When ever you set up a new PC, it is always good to update the software.  After all, it has been several months since the PC was built.  So, I went out to the manufacturers website to  download the latest software updates.

The first thing that they asked me for was the model number of the machine.  No problem, I am sure the number is on the outside of the box.  But, I looked.  No number.  Next, I checked the outside of the PC.  It revealed many numbers, but not the ones that I needed.

Eventually, I checked the receipt.  I found the number and entered it.  Success!!

Well, by now, most experts agree that flight MH370 has been hijacked.  But, since no terrorist groups have claimed responsibility, we can only conclude that the hijacking its self was not the act a terror.  Rather, the act of terror is yet to come.

One of the viruses that I had to do battle with when I was setting up my new laptop, was the Snap.do aka Shopping Helper.  This virus attaches itself to all of your browsers and hijacks them so that when you use your browsers, Snap.do takes you to their own web site to sell you their software products,

I have no idea where Snap.do came from or how it got past my virus protection. All I know is that it took me over 4 hours to cleanse all of my browsers and get rid of it.

In the past, when ever I downloaded anything, I could find it at the green arrow.  Not so with the new Windows 8.1.  It took me several attempts and several minutes to find my stuff.  And, the location changed from moment.  Some times it was on the right side of the screen and some times it was on the left side of the screen.  This was very frustrating.  But, eventually, I learned the various hiding places for my downloads.

One of the first things that I needed to do with my new laptop was to install the antivirus protection software.  And while the laptop came with a 30 trial, I already had a subscription for my other machines and opted for using that instead.

So, I loaded the antivirus CD into the drive and waited.  Since my new machine is windows 8.1, I didn’t know what to expect.  Moments later, a box popped in the upper right hand corner of the screen asking me to click on it for instructions.  But, as I was moving there with my mouse, I bumped the edge of the screen and another box appeared.

Unfortunately, before I could close the new box, my CD box disappeared.  This happened several times before I successfully made it to the CD box.  That is when I realized that this new machine was not going to be plug and play.

I no sooner started to work on my PC with Optimizer Pro pop up and told me that I 1607 that needed cleaning up.  And, it wanted me to subscribe to it’s cleanup web site.

How can that be?  I just turned on my machine.  After all, how could a new machine have 1607 problems that needed fixing.  So, I ignored it being unsure of just what it was all about and suspected that it was a virus of some sort. I clicked “ignore” and it went away.  Great!!

When I got my new laptop home, I unpacked it, plugged it in and turned it on.  It fired right up, found my wireless site.asked for the password and connected to the world.  I could now start customizing my PC as I needed it to be.  YES!!!  So far, so good.

Since my laptop died after only 4 years of service, I knew it was time to buy a new laptop.  So,  I check the Best Buy website to see what I could get for what cost.  In the past, I have always purchased Dells.  But since the premature death of my Dell laptop, I no longer have any loyalty to the brand.  So, it was the most bang for the buck.  And, in the end, Best Buy had a HP that was $100 cheaper than the Dell offerings.  So, 10 minutes later after work, I was out the door with PC in hand.  YES!!!

The other day, my laptop PC went to sleep on me.  Since this happens quite often, I did not think much of it.  But, when I went to wake it up, it didn’t respond.  So, I tried again.  Still no response.  That is when I realized that it was gone.  It passed away quietly in its sleep.

Oh, I tried rebooting it.  I tried several times.  But, no response.  I tried to put in the “safe mode” but it wouldn’t load.  Then I tried to run the repair program but it just locked up on me.  Finally, I loaded the diagnostics disk and began running that.

The diagnostics disk told me that the memory was fine as was the CPU and the various I/Os.  But, when it got to the disk drive, everything failed.  After analyzing the results, I concluded that the disk controller had died.  And, since this is a laptop, everything is built into the mother board so it is doubtful if it can be repaired.

According to a local mattress store, you should change your mattress every 8 years.  Well OK!  I am sure that they are not biased in any way.