I reinstalled my home laptop last night. I spent an inordinate amount of time watching a series of progress bars ramp up to 100% while a few gigs of software was copied.
I can't help but think back at the first time I installed my computer from scratch. Michel and I spent hours installing Windows 3.1 on my first computer in the basement of my parents' house. The endless tedium of switching diskettes. I knew every switch and setting and what it did, and how to optimize the last byte of memory on that computer. And I loved every moment of it. I was in nerd heaven.
Last night was just boring as hell. Something I had to do because the Windows Genuine Advantage popups and reminders and logos finally got me pissed off enough to reinstall everything properly. Plop a CD and listen to it spin. I still know most of the switches and settings, but I just can't be bothered these days. What used to be fun, trying to get everything working just right and as smoothly as possible, is now just trying to get everything working. The video drivers wouldn't install (but they've always been a bit flaky) and I couldn't get the advanced power management controls drivers to load to enable hibernation.
I managed to get everything working this morning before work, but that's not the point. The thrill is gone. I've done it so many times now that it's lost all appeal.
At least it's done now and should be stable for the next year or so.