Computers....UGH!`

Tucson

Why is it when one thing decides to go wrong, everything else in the world joins it? I mean, really!?!?!?

This all started a while ago..my laptop (not quite a year old) was acting up. Then it started to crash when I would put a cd in it. After waiting on hold for 15 minutes with Dell, I gave up. Remember, my patience for these type of things is about a nanosecond long. Anyway, I lugged the laptop with me through Missouri...sometimes it would work and sometimes it wouldn't...it was a crap shoot! So, I finally took it in to the Geek Squad at Best Buy last Saturday. Of course, I would not act up for them! GRRRR...figures. Well, I told them to keep the ^&*()@* thing and check it out.

Then yesterday, I fire up my desk top (which was working fine) and get this message that windows could not load, it was missing a ????? file! WTH? So, of course, being who I am, I turned the computer off, let it set for the required nanosecond (remember my patience) and turned it on again...same message. Hmmmm??? I had installed a "window washer" a couple of days ago...wonder if that was the problem? However, I had no way to find out...seeing how I am somewhat limited when I don't have Windows running. So, I call Dell. Glory...I get my call answered in less than 15 minutes. Of course, I am speaking to SOERUPOEWHKS NDFK but I can call him "Mike", from India! However, amazingly, his English is good and I can actually understand him. After trying this and that and more of this and that, nothing, and I mean nothing is restoring Windows (I am, by then, cussing Microsoft)! "Mike" wants to reformat my hard drive, which, of course, I would lose everything! Uh, No, not yet. After two hours with Mike (and my left hand holding the phone all this time and is soundly asleep)I finally tell him I will probably just swap this one for the one that the Geek Squad has. I get a case number and hang up. I am still puzzled that my F8 key on my keyboard wasn't working, nor, when I would reboot the screen would say it didn't recognize my keyboard. Now, my keyboard is a Microsoft Ergonomical keyboard that I absolutely love. But just what was going on? The computer devils were really after me!

I finally have a bright idea! I call a local repair person here and he tells me to unplug the Microsoft keyboard and plug in the regular Dell keyboard and see if that makes any difference! Okay, now, where in the heck did I stash the Dell Keyboard 5 years ago when I got my computer????? After a search, I find it and plug it in and restart the process...and when I got to the point that I was suppose to hit F8 it worked!!! But, of course, that took me to another screen that kept asking me questions I couldn't or wouldn't answer. So back to Dell I go. Now, mind you, this has already taken up most of my day. Now I am talking to Rosa at the Dell call center in El Salvador. She was a little harder to understand, but she walked me through several different processes, and, Viola, Windows is running again! Whoopee! However, I asked her to help me get AOL off my computer. We worked and worked and WORKED, deleted, deleted, deleted...I tell you when AOL gets ahold of your computer, it doesn't give up! We thought we had it, so I thanked Rosa profusely and went on my merry way. Finally, my computer is running again and hopefully, AOL is gone.

Well, this morning I booted up and guess who is still here? Yup, AOL...I give up. I guess I will let it haunt me for as long as I have this computer. And, oh yeah, my laptop is ready to pick up today...all fixed....we shall see.


Ahhhhh...computers, can't live without them, and can't live with them! Or something like that...anyway, I can't live without mine and it is back to it's normal slow self, so I am happy!

What did we do in the days before computers???????