07 June 2007

Computer Woes

My main computer, at home, appears to be going the way of all flesh. At any rate, when I went to check my e-mail before bed last night, I discovered a blank screen (not the screen saver) and could not get anything to happen. The power was on, but nobody's home, that kind of deal. I switched out the monitor with a different one, hoping that might be the problem. No such luck.

If the fateful, inevitable day has come, and my computer has "crashed," then I'm in trouble. How is it that so much of my life is stored in computer files, for many of which I do not have backup copies? Among other things, I've got about ten years of e-mail correspondence, along with the pertinent e-mail addresses, on the hard drive of the not-working beast of a machine.

I'm all the more grateful for my laptop, which should help me to keep up with the things I need to do, as well as various things that I wouldn't really have to do (like blogging). I did manage to figure out how to check my e-mail last night, even without my trusty old Eudora software. In doing so, however, I discovered a "bulk mail" folder with half a dozen messages that I never saw, from people that I like to hear from. So, how long has this been happening? I didn't even know such a folder existed. It "helpfully" stores messages that some computer gremlin apparently considers to be spam-like, and then deletes them after a month. Great. How many people have concluded that I must be some kind of jerk, because I never answered their e-mail message? Urrrgh.

If you've e-mailed me at some point in the last six months, and have despaired of any response from me, please consider the possibility that I never actually saw the message, and that my computer probably ate it. Now that my computer has gotten indigestion and gone into a coma, it is not likely to do this again, although I still don't know if I'm getting everything I should. These are things that probably only the Shadow knows. Meanwhile, without my address book, I shall finally have to start practicing what good little children are taught: speak when spoken to!

Good thing I still have access to my blog, so that I have somewhere to regurgitate my thoughts.

5 comments:

Nat said...

Have you done anything other than switch the monitor? Can you get the computer to do anything at all? If it's really acting up, and there are files on it you haven't got copies of, you should probably ask Mr. Tribble or Mr. Smith to take a look at it (I'd offer but my experience with PCs is pretty limited).

Rememeber, nothing is lost forever, except the Cathedral of Chalesm.

Rev. Rick Stuckwisch said...

Thanks for your comments and suggestions, Nat.

So far, I haven't done anything other than get grumpy about it. Oh, and contemplate off and on the feasibility of replacing the thing.

The only thing I could get the computer to do, at least so far as I could perceive, was to turn on. The only evidence of this was the green light by the power button and the noise of the fan. Nothing else. I had to unplug the thing to turn it off, as nothing else appeared to have any affect.

I had already reached the same conclusion that you have: talk to the Emmaus computer gurus.

I'm not sure what the Cathedral of Chalesm is, or was, but I guess that fits the circumstances. It does seem that "The Cathedral of Chalesm" would make a great name for a blog (post). And since it's lost and gone forever, you could say anything you want (about it). Perhaps it is the place where all the missing socks have gone.

Susan said...

My daughter tells me that she was considered the electronics-guru at Borders. Her handy-dandy trick to fix anything electronic was to [geth this... it's earth-shattering] turn off the machine if possible. Then unplug it. Let it sit for 15 minutes or an hour. Plug it back in. Poof -- often it will work.

And apparently that Catechism of Chalesm is good-n-lost because you didn't even know about it. So there.

Sloppy Classical said...

From your description, I'm picturing the think waking up from a coma, burping up long-lost e-mails. could get ugly.
BTW, You can't afford a new computer until you are back from your family's summer travels....and maybe later. Gives you lots of time to shop for a great deal, and learn all the latest stuff. :-) Of course, if you can combine it with a move: you can always have a giant garage sale, and then go shopping ! :-)

Anita said...

We have a computer we are not using anymore you are welcome to. The monitor went out on it but the rest of it still works. if your monitor is still working they should work together.
i cleaned it all off already it just needs to be reinstalled with the windos cd's and I still have those plus a few other programs.
I switched to a Mac laptop so I don't need any of it anymore. Let me know if you can use it and I'll bring it this Sunday.