I'M IN... UP AND RUNNING!

Yay,Yay! Whew…

I’m in!!!  (She wipes her brow).  I was going round in circles trying to restore my access to my Gmail, which gives me link up to blogger as well. It's because of the way it was all originally set up. I was beginning to think I would never get in to it all.  Why?  You might well ask.

I formatted my computer hard disk. I erased everything off it!  A walk, even in the snow storms that rushed through, would at times seemed preferable to the job in hand;  but, hey, you can’t have everything. You either start a job that takes hours of your life with intentions to finish it,or, ………………..on second thoughts, just don’t go there.  Notwithstanding, it was one of those jobs that could not be put off any longer.



When I fired up the computer in the New Year, after its two weeks’ holiday,  it threw more wobblies than usual.  Also, it was behaving as if it was having mini heart attacks.  A hard disk diagnosis said the disk was unrepairable.  I had seen all sorts of red lines whizz through and  there were phrases like ‘broken link/s’ galloping in front of my eyes....Scary.  So, for good measure, I told the system to check its heart again. The second time it whirled through the whole process and gave the disk a good bill of health.  You would think, wouldn't you, that was that.  Well….not quite.  I couldn’t put my finger precisely on it, however, there was something not quite right about how the computer was running.

Next move: I bought an external drive to create a boot-up disk and extra backup for my folders and files. And that friends, is why I have been stuck in front of my computer for more time than I care to admit to;  holding my breath during the hard disk erase; then the start up; losing, finding and restoring things.  I am still reconfiguring my system and what is called my ‘workflow’, (it sounds good doesn't it).



There’s been a lot to do, but,my computer is beginning to look and feel like it should.

I promise you, all of this fresh start stuff was not a New Year's Resolution. 

RESIDENT COMPUTER TECHNICIAN ON CALL....THERE'S A HOLE IN MY BUCKET

"Can I speak to you a moment?" I am immediately on guard. This permissive request usually means, I want to take up lots of your time and start as quickly as possible. 

There's a move to another more up-to-date computer, with the same Microsoft operating platform, together with all the old programmes, and it is not going smoothly. Pictures have been uploaded onto the newer computer, into a favoured programme, one which is no longer supported by the creator. While the pictures show up in the programme, there is no sign of them either in the 'My Pictures' folder (there isn't such a folder and there should be - odd) or anything linked to the programme being used. Also, the pictures have been deleted from the camera memory card. Perhaps I can undertake a recovery operation on the memory card, at least.

Inevitably all this means much searching, and I know that it is easily a good few hours of my patience and time that is being sought. An hour in, I decide that I just have to get on with my own tasks and I suggest that we are now at the point where a re-install of the operating system is required....." Please, take a note of the directions for the re-install on this laptop," I request, "and make a copy the software folders you want to re-install afterwards" 

'There's a hole in my bucket...how do I do it' situation developing. I go out, by now, needing to clear my head.  When I return I hear that it can all be left for the time being.  Why? It's worse than I thought, I have to explain how to back up the files and folders. I will find the re-install instructions that are on the laptop for printing off. Hopefully, it will work.

THIS ODD WEEK SO FAR

Oh dear...it looked like my computing life was over, at least in the short term. I am still not sure if I will be temporarily bowing out, not intentionally you understand, but as an unintended consequence of trying to keep my creaking PC jogging along for a while longer. Tonight, things are looking a little fragile but hopeful. Tomorrow, finally, I shall know which way the dice will fall. 

On Wednesday, driving a two miles an hour trip over a scarified road surface with the merest of steps, (you couldn't describe it as a ramp)caused an unusual sounding "bump -thump". It had to be something in the boot, I thought. "Bump-thump" continued on bends, but not on the straight bits of road. I started to pay heed as it became a more persistent sound. I drove up a sharp gradient, "Scrape,bump,bump-thump,thump". I parked and saw an insecure plate. Oh! By the time I had negotiated mini speed bumps and had parked for the night, the noise was fearsome. In the dark it appeared I had a bit of car hanging down to the ground.

In daylight the bit of car looked no better. An old elastic hair band came to the rescue, securing whatever it was off ground level to something or other. At the garage, a gruff man put the car on a ramp, had a quick look and got a lad to tweak. Came back out with the car a few minutes later, setting the car nose forward for me to drive away. "No, there's no charge, it was an inconsequential plate worked loose", he said, as I tried to go and pay at the desk. I offered the man of few words my hand, he took it,I covered it with my other hand and I expressed my sincerest, grateful thanks. This taciturn man's face broke into a huge beaming smile. It was great to see!

What do the computer and the car have in common this week? Repairs.

WHAT MAKES COMPUTERS QUIRK

Hubby is top chef in the kitchen. The laptop is being healed elsewhere and I am left free to sort out the P.C. glitches. With the wonderful aroma that is wafting down the corridor, temptation is likely cause me to delightfully forget all about computers and what makes them quirk.

Oh dear me, pulling off the spyware programme affected access to my internet browser. I had no choice but to use Internet Explorer. A friendly message thanked me for using I.E. 8. "No I'm not !" Cancel that bit of devious dumping.

My browser, when it appeared, seemed healthy, and configured as I had it, so that's okay.

Now, back to re-installing the anti-spyware stuff. I like to have two of them on my system, because when I scan - regularly - what one doesn't pick up on, the other one does.

I guess there's got to be a better way of removing a live activity from the task bar, but I couldn't find it, other than by un-installing.