Friday, January 25, 2013

Thou Shalt Have ONLY One Computer!


Warning.... this is a no-picture posting.....
I didn't want to scare you with pictures of reality!!

It was a well planned event.  One of the kiddo's and his girlfriend came to spend a couple of days.  We were going to make more headway on the pile of treasures, junk and recyclables.  We got off to a great start.  Yet another trip to the garbage/recycling center with a huge load.  A trip to the store to buy a new set of ink for the printer.  A yummy dinner.

I ordered my new laptop.  I'm moving along with my plans to get ready for fulltiming.  It should be here within a few days.  I was hoping that it would arrive while Derrick was still here to help me with the set-up.  But of course it didn't come.
For the evening we sat on the floor sorting through boxes and boxes of pictures and sorting them to their "life era".  It was fun and I enjoyed the company while we relived memories as I told stories of long ago.

 My desktop computer (vintage 2003- XP operating system) had been acting up... slow, turning itself off,seizing up and refusing all commands.  We have probably all been there. It begins with an inkling of something vaguely wrong, that creeps into growing doubt of our trusted friend.  But I push on... making the elder computer do tasks and my agenda, ignoring the computers protests.

I started my day as I do every day, a cup of coffee and off to the computer room to check in on the world.   

An then it happened. 

Odd, the computer is off.
Funny, it keeps trying to load, fails, starts over.
Fear, turning to terror.  That is all it will do.
So I'm thinking.... lets get going on a simple recovery to get this back to normal.

I of course have done this many times over the years... but this time was different.
The programs are not back....
The pictures are not back.....
The Pictures Are Not Back...
THE PICTURES ARE NOT BACK!!!!

PANIC !.... PANIC !!.... PANIC !!!

It lacks all the service packs and updates of 10 years so even the programs that I can download for free cough and sputter and refuse to download or operate.

Woe is me!... I am doomed!.... All is lost!
          (I can certainly generate some anxiety and drama!)

I worked and worked on the ailing senior computer while hearing over and over,  This thing is so outdated.... It is dead!! Just wait for your new laptop.

However, after several hours, I was able to download Picassa , carefully following all the instructions for needed updates that to make Picassa operational.  Picassa then asked a simple question.....
Do you want to search you computer for pictures to add to the Picassa Library.
Hell, Yes!!!  
I watched with glee as one by one, ten years of pictures reappeared and plopped into the Library File.
I think I can breathe again.

It is not back to normal.... The programs are still gone.  But I can get on blogger and work with my pictures... I can do what I need to do until my new computer comes and then concentrate on setting it up.

On today's, agenda, purchase and a external hard drive to transfer and store all the pictures.

I am beginning to believe there is a rule that states, Thou Shalt Have Only One Computer.  When you have more than one it  becomes a full-time job.  And we can't have that!

Experience is a painful teacher.

   

8 comments:

  1. You'll probably want that external drive (or another one, too) for backing up your laptop AND any important documents, photos, etc. We put a lot of those types of things on external drives and CDs/DVDs - when one goes full-time, one doesn't have storage space. Even if you have copies of tax returns, etc. on your laptop, having them backed up elsewhere is a very good idea. In case we have to bail out of the RV w/o laptop, at least I can grab the external drive and have documentation of who we are, etc. So good to hear you're making progress towards hitting the road!

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  2. That was very scary. I know the feeling. Hope you get all of your files saved.

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  3. Yeah, I have 6 computers, unless I'm forgetting one and not counting my phone which is really also a computer. I also have complete backups of all of them, saved to at least 3 external hard drives. Pictures are also burned to a DVD and a copy is in my Mom's bank lock box back in the States, with any taken in the meantime added when I go back. Make that 7, just remembered another one...

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  4. And the problem is...........if you only have one computer then EVERYTHING is on it and if it misbehaves dum,da, dum ,dum.

    I have the external hard drive too and back the pictures up but not often enough. I jsut put it on my agenda for tomorrow. Thanks. Glad you have a new one on the way. Things will look brighter when it gets there.

    I'll be the last living person using windows XP I fear. Long after there is absolutely positively no support for it. I just love outlook express and hate windows live mail. Now isn't that silly.

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  5. Computer problems are the pits! My laptop is about one year old. In the past two months I have had problems with the "blue screen of death" when my computer boots up. It will only happen once in a while, I let my computer do a restore and then we're good to go for a while. I back up frequently!

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