I knew Monday went too well....

[lagilman]

After a long struggle, we have finally thrown the desktop into the proverbial river, and put me out of its misery. The fact that this all started when someone Not Me got the damn thing infected with malware is... a level of frustration I can't even begin to address.

The netbook, and writing longhand, are short-term solutions. Right now? I can't work.

(thankfully, the important files have been saved off-drive, so it's a work interruption rather than an OMFG disaster.)

So. Off to acquire a short-term fix rather than the upgrade I'd planned for next year, and then back to it, hopefully soon.

If anyone feels the urge to offer sympathy, it's appreciated. Even moreso would be your buying one (or more) of my books as a holiday present for someone, so I can afford to buy this new computer to write future books...

Comments

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry that happened. I know firsthand how much damage malware can do (it's part of my job, but for a different operating system) so I know what you're going through. Probably the best thing that could come out of this is that there's pre-Black Friday sales going on, so you should get a good deal.

[lagilman]

Yeah, I think I'll be able to get what I need for a price that doesn't make me cry. It's just the time lost + money spent + aggravation expended that is making this so damn annoying. Especially since it shouldn't have happened.

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

I take it that you went with multiple Malware removers? When I got an infection on my work laptop (still not sure how that happened) I had to install both AdAware and Spybot to do the initial cleans. Then I had to run multiple scans for a couple of weeks to make sure everything was clean.

[lagilman]

Believe me, my tech guy (who is an IT pro) has done as much as can be done in a week+, and I can't afford to lose any more work-time. The damn thing's not booting, right now (again).

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is so not good.

That thing would be a candidate for the "computer toss" at my alma mater's "Engineering Week".

[patchwork-prose.livejournal.com]

My sincere sympathies! I went through that with my mother's old computer, earlier this year. Nightmarish!

[eldestmuse.livejournal.com]

I hope everything works out. Having dropped my computer last week, I'm definitely in a position to offer sympathy.

[mikaela-l.livejournal.com]

Then I think whoever it was that go it infected, should pay a large chunk of the replacement... But that's just me :)

[lagilman]

I can't prove anything except timing, and even if I could... there's nothing to get, IFKWIM.

[jslinder.livejournal.com]

On the plus side, there are already some huge holiday deals out there on desktops.

Dell just finished a double memory/double hd deal, and I am sure more will be coming.

[mtlawson.livejournal.com]

Newegg is running hordes of deals too.

[phantomminuet.livejournal.com]

Bless your heart.

And I'm not only going to buy a book, I am seriously thinking about selecting "Flesh and Fire" for my fantasy book group in the new year.

[lagilman]

completely aside from anything else, that would be awesome, and I am always available to chat with groups, either in person or via skype...

(and er, I hope that wasn't 'bless your heart' in the American Southern dialect.... *rueful g*)

[phantomminuet.livejournal.com]

It was, but in the South, "Bless your heart" is an all purpose phrase and can mean anything from "I'm sorry you're having such a tough time" to "You're dumber than a coal bucket", depending on the context.

I was using it in the former sense, rather than the latter. :-)

[lagilman]

*laugh* Yeah, I know all the variants. Good to know which one was intended. (I am told by various sources that even those of Good Geek Cred can get nailed with this, and I am not to feel like an idiot, so I'm not. But...argh!)

[svilleficrecs.livejournal.com]

For future computers, I've found that a combination of Malwarebytes (freeware) and HitmanPro (shareware that I ended up buying) took care of the most persistent malware BS that the rest of my stuff didn't catch (two virus programs + another spyware program).

[lagilman]

Malwarebytes and various other programs (mine and my tech guy's) did the best they could. But something had gone Terribly Wrong. After losing a week of work to this, it will actually cost less to replace it than (the time-cost spent) continue trying to fix it.

[barbhendee.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm so sorry. For a professional writer, there's almost nothing worse than computer issues.

I don't know if this is going to be any help . . . but do you have any friends or family members who might be "upgrading" soon? In 2009, I was finally able to buy myself a new computer, and I have a nice one now. But three years before that, I had a crash, and I could not afford a new machine. I had friend who was upgrading, and he gave me his old Toshiba notebook . . . that that thing lasted me almost three years.

You might ask around.

[lagilman]

I've done that before -- right after my divorce, when money was beyond tight, a friend gave me her old Mac to use as a backup (I have since passed it along to someone else in need). But right now I can buy what I need - it's just really crappy beyond all belief timing on both the money and work front.

[chicating.livejournal.com]

Been there. Well, sort of.
Except it was me, and we did ultimately save the machine, although not all my stuff that was on it.
I still have trauma, though.

[lagilman]

we seem to have (knock wood) saved the stuff but not the machine.

I suppose

[chicating.livejournal.com]

I'm enough of an apprentice that it was not the loss it seemed at the time.
I feel ya, though...it's taken me a long time to get over, and if it had been more than my own ignorance, that person would have to watch their back.

[jennielf.livejournal.com]

Here to chime in with, that horribly sucks, but at least you have the needed data off....

Sympathies, and here's hoping you can get back up and running quickly.

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Ugh.

When the power supply went out on my computer, I just sat there staring at it, trying to will it to start.}:(

I need my computer to run my business, so that was not fun.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Commiserations. At least you were able to save your files, but I know how aggravating this must be.

My current desktop is an emergency replacement that I got when my old one decided to bluescreen on the morning that final revisions were due-- nothing like having to go out and buy a new PC right now to make you cranky.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Thank ghod you didn't lose your files.

Sympathy on the inconveniences of cost and timing.

[lagilman]

Thank ghod you didn't lose your files.

Not surprisingly, that has been the immediate reaction of pretty much ever writer I've spoken to.... *wry g*

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

We are a strange people, but consistent, withal.

[elektra.livejournal.com]

I feel for you. Big time.
The only thing stopping me from being right there with you is the multi-year warranty on my current system. But its been back to IBM 3 times in the last 18 months, and all three times included a hard drive wipe.
Buy the warranty. It's so worth it.

[fakefrenchie.livejournal.com]

That so sucks. I could give you a iMac if you were in France. But you're not.

[jmward14.livejournal.com]

Ouch! Glad you saved the files, at least. Good luck on the new purchase.

[equesgal.livejournal.com]

This happened to me a few years ago. So now I have two desktops and my Writing Computer isn't even hooked up to the Internet. Hell, it's not even in the same room. LOL