Computer makeover!
I think my laptop developed a streak of vanity this year. Or plunged into a mid life crisis.
Looking back, I can't even remember how it started - or when - but I suspect that it started when one of the guys studying here offered to do something which would speed my computer up for me. He had done the same thing for one of my housemates already, and she was thrilled with how fast her computer booted up and did normal things, so I agreed to leave it with him while I went back home for a weekend in May to see my baby nephew (and the rest of my family).
All I know is that he definitely replaced the hard drive, and now Windows Media Player looks different, and my computer boots up in seconds (rather than more than a minute). It took hours to do whatever it was that he did, but he didn't mind, apparently!
I think my computer liked the attention. I think my laptop now craves the attention of IT savvy people. I think this computer has sabotaged itself in order to force me to bring it to the attention of these people (there are quite a few of them around here).
I am fairly sure this is how it started - but then again, it may have started with the keyboard.
Back in May while I was working on an essay about Spanish use in the Americas my keyboard stopped working properly. Significantly, specific keys wouldn't work. Frustratingly, this included the letter 'm', and as I was writing about Mexico in particular, my draft started to look very strange. There were a few other keys which stopped working - the space bar or the enter key as well, if I remember correctly. So I took my laptop to the IT guys, and by the end of the day I had a new keyboard!
Things settled down for a while, but then, just before the recent mid semester break, my laptop threatened me. Seriously. It said something like, 'replace the battery immediately or else!' Well, maybe not quite like that... but it let me know in no uncertain terms that I could no longer trust the battery to work.
So, off to the IT guys again, and by the end of the afternoon I had the address of a computer place which had a battery in stock, and my roadtrip home included a detour to pick it up on the way.
And then, with this shiny new battery in place, I noticed yesterday that the charge level of my laptop was decreasing while it was plugged in to the powerpoint. Very, very slowly decreasing while it was telling me it was charging. I had no idea how this could be possible, especially as it was charging fairly quickly if I left it plugged in for a while after shutting it down.
Turns out it was the charger this time, although it had the IT guys baffled for quite a while this afternoon. But they had one I could have, so now my laptop is running smoothly again.
Until next time...
What will be next?! What is left to be replaced without getting a new laptop altogether? How long will all these replacement parts last?
Looking back, I can't even remember how it started - or when - but I suspect that it started when one of the guys studying here offered to do something which would speed my computer up for me. He had done the same thing for one of my housemates already, and she was thrilled with how fast her computer booted up and did normal things, so I agreed to leave it with him while I went back home for a weekend in May to see my baby nephew (and the rest of my family).
All I know is that he definitely replaced the hard drive, and now Windows Media Player looks different, and my computer boots up in seconds (rather than more than a minute). It took hours to do whatever it was that he did, but he didn't mind, apparently!
I think my computer liked the attention. I think my laptop now craves the attention of IT savvy people. I think this computer has sabotaged itself in order to force me to bring it to the attention of these people (there are quite a few of them around here).
I am fairly sure this is how it started - but then again, it may have started with the keyboard.
Back in May while I was working on an essay about Spanish use in the Americas my keyboard stopped working properly. Significantly, specific keys wouldn't work. Frustratingly, this included the letter 'm', and as I was writing about Mexico in particular, my draft started to look very strange. There were a few other keys which stopped working - the space bar or the enter key as well, if I remember correctly. So I took my laptop to the IT guys, and by the end of the day I had a new keyboard!
Things settled down for a while, but then, just before the recent mid semester break, my laptop threatened me. Seriously. It said something like, 'replace the battery immediately or else!' Well, maybe not quite like that... but it let me know in no uncertain terms that I could no longer trust the battery to work.
So, off to the IT guys again, and by the end of the afternoon I had the address of a computer place which had a battery in stock, and my roadtrip home included a detour to pick it up on the way.
And then, with this shiny new battery in place, I noticed yesterday that the charge level of my laptop was decreasing while it was plugged in to the powerpoint. Very, very slowly decreasing while it was telling me it was charging. I had no idea how this could be possible, especially as it was charging fairly quickly if I left it plugged in for a while after shutting it down.
Turns out it was the charger this time, although it had the IT guys baffled for quite a while this afternoon. But they had one I could have, so now my laptop is running smoothly again.
Until next time...
What will be next?! What is left to be replaced without getting a new laptop altogether? How long will all these replacement parts last?
Comments
Post a Comment