Still Down

I’m still having computer problems.

It started with a laptop that was in my lap and actively working when it died. It made the stereotypical “Peeeewwww” sound and the monitor shut down and that was the total end of it. I couldn’t get it to turn on again. I handed it off to The Boy and moved on.

The second laptop got sheared between a plastic basket and an easy chair. I got the back and hinges put back together, but the wires connecting the internal modem ripped loose. I managed to get them put back in several times, and got online again for many whole minutes. Then they’d pull loose again, and I’d lose access.

The Boy fixed it the first time. I resorted to electrical tape at one point. This worked the best, but didn’t hold long. Then I tried to take it to a repair shop.

There are quite a few computer repair shops in town. I’ve already burned through about a third of them. It looked like one that only made me feel ripped off about half the time had moved to a building nearby. I tried to take my laptop in, only to find no sign of the repair shop. Googling again I learned they were out of business.

Meanwhile, my desktop faltered. It’s only about eight years old. It’s been running slower and slower, but still ran. Then I got a notice from both Microsoft and Firefox stating that they would no longer be supporting my ancient operating system.

I shrugged. So what? The computer would still run even without an update, wouldn’t it? Well… yes and no. My old programs still run, but suddenly my page loads slowed down. Waaay down. I’m clocking them at five to ten minutes.

So yeah, now I’m facing a bunch of page load fault/ time out errors. I’m clicking the wait button over and over, and still getting dumped out. Now and then I get lucky and a post goes through. And every time I switch tabs, I have to reload again.

So I’m shopping for a new computer. Frankly, if I could get my passwords working better and a keyboard for my cheap-o tablet I’d probably be fine. So far it’s been a no go. As for a new computer, I’m overwhelmed. The jargon has all changed since the last time I bought one. I’m finding it hard to tell if I’m really getting what I need.

Please bear with me. I’ll be back as soon as I get it all worked out.