Friday 30 April 2010

Mother of all boards - kaput!



Dear Bountiful beautiful and buxom bloggie friends.

The above is a hat made out of pc cables.

Today's shenanigans makes me realise that perhaps that's the best use for them!

At 7.05 am, my desktop's motherboard breathed her last sigh and said "ta-ta, me old china, I've 'ad enough" and promptly turned off all her lights, fan included.

At which point my desktop breathed its own last sigh and fell silent.

Their Maker, Dell Inc, have finally agreed that there was nothing I can do.

These lovely people had me rolling up my sleeves, grasping a screwdriver, opening the pc's hard drive tower and generally rummaging through this wire and that.

Ya know, I never knew that was how a memory card looked like....

An hour and a half later, they finally twigged that I was going nowhere except towards electrocution (I could hear in the background such exchanges as "you mean she's not discharged the electricity? Quick tell her to do so!")

At least now they have agreed to send in a Technician with a Proper Screwdriver and a brand spanking new Mother of all Boards.

Because I paid extra for such a service in my warranty.

I betcha y'all are now all wondering how is this fabulous and fizzy woman blogging if she doesn't have a pc?

I do have my second hand hulk of a laptop. It connects to the internet router via a very small cable because it cannot pick up my wireless.

So am on the floor, ignoring the little laptop fan cranking up for all it's worth and trying to figure out how to upload my pics especially ones of Charlie. And my shoes.

I'm not even thinking of allllllll that work I've not saved on my flash. All. That. Work.

So brave and boisterous bloggie friends - you may experience severe downturn in the visual quality of my blog until the Dell Tech Person appears.

Don't blame me though, blame Mother!

Have a tech free Friday everyone!

31 comments:

Kea said...

Yikes!!! It's happened to me with a few home computers over the years, and a couple of work computers. NOT fun!

Fingers--and paws--crossed that the tech can get you up and running.

But all your lost work..... :-(

iasa said...

oo, I'm sorry your motherboard is having a snit. I hope you get it all sorted without too much bother. Happy Friday to you too!

SF said...

Gotta love technology - it makes our lives so much easier..

Glad you are being philosophical about it. Sounds like a nice excuse to have a day off homework and enjoy the spring over there!

Ann said...

Good luck with the tech person! I will hold my tongue and not utter words in "French" or Irish even! Oh and might be safer for you to retire that screwdriver. Just a thought!

Theresa Milstein said...

They almost electrocuted you?! I'm glad I have a Mac.

Oh you're having so many file issues. I hope your work can be saved! We never backup our stuff often enough.

I hope Dell can fix it, but if they can't, please post the hat.

Karen Jones Gowen said...

I'm just glad you got that electricity turned off!!! Yikes!

Amy & the house of cats said...

Well, the good news is that if it is the motherboard, you can take your hard drive out and put it in a case and use it externally - maybe even with the laptop. Good luck with getting it fixed - hopefully they can get it up and running again!! We will keep our fingers and paws crossed!

notesfromnadir said...

Oh no!
You have my complete sympathy. What a devastating thing to happen to a writer.

At least you have the warranty! Sure hope the technician comes soon to fix this problem.

Let us know when this is resolved! :)

Meanwhile, am sending your computer a speedy recovery vibes! :)

Brian's Home Blog said...

Oh no, that really is good that you will be covered, or your pc will! Purrs to Charlie from all of us!

Ann Best said...

Oh gosh. I have struggled with computers, but never had anything like this happen. Just mind your Ps and Qs so you don't go kaput too! Love that pc hat. You are so creative.

Beth Zimmerman said...

Awwwww ... so sorry your mother (board) bit the proverbial dust! Very cute post too! I raised my own tech guy (son) but he growls at me when I request his technical services. I guess he'd growl less if I paid him as much as his employer does but then again ... they don't feed and clothe him!

Summer Frey said...

Hey Old Kitty--new follower here, though I've seen you around. We frequent many of the same blogs.

I had 2 motherboards die on me last year. Thankfully I'd backed up everything to both my hubby's computer and an external hard-drive. We finally gave in and bought a new computer for me last fall.

