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I have two primary computers, both desaktops, a fairly new E-machine and a custom built unit. For some reason they both simply shut down, and will not restart. I'm no computer expert, but fortunately I recently bought an older Gateway laptop on e-bay.
It's no super machine, but at least I'm online. Unfortunately, all my story notes are on my desktop. I'm still working on it-Luckily I was working on an outline for the next chapter while I waited for my kids, so that's on paper. I'll have a chapter up soon.
Today? Uhhhh...maybe?
Wren
Comments
Wild magic is to blame for
Wild magic is to blame for your computers problems! Tee hee!
Computer problems and Wild Magic
Waiting for more
May Your Light Forever Shine
Magic and Computers
Magic and Computers do not mix well. My good friend is a well knowned Eastern US reader who could not keep a computer working for more than a year. She got that long by using a big chunk of Iron Pyrite or hematite ,The non magnetic type. this kept the the system working longer but puzzled the IT person at the company she worked at.
PS
Yes This is Real.
Misha
The only bad question is the one not asked.
Power surge?
Maybe this can help. Have you had any blackouts or power surges recently? If so the power supplies on the machines might have gotten damaged. Emachines are not known for their top quality parts. They do have a tendency to break down faster. If you don't have the time or money to have them checked out I would get an external HD enclosure and just pull the hds. Then you will have all your notes on the laptop.
But usually when a pc won't even turn on its a hardware issue. Like I said earlier a power supply. It could also be as simple as a loose cable or a broken power button (I've seen it happen hehe). If you do find its a hardware problem I have plenty of spare parts here. If they are compatible, I'd be happy to send you the part for free.
Nikki
Pull the power plugs of both
Pull the power plugs of both machines, so they are getting nothing from the wall. Leave them that way for 10 minutes. Modern power supplies have a circuit that often trips in case of an overload, but it won't reset without a full discharge.
feel free to PM me for a phone number, and I can try to give you troubleshooting advice.
I'll get a life when it's proven and substantiated to be better than what I'm currently experiencing.
Chances are...
...even if the PSU or motherboard are dead, the hard drives will still be OK. Do you have any friends / relatives in the area that are knowledgeable about computers and could take a look? If it's a case of something relatively trivial that's gone wrong, they'd save you however much it would cost for a professional to look at it - and even if it turned out to be a dead bit of hardware, they'd be more willing to find the best value replacement than someone who'll charge you a 100% markup for buying / installing it.
In the meantime, pull the power leads out of the two malfunctioning machines for a few hours (or for a day or two) then try again. Sometimes they will spontaneously decide that after a nice long rest they'll start behaving again. If you do get them working again, buy a cheap memory stick and back-up your stories (and any important documents) onto it. Then if they die again, at least you've got a copy that's separate from the machine.
-oOo-
Anecdotally, I've heard they have a special chip that determines how urgently you need to use them, then create an appropriately-sized malfunction...
Oh, and they also belong to the photocopiers' union - another device fitted with the chip...
As the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, then only left-handers are in their right mind!
I suspect we've all had our share of computer problems
I've only recently had to recover my own system from a failure. In my case it seemed to be caused by a glitch in a routine programme update that I didn't think twice about accepting. Nor is this the first time I've had a computer die on me without warning. While I lost some of my most recent work the bulk of my files were safe because I store a lot of my stuff, and all critcal files, on external, plug in, hard drives (I have three of them). The most critcal stuff I store on at least two drives and regularly back-up each set of files.
During my most recent failure I was able to continue working with most of my files on the laptop that I keep as a spare until I got the main machine up and running again. The only problem I had is that I'm missing one critical programme on my laptop so all the files associated with that were out of reach!
Seriously, Wren, I would suggest that you look into investing in an external hard drive, most use a standard USB connection which will allow you to transfer the drive between computers with ease and, if you get in the habit of backing up your work at the end of each day, it will save you a lot of grief if you suffer another failure.
Hope this helps,
John.
As a complement to the
As a complement to the external hard drive that John is suggesting, I also suggest you get an account with one of the cloud solution providers, where you can upload your files to back them up. Google Docs, Box.net, and Dropbox come to mind.
Coming up north?
If you come up to the Cadillac area this summer, and your computers are still dead, bring them up and I'll take a look at them. At the very least, I can try to retrieve your data.