Computer Disaster

Yes, another one. This one is truly catastrophic. My computer has ended its life. Something about the motherboard, processor, or whatever horrible thing could make the computer completely unusable. How terribly inconvenient. I have had the computer for almost 5 years, and it served me well. It had been having issues for awhile - I guess I should have better heeded its warnings a little closer. I thought it was the hard drive, but I am assured that the hard drive is fine and all will be able to be saved from it.

You know, you hear about "backing up" all the time. It is most mindful when the computer stops working and you are faced with losing all of your data. I am good at backing up most of the time. I have a system. Unfortunately, my system sometimes fails because I am human, and I do procrastinate. I checked my backups just this week after I thought my hard drive was fried and discovered that I didn't back up as often as I thought I did or know that I should have. It isn't hard, really, you just have to do it. I just didn't. Thankfully, my hard drive is salvageable, so it won't be a big problem. I will implement my new back up procedure with all diligence once I get my new computer. At least, that is what I tell myself. Whatever helps me sleep at night.

I didn't realize how much I used my home computer until it was gone. I randomly used it for:

Downloading pictures from my camera
Picture editing (cropping, red eye removal, etc.)
downloading pictures to the internet
using the screen saver for a "digital photo album"
facebook
myspace
I played games
the grandchildren used it for playing games
email
recipe printing
googling stuff
web surfing
my husband used it for his work
occasionally for my job

Whew. I did know that I used it, I just didn't realize how dependent I am on it. I don't like not having it. Now, I have to shop around for a new one. I am so confused by all the options. I used to be pretty computer savvy, but alas, time has not been good to my memory. I don't know the difference between 64-bit and 32-bit Windows Vista. I have heard bad things about Vista. My peripherals might not work with Vista. How can I guard against that? This would certainly be a pain in the butt if my printer and my scanner won't work with my new computer. I can't really afford a new computer right now, but I enjoy having a computer in my house. I'm working out a deal with my husband. So many decisions. I'll let you know what I come up with.