And now my hubby's Dell, which is a respectable dinosaur, at 7 years old, is biting the dust. Its systems are failing one at a time as the motherboard...slowly...dies... So we're computer shopping for him too. :-)

Good luck w/ the new hardware!

Katnip Lounge said...

Tech Servicepeople who make house calls are Gods, in my opinion.
That is all.
xx kat mommy

Al said...

I want to cry for you.
Computers dying is always traumatic.

Hope you don't lose too much.

Brigid O'Connor said...

You poor thing.....
I have had problems on my blog with demons but they are internet based rather than pc.
Hope you get back up and running soon.

fairyhedgehog said...

I do hope they sort it out for you soon!

India Drummond said...

Oh dear! I hope you're back with us soon!

Milton said...

Oh dear! Muttie spilled a cup of tea on her last laptop then put it in front of the fire to dry out. Doh!

M x

tekorin said...

Thanks for letting me have a new understanding that PC cables are for Hats!! cute,isnt it?
PC PC PC....
They are sometimes just an ornament.
Hope your PC will be back as a PC soon!!
Purrrs to Charlie!

Hannah and Lucy said...

I'm brain dead when it comes to how computers work - I sob down the phone until I find someone who can sort things out for me.

Marg said...

Oh Nooooooos I am so afraid that is going to happen to me. I sure hope you can get a new mother board in there and all will be just fine. Sure hope you don't lose too much stuff. It makes me think I need to print anything that is important. Good luck. Sending purrs to Charlie and you since we can't see Charlie's pretty face right now.

Jayne said...

Oh. OH! You are a brave soul to go rummaging in the internals with a screwdriver. I am so glad they are sending someone to help you!

My computer once did this. It was going screwy for ages and I thought it was fine, it would hang on. Of course it didn't. I also tried rummaging around, armed with techy print-outs from techy people who forget I am of the sort that believe when you turn on a plug it is MAGIC a light goes on. Eventually I had to give the comp to someone who knew what to do, and got some bits back, but now I try and remember to back up everything, just in case! Hope you are back comfortably online again soon. :)

OOO! My word verification is codmice! How perfect is that for Charlie!

Matthew MacNish said...

^ New Follower. Love the hat! Sorry about your motherboard. I hope it served you well.

Talli Roland said...

Oh no! Tech issues are the WORST! I always feel so helpless. I hope you get them all sorted out soon!

What does Charlie have to say about all of this?

Hope your long weekend goes well...!

Ann Best said...

Technology. So frustrating. In my earlier comment my pic's gone. Tried to change it last night and messed something up. But I think the photo will come up here. At least what happened to me wasn't dangerous. Again, BE CAREFUL!!!

Moll said...

Good for you for trying to get in there and fix it. If I'd paid for the warranty I would have been all, "Get your a**es over here. That's WHY I got the warranty."

Angie Paxton said...

Oh, I'm so sorry! This happened to me last September when my refurbished laptop gave up the ghost. The geek squad can do wonderful things with the memory card. That work may not all be lost. Um, I'm going to go back up now.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

OH no, Old Kitty! I've been where you are now and it's not fun! I'm so sorry you have to go through all of this, and I hope it can be fixed very quickly and that you don't lose information. Good thing you paid for a longer warantry!

Enjoy the weekend and don't stress!

xxoo Pat

ANGEL ABBYGRACE said...

We understand.

It has happened to us at home and when we worked.
It is completely miserable.

At least we did learn...we have a external back up drive connected to our main computer and it backs up every day.

We also have a lap top and one extra computer not connected to the internet for our photos (that is a long story)..so we have all kinds of back ups. Plus Momma puts our pictures on CD's.

The only thing she hasn't done is do a back up online. We are glad that blogger does contain so many of our photos as we can always get them from there if we had to.

We feel your pain....
purrs
>^,,^<
Abby

laughingwolf said...

rats, kit :(

but that's whatcha get with windblows crap... once you go MAC, you'll NEVER go back ;) lol

ya gets whatcha pays for :O

Jacqueline said...

I hate computer problems, it's so frustrating and I must admit, I am somewhat addicted, so I have withdrawals too!...I hope you get your Dell back soon...Of course, the Charlie photos will be missed terribly so be sure to give him extra cuddles and kisses from us!...xo...Calle, Halle, Sukki