..even when one isn’t having fun. Ack! Where have the last two weeks gone? In fact, where have the first two and a half months of 2006 gone? For me, it seems more of a blur, than anything else. But, perhaps that’s a good thing.

If you were looking for a thought-provoking, inner awareness entry this week, you won’t find it here. I have one in mind for next time, but after the activities of the past two weeks, my mind is cooked.

The last couple of weeks have been spent dealing with various computer issues. Not only my own, but others. Right now, I feel fortunate if I know exactly what day it is! *chuckle*

The first issue had to deal with the computer of one of the operators at the hospital where I work. She couldn’t even open a web browser to go on the Internet with. In time, it became very clear just why she couldn’t. After working on the computer for a number of hours over several days, I finally cleaned it up enough that I could actually work on it. Her computer was infected, big time. Not counting the spyware, malware, and trojans, there were 37 distinct viruses that had infected her system. It also didn’t help that she had very little system memory to work with. I had to temporarily cannibalize one of my older computers for memory, just so I could make some progress. I was finally able to deliver it back to her last Wednesday. One issue down.

The next issue was with my own computer. Several years ago, I had done some stock and commodities trading, but having eaten the wrong foods for many years, my physical energy had turned to molasses, and my mind to mush. Not a good combination to try and make money with. So I stopped for awhile.

Now that the mind mush is gone, it felt like a good time to get back into the game. So I opened up my trading software, went to download current data for both, and.....nothing. I could only download information prior to October 2004 in stocks, and March 2005 in commodities. I wrote to both the trading software company, and my data provider. My trading software at one point did have problems importing the data from my data provider, so they suggested that I upgrade my trading software. Received the upgrade last week, installed it, and ended up with the same issue.

Talk about a little frustration. So I started to do some internet searching. Because I had upgraded to the 2006 software, I now had access to the 2006 forums for my trading software. And it was there that I found my answer, buried several pages deep within the forum. For whatever reason, SpyBot sees certain program files as spyware. Once I uninstalled SpyBot, Ad-Aware, and my trading software, I then did a clean install of my trading software. Lo and behold, I now have current data! Phew! Second issue down.

But like they say, save the best for last. Well, my niece has been having problems with her ‘antiquated’ computer, and I have the good fortune (or misfortune) of being her tech support. I had a computer here that a friend had given me, because it had died on her. So I figured what the heck? I’ll replace a few parts, and my niece will have a more up to date computer to use. Right off the bat, I found that the hard drive had died. No problem, order a new one. So I did, along with more memory, and a cd/dvd drive. Parts came last week, and I installed them on Thursday. Fired the computer up, nothing. The new hard drive was working, but nothing was coming up on the screen. Then I realized that I hadn’t heard the usual start up beep one hears when you turn the computer on. Not a good sign. For those not overly familiar with computers, hearing that beep is a good thing. And when there are certain issues, a series of beeps may be heard, helping to diagnose what is wrong. I’ve swapped out memory, removed the motherboard from the case to make sure that there isn’t a short of some sort, checked the power supply, replaced the battery, nothing. It’s now starting to look like my friend had a power surge hit her computer, and it took out the hard drive and the motherboard. Sooo.....it looks like I’ll be ordering even more parts. By the time I get done, the only thing that won’t be new is the case! *sigh*

But! As frustrating as all of these issues were at times, they have all been a good learning experience. In analyzing, troubleshooting, patience. And satisfaction, once things have been figured out.

Speaking of satisfaction, I need to go solve another issue. My computer’s cd/dvd player won’t format new discs, so I have to track that trouble down. I’m thinking that it just didn’t like the brand media that I used before, but time will tell. If you happen to hear a scream, it’s o.k., it’s probably just me. LOL

Until next time.