THE SAGA CONTINUES

The fact that I can write this says a lot about friendship, technology, and maybe even medicine.

My computer, recently freed from virus (virii) hell, was still experiencing problems. Then the (should be) dreaded "Your computer is having hard disc trouble" warning popped up, with s strong recommendation that I run CHKDSK. I did. And there were several files/bytes/sectors (beats me) which were problematic and supposedly fixed. But problems continued. Subsequent CHKDSKs kept fixing more and more (although all was supposedly already fixed. This is what decay looks like.)

I consulted trusted friends who know more about computers than I. My biz partner and 30+ year friend in Florida suggested my hard disc may be the problem. Ditto my long time more techno-friend in Connecticut (he even builds computers). I ran CHKDSK more and it continued to find and fix things. But like Ms. Pak-Man, files were being gobbled up in the process. I turned to a neighbor and new friend - he's in the software biz - who really saved my buns by telling me (my board of computer directors was unanimous!) that it sure seemed like my hard drive was dying and I should immediately back up the whole shebang, replace the hard drive, etc.

I bought the software he suggested. Luckily it loaded. (It too suggested my hard drive was corrupt like a long term congressman under the thumb of special interests, and caught with a hooker at the Watergate!)

I shopped and bought two hard drives - an internal and external - both on sale and both at 250GB. $49.99 and $99.99 respectively. I then backed up the bad drive onto the external and got lost along the way. My neighbor, the most generously helpful guy, talked me off the ledge and we then successfully (this blog is testimony) mirrored the new external drive onto the new (they are easy to install - I did it myself) empty internal drive.

I have avoided - I think - a pretty catastrophic loss - won't know what doesn't work or is missing until I try more, but at least I am secure in the knowledge that my bad hard drive which holds my life as I know it today is fixed and also mirrored from now on.

The medicine part is that I am lightheaded. Not from my computer hassle, but I hope from the medication I stopped when the changing insurance plans didn't quite time together properly. When I move my eyes (open or close) I get a head rush of lightheadedness.

Even so, I did move about a ton and half of rock yesterday, walk the dog a mile each day, etc. I am hopeful that the medicine when resumed will take away what might be withdrawal. Otherwise, I have to go find a doctor since mine moved away.

Wish I could run CHKDSK on me.