Down Time

It had to happen.

My pc's hard drive failed.

I think I bought my latest pc in 2014. It is a Dell. The pc before that was HP, and I bought it in 2008. So both lasted 6 years. But the HP died: it needed a new motherboard or a new CPU. Maybe both. The Dell didn't really die—its internal hard drive (C-drive) failed. In theory, I could replace the hard drive.A new 1TB hard drive can be had for $45 to $65, though going with the cheapest may not be the best idea. But it would need an OS. A copy of Windows 10 Home would cost $140. Windows 10 Pro would cost $200. So for $200 I could have a new drive with Windows 10 Home, and for $260 I could have a new drive with Windows 10 Pro. But that isn't the end of it. It's more like the beginning. I have to open the pc and remove the bad drive and install the new drive, then I have to install Windows 10 on the new C-drive. Which might be easy or it might not. It has been many years since I have installed an OS on a system drive. 

How am I writing this blog? I'm using a little Windows 10 convertible notebook (converts to a tablet) that I bought from Walmart a few years ago. I wanted to try out Windows 10 and see if I liked it before installing it on my "main" pc. For a tad under $100, the little box was a good deal. It is not something I would want to use everyday for real work, but it did work. Kind of. It is very underpowered, CPU-wise, and the 10.1 inch screen is difficult to read. The little keyboard is also difficult to type on. But for a temporary, "get-by" computer, it is worth having around. I can still pay bills with it, reply to email, and surf replacement products on the Web. 

My blogging software won't run on this little box, meaning I have to use Blogger's default interface. That's not the fault of the computer; it's the fault of Windows 10. Skype runs so-so. It might be acceptable one time and unacceptable the next time. Quality during a single call varies considerably. I was talking to a friend by Skype and found myself resorting to WhatsApp to communicate during periods of the call when her voice was breaking up, even as we were on a video call. I had to laugh because we were using Skype to watch ourselves text each other. What's wrong with this picture?

So I may or may not be doing a lot of blogging in the immediate future. I shouldn't be. I should be computer shopping. It's dark in my living room at 2:45 AM. I'll publish this to let my readers—all 3 of 'em—know the situation here. If I end up purchasing a new pc, I plan to replace this machine's C-drive and install some manner of Linux on it. Linux is an operating system, different from Windows, but probably in many ways better, and it's free. Google's Android mobile phone OS is based on Linux. And did I mention, it's free! Well, as far as dollars down, it's free, but it will probably take a good many hours of reading and study to become halfway proficient at using it. And time is an investment, too, just in a different currency.

Stay safe, friends, and I'll get this straightened out. Meantime, don't worry about Covid-19. Trump had it and reports it isn't a big deal. If you catch it, just call your personal helicopter crew and have them bring around the big chopper and fly you to Walter Reed. Once there, assemble a team of doctors to treat you with that new medicine that isn't on the market yet. When you feel better, have your chopper fly you to your limo, which will drive you home to your in-house backup hospital room. Why, that Covid-19 doesn't bother me any more than walking past a rabid dog lunging at me at end of his chain. What dog? Do you see a dog? I don't see a dog.

Woof-woof.