Computer Woes

Remember how a week ago I did Photo Hunters and the theme was “scary”? I said the Blue Screen of Death was scary, and I posted a photo of a prank screensaver? Well, ha ha. I got the BSOD for the first time in years yesterday. And I can only WISH it was a prank. Nope, it’s for real. *sigh*

It looks like the hard drive just out and quit on me. I have NO idea how this happened; it gave me no warnings (no ticking, no noises). I booted up the computer and Windows started a CHKDSK scan. It restarted and everything is gone. I can’t even restore, repair, or recover. Wah! The only other thing I can determine besides a hard drive failure is maybe a cable isn’t inserted enough?! Because the computer is still under warranty, I can’t open the case and look for myself. *sigh* So I have to take it to the manufacturer and get it looked at.

Anyway, this really throws my entire week off. I, like, WORK from my computer! It’s very inconvenient. I don’t have to worry about data loss, as I backed everything up (I do this regularly). It’s a major pain, is all. I had a very busy week planned. Thanksgiving is coming up and it’s my family’s biggest holiday of the year. I have yet to order gifts for the kids (they are requesting some sweet camping equipment and books– and those take time to order!). I also have a smattering of appointments and applications to fulfil (one kid is getting braces soon). Anyway…. like all computer problems, they never come at a convenient time, do they? So that’s why I haven’t been posting as much. One thing good is I am very grateful I keep my information backed up!! That’s one less problem I have to worry about. Always back up your data, you never know when these things will happen! It’s SCARY when it really happens! lol…

Frugal Hacks Alert

This is for all you Frugal Hacks out there– if you haven’t heard of Buy.com yet, you have got to check out their deals. I’m in the habit of perusing their weekly specials now. The prices are incredible! A few weeks ago I blogged about how my poor little laptop mouses (or mice or whatever they are called, I’m still not sure!) constantly die on me. They, uh, have this habit of falling to the floor. heh heh. I go through about two or three mouses a year. So I am ALWAYS looking for a good deal. I’m not very keen on paying $25 to $30 a pop for a new mouse. However, I don’t have to! Buy.com has a fabulous deal on a Targus notebook optical mouse for $10! Yes, you read that right! The Buy.com price is 74% off retail pricing. And the shipping is free! I’m going to get a couple of them, and hopefully it will last me, oh, through the summer.

Buy.com also has great specials going on for external hard drives and other computer gadgets, plus stuff like mp3 players, printers, and excellent prices on GPS systems. Check out their weekly specials page here and bookmark it.