Posted on 07/26/2018 2:47:33 PM PDT by Zionist Conspirator
I'm sure you've all noticed that I have been missing for a while. Unfortunately, my computer conked out on the 11th of this month and I have been without one since. I also don't know if I will ever get it back.
I'm very disappointed (to put it mildly) that a brand new Dell Inspiron computer, purchased at Best Buy on Feb.15 of last year (with help from a total stranger on the Internet) didn't even last a year and a half. It is in the shop but all signs point to it being unfixable.
It was already acting a bit wonky three months or so ago (about the time the warranty expired), but it had been prompting me for weeks to run "support assist." Yet every time I tried it was unresponsive. I eventually decided to simply pay no more attention to the prompts.
Then suddenly on the morning of the 11th I received two prompts. At the second one I clicked on it and, wonder of wonders, it actually began to run! But I thought I noticed my browser still open (all other programs are supposed to close). I tried to close my browser but my cursor was frozen at the bottom of the screen. I couldn't stop or pause support assist because my cursor was frozen. I hit control/alt/delete but couldn't click on it because of my stupid frozen cursor. I hit "escape" and nothing happened. So I did the usual last resort: I turned off the power and then turned it back on. The problem was, the tower refused to come on.
I unplugged and replugged the main cord (something I've learned to do) and it still wouldn't come on. So I took it to the shop that evening.
They guy there said it obviously needed a new power source. He ordered one, it got lost in the mail, and he finally had to pick it up at the post office. Then he brought it back to the shop and installed it but it still wouldn't come on. Please note that it was now the 19th.
He called the Dell company and they suggested a short had developed in the motherboard. He ordered one, and it just came today (the 26th, when I have been without a computer for fifteen days). Trouble was, they sent the wrong one and he is having to send it back and reorder it.
On top of all this the business itself is usually closed. I've always used it, but apparently things aren't like they used to be. Most of the time when I call I don't even get a chance to record a message; it just says please call again later.
So now I must wait at least another week while another motherboard comes in, and when it does it also may be the wrong one, or it may turn out that a motherboard won't fix it either. Or if it does, perhaps it's so messed up by now that it won't be usable.
As I said, I bought this thing brand new less than seventeen months before it quit. I am really upset, and right now I have no idea when, or if I will get my computer back. This whole thing is like a bad sitcom.
I am at the library now, but you see how long it's taken me to let you all know about this. Meanwhile I am subscribing to DSL without a computer to access it. If I can't have this one fixed or replaced, I will have to cancel my Internet subscription and then I will never get on from home again.
They have no business making brand-spanking new high quality name computers that don't even make it to a year and a half.
Oh, and there's something I forgot to add: back on the 11th, when I was taking my computer to the shop, somebody trying to pass slow traffic was headed right for me in my lane forcing me to slam on the brakes and sending my already damaged computer onto the floorboard hard.
I don't know why I have such horrible luck with computers. They seem to hate me. I've been in this situation many, many times over the past 21 years, but this is the longest amount of time I've been hung out to dry without really knowing anything. I can't explain how depressed I am. I can't afford to buy a computer every single year, but I can't afford to have an Internet subscription that I can't access. Things are bad all the way around.
To be honest, at this point I don't know when or even whether I will be able to log on from home again. I am pessimistic by nature, and right now things aren't looking too good. I can only tell you that if I still don't have a computer after a month, there's no need to continue paying for the subscription. At that point someone else who has been waiting for a DSL connection will take my place and I'll never be able to subscribe again.
I just wanted you all to know what was going on. I miss you all so much. I can't promise how often I'll be here at the library to answer your responses.
Right now, things seem pretty bad.
My wife also has her own PC, and that's been the case for the last 20 years. She hardly ever uses it, settling for her Kindle, so I have a backup. Maybe you can get a cheap laptop to have for future emergencies?
Ctl-Alt-Delete still works? I thought that went out the window with Windows 7.
Twelve years with this Dell Inspiron, and still cranking. Only problems were the Microsoft stuff within including unsupported IE. On Firefox now, and everything is fine.
Sorry to see you having problems with yours.
Win-7 fwiw.
I have at least 4 computers that will run FR. Come to southeast Florida and get one.
Sorry dude. Amazing how dependent we are on those things.
My 12 year old Dell laptop is still running. I had to replace the keyboard and install linux on it. A tad slow for these days but it works.
Best of luck to you getting back on line!
We used to call ours the Dell from Hell.
I bought a tablet PC on Amazon for less than $100 and it’s still working fine more than two years later. It makes a great backup if anything goes wrong with the “main computer,” and it sure beats going to the library!
Good luck to you!
Yes, the Apple Borg Hive brain has you covered so long as you have a connection through which they can control your system. :)
And I would assume they send every bit of data about your browsing habits and any other information you input back to the Google Monster.
I wish you luck.
I build all of my own computers and have had only two crashes.
I had a power supply go bad and it toasted both the motherboard and the processor. Thank goodness the RAM survived. I went to Ebay and found a used board and processor for a very good buy and replaced them. The computer was down for a week but I always have an old spare that I keep so I am not lost.
I am posting on a roughly 8 year old refurbished HP desktop. I think it was $120.
It has been running a little slow so last night I bought a McAfee protection plan. This morning it removed over 250,000 files and two viruses.
It is running better.
I’m currently using a Lenovo 17” laptop I bought on Amazon about 10 months ago. No problems other than the touchpad is very sensitive and for some reason the cursor has a tendency to jump around the page when I’m typing.
Desktops were designed to be modular. They are always fixable, though maybe not economically if others are doing the fixing.
Laptops? not so much.
Tablets and Smart Phones? Good luck.
I think this thing i'm on is from 2002 or so. It has been a most awesomely reliable machine. Bought it used for $85.00.
Dislike Windows 7. Hate Windows 8. Absolutely refuse to use Windows 10.
I buy only from Dell for PCs.
Since I can fix my own, I don’t bother with the extended warranty.
My current one is 4 years old and zero troubles from a hardware standpoint.
I put a new Dell tower in for my wife to replace the junker I hated yesterday.
Yes, that's good advice. Chromebooks are trouble free, and can be had for $200 or less.
They are good for email, browsing, and watching videos. If you buy a chromecast dongle for your TV, they are great for streaming video from Youtube, and even subscription services like Hulu, or Netflix. Plus Chromebooks are secure and virus free too.
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