[Leica] Computer help!!!

[robinson at sfsu.edu (Gib Robinson)]

Tina,

> How do you find somebody you can trust?

Is there a school near you? Community College? High school where they would
have a computer science teacher? Is there a business large enough to have an
IT guy? Those are places I would start phoning to find some one to hire for
$. Might be someone with a tech day job who would be willing to work with
you on the side. What would be ideal is someone with significant experience
working with your operating system (XP Pro?) who also has experience with
networking & hardware. Although your problems are manifesting as hardware
issues, if the drives are turning OK, I would start looking at the
configuration of XP. Are there any signs of conflicts with USB or Firewire
devices? Are there issues/conflicts related to network resource sharing or
TCP/IP protocols that your computer is using. Because you are running a
local area network (wireless) those things may be issues for you. From the
sound of it, you've got a more complex setup than most people running
stand-alone computers. 

I leave for the Sierras later this morning. I'll have a chance to hike &
photograph for a week in the mountains -- no cell phone contact, much less
e-mail. Good luck!

--Gib