My Computer Needs a New...

My wonderful, expensive computer is nearly 3 years old (definitely "old" by most computer standards). When we ordered it way back when, I let my husband and our friend (Computer Whiz) choose all the bells and whistles and, yes, they managed to order a computer with more "stuff" than we will ever need. But it has been a great tool and, except for one suspected infestation requiring reformatting, it's been a really dependable "friend."

So, over the past few months, I've noticed that a buzzing sound has been coming from the back of the computer when it's first turned on. As time has gone on, the sound has gotten louder and louder until it has become truly annoying and worrisome. On Sunday, Computer Whiz came by, put his ear to the computer and diagnosed the problem as a power supply fan noise all within 10 minutes. So today, with only 70+ days left on my extended warranty, I finally called Tech Support to report the problem. Now I know much has been said about outsourcing and it is more than likely that tech rep "Steve"does not live in North America. However, I found "Steve" to be surprising helpful and informative. Yes I know troubleshooting can be a pain (especially when your computer is tucked into a cubby hole with all the cords intertwined and not easily reachable). But I managed to open the chassis (at least that's what I think "Steve" called it) and followed his instructions unplugging and re-plugging components, turning things on and off, following all sorts of keyboard instructions. After more than an hour (most of it on the floor on my hands and knees), "we" finally determined that the buzzing sound is indeed coming from the power supply. Of course, my computer is so old that the item is not in stock so "Steve" went ahead and ordered the part and he promised that I should hear from a technician a week from tomorrow (Friday).

This incident has only reinforced my desire to get a second computer. I can't imagine life without one and I have been living in fear that my current one will suddenly die an untimely death and I will be forced to live life as if stranded on a deserted island. Plus...I've discovered that, in most cases, any search for instructions on troubleshooting and correcting problems almost always requires you to have a computer that actually works so you can read all the online Help screens. Remember how I said in a previous post that my birthday is coming up and that my husband, with the help of a friend, is buying me a special gift? Well, that special friend happens to be Computer Whiz so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.