Ok, my computer is officially on itÂ’s last legs. If it crashes one more time I wonÂ’t be held responsible for my reaction. So thereÂ’s a number of things I need to do in order to fix the problems and bring it up to speed. First, I need to psych myself up in order to go into a computer store. Why? Simple, men in these stores are trained to make people (men and women alike) doubt there own computer knowledge.

Case in point, the last time I went in to a store to buy a sound card the sales associate was insisting (without even setting eyes on my pc) that the problem was a dead hard drive. He was aiming for me to get a new computer. So, having built my own computer and having taught Comp Sci 101, it really drives me over the edge of civility when these kids assume IÂ’m an idiot and will fall for their lies.
Sometimes, depending on my mood and if I have time, IÂ’ll show off and teach them a lesson about assuming things. Otherwise, I simply tell them that I built my first computer when they were in diapers and the reciprocal condescension usually does the trick and they point me to the aisle I need to go. WeÂ’ll see what happens tomorrow:

So once I buy a new a CD-RW and sound/vga card for my computer and get it home, IÂ’ll be working on my PC in 3 phases:

Phase I – Hardware/Software:
- removing damaged zip drive
- replacing cd-rom drive with a CD-RW and installing drivers. testing it to make sure it works as everything else is contingent on this install.
- installing an external DVD burner (purchased 3 months ago)
- replacing sound/vga card

Phase II- Software:Upgrade
- upgrading OS from Win-ME to XP-Pro (not as easy as you think – for this upgrade you really need to know what the hell your doing or your screwed. I’ve done it a few times before and I think I can manage on my own.
- upgrading MS Suite from 2003 to XP
- installing XP Service Pack 2 – this should take about a bazillion hours unless I get to borrow a cd. (snore)

Phase III- Software: Reinstall
- an additional 11-13 additional hours to re-install all my old favorite software including my firewall, anti-virus, email client, Treo/PDA, Adobe, Java, HTML compilers, etc., etc., etc., along with my games and drivers for all my neat accessories which I havenÂ’t used in a long while like my digicam.
- installing new programs like Dragon Voice, Team Speak and some work related proprietary applications from work (one which I designed), so that I can occasionally telecommute & keep my job for now
- and finally, after all thatÂ’s done, fine tune some of the darned Win-XP default settings which drive me crazy.

Why am I bothering to write all of this down? Because if I donÂ’t share this personal commitment with you then I just might get distracted by the nice spring weekend weÂ’re supposed to have.

So if I donÂ’t come up for air to blog, youÂ’ll know where IÂ’ll be: elbow deep in cables, wires and computer entrails. Mind you, IÂ’m only doing all of this because Jon nagged me enough and because I really want to be able to spend time with my wonderful BAD family as much and as possible.

So if you donÂ’t see me for a few daysÂ… itÂ’s because I F@#$% up big time and need outside support, like from a professional. To keep you entertained in the meantime, IÂ’m going to transfer my archives from my former site on blogspot, and post an entry linking all my top 10 posts (based on hits and ranking). You be the judge and let me know if you agree.

Posted by: Michele at 10:45 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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