James Thompson's machine was not fixed yet and I had a deadline to sort it before lunch. The problem was that the system used to freeze if you eject and load the DVD RW ROM. I tried everything out from replacing the dvd rom, IDE cable, BIOS settings, local settings of the machine, ran dell diagnostics but nothing helped. One thing was for sure that it was due to some driver or service running on his machine because when logged in safe mode (system only uses the drivers and services critical for running the machine) it seemed to get fixed.
After spending quite along time with it I realized to individually stop services one by one and check alternatively how does the rom react to it. I came across one service controlled by InCD.exe which created the problem. I disabled the service permanently and hence resolved the issue.
Hollywood wanted me to look into a P1 customer log which required a new ftp access setting up for the customer. I took the details down from him and logged into our web server. Using the FTP secure server I configured access for a new user and filled in the relevant details. There is a standard which is followed to configure a new user so that it becomes easier for anybody to troubleshoot in case ant thing goes wrong. Hence I had to go through the documentation meant for this purpose.
Kim needed a spare laptop for doing some work from home. We had a Compaq NX9010 machine which could be given away. Steve asked me if I could re-install the OS and configure it for her.
I formatted the hard drive and booted the system. It did not pick up the network drivers. Went to HP website and looked for the relevant driver but even after installing them I could manage to get it working.