I've had my laptop for years. I love it. It was love at first sight. But lately, we've been less than happy.Two weeks ago, I threw my hands up in frustration and took my laptop to see the Geeks. It's been doing all kinds of frustrating things like stalling when I try to open Twitter, not letting me into Facebook at all, and slow, slow, slow. But...they couldn't just fix it while I waited. Ah, the angst. She suggested I go ahead and pay the yearly fix-it fee and do the fix in the comfort of my home via the on-line chat help.
I bit. Not being able to part with it, I hugged my laptop to my chest and ducked out of the store. Unfortunately, I didn't think about the amount of data it would take to sit for up to two hours connected to the on-line Geeks while they repaired my lifeline. We use a hotspot device because we move between RV and home frequently. We have a limited amount of data.
Now, two weeks later, I couldn't put off the inevitable. The slow speed and timing out were driving me crazy. Yesterday, I parted with my laptop, and turned it over to the Geeks. Hopefully, I'll have it back by Monday. I have to check email on my phone and do what I can to keep up with blogs and social media. Not the best alternative.
The upside is we're going to the farm, and I'll have no excuse for not getting a lot of work done to get the place ready to sell.
I'm sure all of you have tales of life without your computer. Did you feel as lost as I as I do?
And as you can guess, I wrote this in advance of losing my dear laptop, so I may not get back to your comments promptly.
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11 comments:
Oh, poor Brenda, I feel for you. These things are sent to try us--but try us for what is the question. I spilt 'something' (OK, so it was wine) on a laptop some years back and although geek was able to recover the hard drive and get everything onto NEW computer, there were a few hellish days there. Last year my cellphone packed up at a conference. Just like that, bingo, gone. 3 days waiting for new one to arrive and, despite the fact I was still reachable via computer and Kindle Fire, I felt totally lost. What if I hit an elk driving? Chin up girl, you'll soon be back.
I'm on my third Mac laptop (and one Alpha Smart). Mac's don't usually fail or crash, they just get kind of tired and won't accept new hot-blooded (mega meg) programs. I've kept all my old laptops for some reason. So dependable...old friends. I have an old Kindle that's beginning to bulge (battery issues), and of course, I'm the one who lost her hard drive on a French train...unprotected by password. I feel that loss, let me tell you. My phone...I don't understand how it works, especially when an update changes everything. Nope, reining in technology may not be in my future.
I'm getting to that point with my laptop. It's four years old, and my girls yell because I make so much noise when I type. Uh, I guess the new ones don't click every time you hit a key. But I'll probably hold out until my baby dies a slow, agonizing death in my arms...
I've had the same laptop for years, too, and I can't bear the thought of giving it up--except when I work on a Photoshop project. Our new sidebars just about drove me batty. I need a bigger screen for graphics, no two ways about it. But I LOVE my little purple laptop! I've put off upgrading to Windows 10 because I'm afraid of what might happen. Everything works fine right now, and I hate to mess with success.
Thanks for all the sympathy, ladies. I thought I'd have it back by Monday but they told my husband 5 to 7 days when he dropped it off. What??!! I could do it on line in two hours and they'll have it a week? Honestly, this just hit me today. I'm so busy with getting the farm ready to sell. I'm calling them starting tomorrow and bugging them so they'll want to fix it quick to get rid of me.
I've never turned over my laptop to the geeks...I've always been too afraid!
Note to Alison--My motto when it comes to upgrading operating systems, don't mess with success until you have to! :-) I have no problems with Windows 10, but I have a newer laptop and it upgraded from Windows 8 (??)...whatever it was before that. I don't see any great benefit to it, though.
I live daily with technology, since I'm in a high-tech field, and I know the panic of being laptop-less. Which is why I have 2 backup machines. Old and reliable. Slow as molasses. But usable. One of them never goes on the Interwebs. It's just for writing.
Note that I never buy tech new. I always buy from eBay. I think the last new computer I bought was in 2008. Maybe. You can get lots of good surplus machines for dirt cheap on eBay.
I also back up everything not once but 3 times. Carbonite online backups; a hard drive backup; a memory stick. Yes, I learned the hard way.
I've also centralized (a.k.a. "to the cloud") just about everything, so my bookmarks are saved, I have a transportable "home page" for all browsers that has my often-used links on it, and I use Pocket for everything else. The last time I had a computer die on me it took an hour to get back up to speed. There were tweaks here and there for the next few days, but nothing big.
I feel your pain, Brenda. That's why I'm such a paranoid tech user. Overkill is me.
I'm on my third laptop, second desk top, fourth phone. Yikes! Maybe I need help. My granddaughter spit up on the first laptop. That one was possessed from day one anyway. Did weird, weird things when I was in Word. And I still remain technology challenged.
I can't imagine...I've been without a computer for short periods of time, and it's shameful how anxious I get. :) Without a cell phone, I panic. LOL. Crazy! Good luck getting yours back soon!
Thanks, Alicia. Last check they said they hadn't found anything serious. Will still be a few days. This desk top model is giving me fits. I can't always get on the Internet.
I hope you have your computer back by now, Brenda. Laptops are our appendages. We can't do without them. When the power cord on my new (less than a year) laptop began to fray, I contacted the manufacturer. I could send in the cord & they would send me a new one. Even I know how long it would take to ship something from Michigan to CA and back. No way could I be without my laptop that long. The Geeks said they could sell me a generic replacement for $50+. Hubs' Scottish heritage rubbed off on me. Then the Geek showed me an open-box, greatly reduced. I bought it. Meantime, I sent the original. It took nearly 3 weeks. Good thing I got the replacement.
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