More Computer Woes...

[babydee1]

...and this time, I don't think they'll be able to fix it. :-( 

I was finishing up some the next chapter of my Chlollie fic Sacred Words when I got Blue-Screened.  I tried to reboot, but all I got was a black screen with a 'try to reseat your memory' message on it.  Nothing else.  I'm gutted! :-( 

Heading to PC world as soon as my mum can come sit with the kids to see if it's something they can repair, but I really think it's time I invested in a new computer.  This blows hard!!! *growls* 

Very lucky I backed up all my work on Friday.  I did lose a bit of data; some editing on my Big Bang fic Agenda (sob!), half of Indelible, a chlarky oneshot chapter I was hoping to complete yesterday for apeygirl's birthday (Happy Birthday, April!!!), and a section of Sacred Words.  But all in all, it's not a teeth-gnashing amount of work. :-) 

Fingers crossed for some sort of resolution soon. I can poach hubby's laptop from time to time, but I hate his keyboard.  Al the principal keys I make use of for writing are in the wrong place, like the quote marks and other punctuation.  It drives me mad!!! *growls* 


I'll let you know how the trip to the PC-Doctor goes.  Wish me luck!!! 


PS: Is LJ playing sillybuggers with anyone else?!?  Half my formatting - and text - keeps disappearing!!! :-O 

ETA: 8pm - They fixed it!!! :)

It was the RAM memory that was leaking (?) There were some funky greenish stains on it. Cost me £30 for a new Memory Board plus £25 for the service to replace 2GB of the 3GB of the memory (the 1GB card was fine), and the old girl *seems* to be working as good as new. But then, it always works when you're still in the shop...:) 

I've had it on for about an hour now, and all seems to be fine.  But Hubby said if I get Blue-Screened again, I should just get a new computer. Makes sense, since I've spent a total of £140 on repairs from the last time, and a new one costs from £300. 

Suffice it to say I've had it up to my armpits with Dell, and will be going for a different brand when the time comes to put this baby out to pasture. :-) 

Thanks for all the hugs, people!!!

Comments

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

*snuggles you* That's a pain about your computer. I hope they can fix it. I can certainly relate to your woes with both that and LJ. I've been having trouble with LJ off and on for months. Good luck.

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

Thanks, T. I was so lucky - they fixed it (see details above), and I didn't lose any data (yay!!!) I now have a flash drive permanently attached to my computer so I can save as I go along. The thought of losing my Big Bang fic gives me hives!!! :-S

*hugs* :-)

[twinsarein.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad it got fixed. That is wonderful news. I hope it behaves for a while. I know I got so sick of PC computers, and all the problems that came with them, that I actually switched to Apple. Something I never thought I'd do. More expensive, but I haven't had any issues since I got it a year-and-a-half ago.

The thought of losing my Big Bang fic gives me hives!!! Lordy! I don't blame you. That would be a calamity. Something like that - I'd sit down and cry for a week. I'm glad you're backing everything up so frequently now, though.

Love your icon. Lex's hand on the side of Clark's face is so sexy. I've been toying with a low-key Halloween idea. I might fit that image in.

[marikology.livejournal.com]

I was finishing up some the next chapter of my Chlollie fic Sacred Words when I got Blue-Screened.

I'm not gonna push that button... but I want to!


maybe you should email your bb fic to me, yanno, just in case!

I'm glad they were able to fix it though!

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"I'm not gonna push that button... but I want to!"

Button it, Mariko! (pardon the pun!);-)

"maybe you should email your bb fic to me, yanno, just in case!"

I now have it saved in about 5 different sekrit locations, LOL. But thanks for asking!!! :-D

...I can't say how relieved I am that I didn't have to fork out for a brand new laptop. *wipes brow* :)

[greenteam4ever.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's so sad. I hope you'll repair your PC soon. I had such a problem with my Dell laptop (actually I had too many problems with it, so I had to buy a new one, Acer this time). I think your problem is not having enough free memory on the disc, I suppose it's fixable. I'm glad that you didn't lost all of the work :)

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

Dell is f**ked up, pardon my language. My laptop is a Dell as well (Inspiron, Windows Vista), and whilst I was at the Geek Squad's, another woman walked in with exactly the same make and model computer as mine! Said it's given her nothing but trouble.

