COMPUTER MESS

I am sitting in the middle of a mess... discs, sound card, sound card software, scribbled notes, vacuum cleaner, my computer peripherals scattered about with thumb drives, instructions, and a computer that only partly works.

The issues began when the very confusing website template* I bought for a new website, photographerbobwood.com (not up yet), suggested that I needed Netscape. I didn't want it, but dutifully downloaded it - along with all sorts of other junk I ALSO didn't want that apparently travels with it. I decided I didn't like or really need it, and deleted all those files using "remove files" and then searching for and deleting others with the same name. And then running registry mechanic. Lots of rebooting too, along the merry chase.

*their support people have been giving me some help, but also WRONG information, it turns out.

I also found my windows updater wanted to add some or change some files which I agreed to, those being security updates and - what the hell - IE8, supposed to be much better and safer than IE7. I quickly grew to hate IE8, and tried to load it from a thumbdrive the Best Buy GEEK SQUAD loaded for me with IE7, (that didn't work), then roll the computer back to a previous setpoint "when everything worked." It didn't. On any point I tried... 3 or 4 times.

I had lost all Internet browser ability.

I couldn't go online for help, I couldn't reload explorer. I was and am very frustrated, over my head!

I hired a company to send a tech. He was here Friday afternoon for two and a half hours, got me IE7 back - a huge victory - and also attended to removing some programs I could never completely remove. He installed an outboard drive I bought for my photos, and simplified the non-working backup scheme I had for my C drive. He reinstalled Skype and declared my sound card broken. I subsequently went out and bought a new simple card and put it into the computer. But when I went to load the drivers, found that somehow I had lost the D drive entirely.

I had a spare, installed IT but still, no D drive. Which means the sound card issue (and Skype) remain unresolved.

The C drive backup onto the F drive failed completely. Twice.

Backup of my 9000 photos onto my new E drive was incorrect and will have to be undone and redone.

Calls and emails to the tech service remain unanswered - I guess they don't work weekends. I expect a comp. return and more attention.

I've come to realize how very addicted I am to a fully functioning computer.

This story leaves out a lot of futzing - it all blurs now in or under a cloud of frustration. I thought I had gone the full route to getting all in order.

This story is for you, when you are also having the nightmare, so you know you are not alone.