Spinning my virtual wheels in virtual mud
Today was a study in stationary motion. I went to work, with a particular task to complete. I was motivated, focused, enthusiastic; for all my good will, I accomplished very, very little.
The actual job wasn’t difficult. With a new laptop all prepped for the client, I set out to produce ten other identical units. Clones, we call them. A study in the mindless portion of my profession, although very cost-effective (usually). Today, not so much. I’ve done this task before. I don’t consider it to be “too easy” or “too difficult”; like Goldilocks, I think it’s “just right”… when it works.
The new computers come from Lenovo. Not to call names, even though these are IBM’s with an alias, but for some odd reason, they aren’t quite like the others. I have NEVER successfully cloned a drive from a Lenovo laptop. The last time around, we decided that it was something about the SATA adaptor we’d purchased for the office. This time around, I have a proper eSATA interface, and Ghost produces image files that would be considered state of the art in any other situation. With Lenovo, the imaged file simply will not boot.
I tried four commercial programs, each with its own niche reputation. I tried fixes from the various support forums. I fiddled with AHCI versus compatibility mode. I reflected. I consulted. I did everything but succeed.
Tomorrow I’ll go back to my standard setup procedure, as if there was only one machine on my desk. I will then repeat the process until the whole pile has changed into the system I want. And I will wonder why things can’t be easier.