Thankfully they were able to fix mine (I'll amend my post above to reflect this!), but I'm saving up for a new one in case I get Blue-Screened again. I also have a flash drive permanently plugged into a USB port so that I can back up my fic as and when it's being written!

[greenteam4ever.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I knew that Dell wasn't a truthworhy label from the beginning. I've no idea why my father bought it for me (he's usually good at these things). My friend had so much trouble with her Dell that after updating half of its stuff she decided to bury her laptop. Figuratively, of course.

I'm so glad that yours've been fixed! It's very thoughtful of you to back up the information :)

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

I've spent close to £150 saving this one. If it goes tits-up one more time, I'm gonna get rid.

I now thrive on back-ups, LOL!

[greenteam4ever.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a lot of money, I suppose. I'm lucky in this department - my father saves me a lot of money solving all my laptop problems for me :) Otherwise I'd have to spend all of my money on that stupid parody of a computer!

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

It's a fair bit of cash, and if I knew the computer wouldn't last another year, I'd prefer to invest it in a new machine! :-)

I wish I had your Dad, LOL! :-D

[serafina19.livejournal.com]

Okay, you and Sly officially need like a computer fairy or something to help you two, but it's not for completely selfish reasons like I miss you/your writing. *yes, it's actually in that order*

So I absolutely wish you luck, because life without my PC would be along the lines of hell.

To answer your PS though.... yeah, LJ is still being stupid, but it's less often than it used to be. I found a way around the dumb problems I was having before (which unfortunately won't help you any), but I find whenever I copy/paste from one LJ post to another, formatting immediately disappears.

Oh, but there was this one time where my banner disappeared for a completed story. I spent an hour re-uploading it and reformatting at least half of the posts.

Okay, rant over... but I wish you the best and hope that you can fix this up soon! *hugs*

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"Okay, you and Sly officially need like a computer fairy or something to help you two, but it's not for completely selfish reasons like I miss you/your writing. *yes, it's actually in that order*"

Hee! The world is conspiring against us. We shall not be beaten!!! :-D

"So I absolutely wish you luck, because life without my PC would be along the lines of hell."

I was all set to drop the £350 for a brand new machine and cancel Christmas, I swear to Zod. I was that desperate!

The first place I took my laptop to (PC World) said they'd have to send it away, and it would cost £50 just for them to have a look at it, and then once they have a diagnosis, another lump sum up to £150 for parts and labour. Thank goodness I went to Curry's round the corner - they had a man on site who opened up the back and spotted the rusty 2GB RAM card, which he replaced with a brand new one. So all I spent was £25 for labour and £30 for the new RAM. To think I could have been fleeced up to two hundred quid... *shudders*

I nearly died the last time I had to send my laptop away for repairs. I wasn't ready to go through that again!

Can't LJ just get its sh*t together?!? What's with all the formatting FAIL??? *seethes*

[serafina19.livejournal.com]

*does a silly hand dance* Yay!! And double yay to saving money!

But you inspire me to back up all of my stuff asap. You never know when you're going to experience computer fail.

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

Oh gosh, yes. After the last time my computer failed, I schedule weekly back-ups. It keeps me sane. And fic back-ups will be on a flash-drive daily, without (heh!) fail. :-)

[serafina19.livejournal.com]

My fic flash drive back-ups were bi-weekly, but with a stupid amount of WIPS... likely going to be weekly now.

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

I know, the thought of losing so much lovely work is just devastating. *shudders*

[fickery.livejournal.com]

Sorry about your computer woes! But I am going to take it as yet another sign from the universe that I need to buy an external HD and back up my data, because my laptop is...middle-aged, at least, in computer years and I'm starting to worry about it.

And yes, LJ is screwy. They just did an update a few days ago that screwed a lot of stuff up--I couldn't delete anything in my inbox off-and-on for 2 days. And last night when I tried to post in the Chlollie comm the submission page was wonky--the text box was split in half and kept moving around the page. I finally had to compose the post as though it was going to my own journal aand then change it to the comm from the drop-box choices at the last minute. VERY weird.

