30 November 2011

Trials and Tribulations of the Intrepid 'Puter Geek

Since my last post, I've been trying various scans, tests, and clicking of this button and that button, downloading the latest what-have-you for my computer to keep it in tiptop running shape. All this so I can happily play at my sixth favorite haunt. Which, by the way, is moving up a notch, maybe two, in the next few days, due to finally getting a calm spot in the vortex of the galaxy far, far away. I think the g***s have learned a thing or two about sneakiness at those tournaments they attended.

All this time, I thought they were still out visiting somewhere and that the bro****s were making progress here at the site of my current predicament. Nooooooooooo, no, no, no.

This morning while trying to straighten out the cafe of one of my crew members, the monthly diagnostic test started. Those tests are supposed to be on a set date. Of course, it starts whenever it **** well pleases. {Now, father, that's not what you think it is.} So, I have to log out of my various browser windows and tabs that were set up. The test had come to the portion where it uses 150% of the available memory. Drats, drats and double drats. That's the first inkling I had that something was happening, and I wasn't going to like it. Sound familiar to some of you?

So. I sit and play spider solitaire for the next hour and a half, taking the occasional "nasty habit" break while the diagnostics ponder the state of my computer. Of course, I'm chomping at the bit, thinking of all the dishes that need to be cooked with less than six days to go. Ahhh, the freedom from worry during the other 28, 29 or 30 days of the month. I had just won my game of spider solitaire when the test ended.

It was red flagged!

A problem with one of the devices. Lacking the resources to contact support as suggested, I saved the log so I could espy the problem myself, do whatever needed to be done and rescue myself, my computer I mean. {Don't you hate it when paid support runs out? I think they should last for a set number of support contact times instead of this year by year business.} So, there was a feedback button which I ferociously hit, tried to phrase politely the problem inherent in contacting tech support when that option ran out two/three years ago. Then, I do the trusty search for the problem mentioned.

Well, I used to have the cute little search dog that would at least provide me with something to look at while the sniffer looks though the many files on my machine which also has an external hooked up because, as I mentioned, I was helping to fix a cafe. This involves a spreadsheet so I can track whatever messages are sent to the aforementioned galaxy's Customer Support. So, that caused my xxxxterrrrrrnal device to be caught up in the diagnostician's happy scramble to look at everything, shake violently to see if it's broken, and say "oops, you have a problem" when it looks at something it shouldn't have looked at in the first darned place. That cute little puppy would have kept me a little calm when I found the source of the R E D Flag.

2 files in a backup from an old hard drive that worked on an operating system that went on it's happy voyage near the black hole and was never seen again. Those files have since been restored and I haven't quite dared to delete the backup file which has all my writing and what-not's in there. HHHuuuuhhhnh! Should I or should I not recant my ferociously sent FeedBack? Now, there's something to ponder on.