several hours of work.
What am I missing or thoughts in general...
Also getting an eval copy of Win7 if everything goes south and I decide to jump further.
@whiteflea: Jalopnik did the same thing to many commenter, many very good intelligent commenters. i feel your pain man, it takes the fun and takes some luster off your favorite sites.
@lozer4all: As someone who did that out of college with a mountain of student loans and a minor hill of credit card debt... DON'T DO IT. I'd suggest going to craigslist and shopping around for a 4-5k car. I found a 4,000 Pontiac Vibe, with only 100,000 miles on it's 2003 frame. No payment is way better than any payment.
There are some great deals to be had, if you go a bit cheaper (say 3,000) you then have extra cash for tags, title, and some new wheels/tires/bling/hopups whatever you want.
Also, Yakma and Thule make racks to stick just about anything to anything else. I have seen many kayaks on everthing from Priuses to Lincoln towncars.
@Zombie Ms. Skittles: I've always been a fan of Song 2 by Blur. Other goodies include any rowdy song by Flogging Molly or the Band That Saved the World.
If you can find it Lushbox is pretty awesome too...