Hope it's something fixable!

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

We must have posted at the same time, LOL! I just amended my post to say that the Geek Squad came through for me and saved my baby. :-)

But what's this I hear? You don't have an external Hard Drive?? Woman, are you loco?!? GET. ONE. NOW.

I back up my fic and photos at least once a week, and even then I felt so miserable thinking that I'd lost a couple of pages of fic that I was working on before my computer passed out. Don't risk not having your documents somewhere else, babes. Get a Hard Drive, and get one soon.

LiveJournal...Giving with One Hand and Taking with Two. Everytime they 'upgrade', something else goes pear-shaped. It's extremely frustrating.

Many thanks for the huggles! :-)

ETA: I'm desperate to read Mirror Image, but I have a ton of fic on back order (plus a Big Bang fic), so I need to shift a few stories before I can treat myself. Also, we have such a similar writing style, and I don't want to inadvertently get influenced, LOL. Besides, I'm waiting for it to be finished first. ;-)

Well done with it so far - I believe this is the longest single story you've attempted, right?

[fickery.livejournal.com]

Oh, good for the happy ending! And I know, I've been putting it off far too long. I literally just this minute ordered a 1TB external drive from Staples online--I should get it in a few days. :) Thanks for the nudge.

Mirror Image is actually finished--I don't post WIPs (not counting the obsessive editing/rewrites before posting each chapter, cough) but I should be done posting it within 2 weeks. But yeah, I hear you about reading fic. I have so many stories in my head fighting with each other to be written that at the moment I can only occasionally read shortish 1-shots, even in other fandoms. It just messes with my own process too much. You gotta do what you gotta do. :) And yes, at 31K+ words this is my longest story by quite a bit. And it's probably going to have a sequel, arrrgghhh!

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"Oh, good for the happy ending! And I know, I've been putting it off far too long. I literally just this minute ordered a 1TB external drive from Staples online--I should get it in a few days. :)"

Excellent! You really can't go wrong with having one, hun - miss_morrygan's computer crashed a few days ago, and she lost all her stuff. :-(

"Mirror Image is actually finished--I don't post WIPs (not counting the obsessive editing/rewrites before posting each chapter, cough) but I should be done posting it within 2 weeks."

Well done, you! I wish I had the patience to finish an entire story before posting it; it would definitely relieve the pressure!

"But yeah, I hear you about reading fic. I have so many stories in my head fighting with each other to be written that at the moment I can only occasionally read shortish 1-shots, even in other fandoms. It just messes with my own process too much. You gotta do what you gotta do. :)"

BINGO. You get me!!! :-D

"And yes, at 31K+ words this is my longest story by quite a bit. And it's probably going to have a sequel, arrrgghhh!"

Wow! Nicely done, hunnee!!! And YAY for the sequel!!! :-D

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

...totally off topic, but your icon always makes me laugh because Ollie's totally checking out her arse in those combat pants!!! :-D

[fickery.livejournal.com]

Haha, I know. He checks out her ass all the time. It's canon! :D

[serafina19.livejournal.com]

As someone who just got an external HD a couple of months ago, the peace of mind is worth the price tag alone.

[fickery.livejournal.com]

I just this minute ordered one online. You and Dee talked me into it. :)

[serafina19.livejournal.com]

You won't regret it, trust me.

As for "Mirror Image" glad to hear it's done, and no worries, sequels sneak up on all of us (how do you think "A Step Forward" happened?) but I wish you luck, because I meant every word in my most recent comment.

[mari2anne.livejournal.com]

Computer problems are such a headache! I still haven't replaced my laptop (motherboard got 'fried'). I do have a complete backup, so I'm okay there. But car troubles and rather unexpected AND EXPENSIVE home heating repairs took all the money I had hoped to put towards a replacement laptop. Still thoroughly depressed about it. Looking into borrowing funds because it appears I can't live without my computer; I've spent so much of the last few years learning how to do everything online... I can't even pay most of my bills by mail anymore!

