Lucky Me

I was working on my laptop computer on Sunday night, doing three things at once, as usual (working on a project, watching a DVD, and checking things on the web), when I decided to check my blog. As I clicked on it, the computer sputtered and died. And I couldn't turn it back on.

I have used computers for 25 years now, and never have I had a hard drive crash. I was terrified (there is a lot of non-backed up work on my computer), thinking, "this couldn't possibly be happening to me," yet knowing that most of my friends have experienced such crashes.

I went to bed, but couldn't sleep, hoping that the machine would somehow spring back to life in the morning. No such luck. But, when I called the store where I bought it, I was happy to learn that I had a two-year warranty, and that, yes, they were open on Memorial Day. I took it in, and, in a variant of the "turn your computer off and turn it back on again" fix, the woman at the store took the battery out and put it back in again. The computer came back to life. Whew! All my files still intact, too.

I thought it might have overheated, so they ran two days of diagnostic tests, finding nothing except that the fan wasn't working properly and it probably overheated. They will send it off for repairs, which will take a week or two, but, in the meantime, I brought it back home to back up those files. It was tough not having the computer for two days...how will I manage for a week? Best to get it done soon though, just in case my good luck doesn't hold for the next time!