July 11, 2013

R.I.P., Laptop...

 As our dear, old friend, Ray Sommers used to say, "Some days it 
just don't go by the book." Today, my friends, was one of those days.

The day started innocently enough. I went to the studio with the intention of
finishing writing my Summertime Quilt pattern. I loaded my DVD into the
player to upload more photographs, only to find that it wouldn't spool up.
To make matters worse, it wouldn't eject either. I was more than a little
frustrated, so I figured that if I restarted the computer, it would behave.
I was wrong.

I've been pampering this for a few months, hoping to limp along for a few
more months. (Remember when I went to see Genius Ben at the Apple store?)
Nothing I did would eject the DVD, and the computer wouldn't boot because it
was trying to read the DVD. I had a "Catch 22" and I started talking to myself.
 If you ever wonder which keyboard keys get the most use, my six year
old MacBook Pro can help answer that question for you. Let's look a
little closer...E...R...A...S...D...F...C...
 M...K...and we have a winner!...N. Can we have a little applause for
the letter "N"? When the computer was on, this key actually just lit
up, with no indication of which letter it was. This old paralegal doesn't
have to actually look at the keyboard to type, so it didn't slow me down,
but the poor keyboard sure looked ever day of its age. Poor thing.
l-r: 13", 2.9 GH NEW MacBook Pro; 6 yr. old 15" MacBook Pro doorstop.
 Handsome and I packed up the laptop, hoping that it was only ill
and not deceased. I really wanted to transfer the information on it
to a newer model. No luck. No Last Rites. No "Goodbye and Thanks".
It's not "mostly dead"...it's "dead dead". No CPR wouldn't help. Dang! 

So, it was a bittersweet day. I purchased a brand new, smaller, lighter
leaner laptop, but I lost most of what I had on my old sweetheart. All
I'll be able to retrieve is what I managed to save on my last backup...
45 days ago. It's the old, "You ought to know better" story. I'll pull up 
my socks, take a deep breath and just do what I have to do. I'll be fine.
After all, I was able to write this post on my new baby, wasn't I?

My old laptop computer will join the ranks of all our previous Apple
"war horses". I may still contact one more individual who might be able
to retrieve the information on its hard drive, but for now, I'll tuck it into
a safe place and get to work on the newest addition to our stable of Apples.
DonnaAcornSignature

5 comments:

  1. How exciting to have a brand new lighter smaller Apple Pro. How very unhappy to have your old Pro die without so much as a goodbye or sharing of its internal information. Oh how we learn the power of daily backups. Soldier on my dear and embrace the new tool you now have...

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  2. May it R.I.P. I know this feeling well. Sorry for your loss but happy for the new arrival. :-)

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  3. It is so terribly frustrating when your computer dies especially when you have information on it that you need. At least you were able to get a brand new toy! :-)

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  4. Nothing like a new toy even if you do have the tiresome task of information retrieval or re-entry.

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  5. Oh man...I'm so sorry you lost all the work on your new pattern. DAG!!!
    Backing up all my stuff again just in case.

    xx

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Thank you so much for leaving a comment today. I'm using new settings on my comments so that I'll be able to respond to your messages to me. Be sure to come back to see my replies!

Blessings, Donna