I have similar issues as you, Dee, about using hubby's laptop. Of course, he uses his all the time anyway, so I wouldn't have a lot of time to use it even if I wanted to. I pay my bills on my lunch breaks at work. And if I have homework (actual work that I have to do at home), I borrow the work laptop; but it doesn't communicate well with my home internet... it 'kicks' me offline a lot: soooo frustrating. I keep my fingers crossed each time I hit the 'post' or 'enter' buttons. Hopefully this will post, because LJ likes to add to the problems... sadly the only comfort I have in that is that it's not picking on me alone. Until I read all these 'cuddles' I thought it was just me and that I was doing something wrong!

Okay, enough whining from me. As soon as my online life is back in order, I have alot of catching up to do!!! Trying to follow a few K-Site fanfics and so many on LJ; I saw you've posted a whole new CHLARK fic! Just wanted to let you all know I'm not ignoring you... it'll just be slow going for a while yet! But I'll be back!!! And I am happy for you that your computer problems are resolved!

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

"Computer problems are such a headache! I still haven't replaced my laptop (motherboard got 'fried')."

Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realise it was completely totalled. :-(
Thank goodness you backed up!

"Looking into borrowing funds because it appears I can't live without my computer; I've spent so much of the last few years learning how to do everything online... I can't even pay most of my bills by mail anymore!"

I know, the whole world's gone paperless, LOL. :-)

"I have similar issues as you, Dee, about using hubby's laptop. Of course, he uses his all the time anyway, so I wouldn't have a lot of time to use it even if I wanted to. I pay my bills on my lunch breaks at work. And if I have homework (actual work that I have to do at home), I borrow the work laptop; but it doesn't communicate well with my home internet... it 'kicks' me offline a lot: soooo frustrating. I keep my fingers crossed each time I hit the 'post' or 'enter' buttons."

Using hubby's laptop is like using a foreign language computers. All the keys are in the wrong place!!! *growls*

"Hopefully this will post, because LJ likes to add to the problems... sadly the only comfort I have in that is that it's not picking on me alone. Until I read all these 'cuddles' I thought it was just me and that I was doing something wrong!"

Yes, the post definitely came through, and no, you are not alone - LJ did another 'upgrade' and buggered up the posting formats at the same time. *sigh*

"Trying to follow a few K-Site fanfics and so many on LJ; I saw you've posted a whole new CHLARK fic!"

I did indeed! :-D

"Just wanted to let you all know I'm not ignoring you... it'll just be slow going for a while yet! But I'll be back!!! And I am happy for you that your computer problems are resolved!"

Aw, thank you! We miss you, but take your time. I know how it is to be netless! *huggles*

[grlmonday.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry about your computer :(

Can you send me a synopsis for White Rose, please? Thank you :)

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

Coming right up! ;-)

[marikology.livejournal.com]

I'm on my second dell, and what I think the issue is, overall it's a reliable machine, but every once in a while, you happen to be the person who gets the lemon. My first Dell was a graduation from college gift, and in the first year, I had nothing but problems, mostly with hardware. But after a year and it was full of refurbished parts, I used it to death with no issues for the next four. I still crank it up every once in a while and while it's now too slow for daily use, it still works ok.

my second one has had mostly software issues, but luckily, it's covered through my school for anything and everything for at least the next two. I think I'll be ready to replace it after year 4 anyway.

So in any case, hopefully your repairs will be worth the money and you will get some more use out of it!

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

I hate lemons. ;-)

Perhaps I was a little *too* hasty to condemn my Dell; it has hitherto been a reliable little computer. I just hate when things go wrong!

[apeygirl.livejournal.com]

A fic for me? I blush! Thanks for the birthday wishes. I had a pleasant, low-key day (being sick and all).

I'm glad you got your computer sorted out for now. But maybe it's time to put away a bit every week or so for a new one. Then, if you get in a jam, you know you have most or all of what you need (I personally use my uncle as my savings account. It's the only way I won't touch the money).

I'll have to catch up, see if that fic's up by now. I need some Chlark smut to jolt me out of writer's block.

[babydee1.livejournal.com]

April! *smishy hugs* Sorry you were poorly on you birthday. Just know that no matter how bad you felt this year, it was a million times worse last year. *shudders*

Your fic isn't up yet, but I'm hoping I can complete it by the weekend. Thanks for your patience!

Yep, will definitely start saving for that new computer NOW.