31 August 2007

I'm Back - Briefly

On Sunday night, feeling quite pleased with myself for being about to post a TBR Challenge review nearly a whole week before the end of the month, I made my almost-nightly trip to the computer. I switched it on at the wall, switched on the tower ... and nothing happened. At least nothing that was meant to; the light that should have been green flashed orange in time to a loud, oscillating hum.

My standard procedure when faced with computer trouble - switch it off and try again – didn’t work, so I was obliged to retreat and call in the professionals. Thinking that of all the times to crash, it had to choose the week before the start of midsemesters, I assessed the situation. The uni’s own website isn’t counted as downloads, so I can still check emails and unit websites despite being over quota ... that printing for Plant Biotech can be done at uni ... Aaggh! I CAN’T BLOG!!

This awful thought was swiftly followed by one almost as bad: I had all my reading records - every book read, genre by genre, since 2004 - on that computer - and I had totally neglected to back them up. Most files, yes; just not those files. There was no chance of my being able to reconstruct them from memory, not even if I piled them all into one list. I’d have no statistics to compare this year’s to. Three years of reading would be lost forever.

Or not. On Wednesday I was assured that it was the motherboard and so most likely not - pardon the pun - a terminal case. And, the memory would remain intact. So to my great delight, I arrived home this afternoon to find that the computer guy (henceforth to be known as Saint Robbie) had not only returned my computer in fully-functioning condition, but, as a bonus, had updated the firewall, installed a new floppy drive with the USB port at the front, and souped it up with a faster processor.

Needless to say, everything that wasn’t backed up before is backed up now.

That review of Rebecca is up at last, but the rest of the backlog will have to wait; I’ll be too busy studying to write (though not quite too busy to read!).

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear your computer is on its deathbed any longer. That happened to me once, except when my computer died on me, I was in the middle of finishing an incredibly difficult term that was due the next day. I nearly scared my room-mate to death with my blood-curling yell of rage. : )

Bookfool said...

Gotta love those computer techies. I'm glad you didn't lose your files. Best of luck on the school work.

Dancin Fool said...

You have been tagged. Follow Me! (Glad to hear your PC is sorted and I know you are busy but I always value your input if you do have a moment.)

Anonymous said...

Dang. Saint Robbie rules, apparently!

Amat Libris said...

J.S.: God, how awful! I'd yell too.

Bookfool: I'm glad too - and enormously relieved! Thanks for the good wishes.

Dancin' Fool: It's on the To Do list, I promise!

Heather: He sure does!

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Header image shows detail of A Young Girl Reading by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, c. 1776