July 2006

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You'd think that with four computers in the place I'd have one that was working. But no, all four were ill at the same time. I finally managed to figure out that a cable was disconnected from the motherboard of the oldest one, and after a little fearless tinkering (nothing to lose, you know), I got it back in business.

This is the one that was declared surplus by the law firm in 2000, and was given to me to be a backup. And it has done remarkably well, considering its age. In computer terms, it is well past its expected life span, but it was built by a man who did the whole thing from scratch and knew quite well what he was doing, so it doesn't surprise me that it is still working.

The cable that got disconnected is the one that tells the system it has hard drives. A couple of weeks ago, when the computer blue-screened on me and I rebooted, was apparently when the cable decided it had been connected long enough, thanks, and slipped the rest of the way out of its slot. I'm telling so much about it because ten or so years from now I may need to reread this entry and plug the cable back in again.

The one really disappointing thing is that my Dell laptop will not work right now, and whatever is wrong with it isn't obvious. I have a couple more things to investigate, but I may have to wait on it till I have spare money to have it repaired.

And the other two non-working computers are the incredibly finicky laptop, the Sony from 1999, and the oldest laptop, from 1997, which needs some TLC, more memory, and a hacker. Enough said.

I haven't lost significant data, by the way, because I practice what I preach about backing up.

A friend has been kind enough to let me check e-mail every so often. I'm sure he'll be happy when he reads the note I just sent him, saying I'm back in business at home. I made the joke today that the several of us who were in his office and competing for computer time (with him) only loved him for his computer. He said he knew that!

Being without a computer has made me realize that I hate being without a computer more than most of the other conveniences of modern life. I can do without a telephone much more easily, because I can upload pre-written journal entries, etc., from another location if I have to do so. And for communicating with friends, e-mail will probably never lose its spot as my favorite. I have missed having e-mail at home most of all.

So I am deeply pleased that my tinkering worked out. And if you think that's a huge understatement, you're right!