Re: Computer problems (Now with less drama!) · 4:39pm Aug 29th, 2014
I'm not in the habit of deleting journals, but I really need to break myself out of this get upset->post journal while empassioned->experience regret cycle I keep falling into. >:| I saved a couple comments from the previous journal and will repost them here for response purposes.
Anyway. I've had some time to reflect on the situation, and here's how it stands:
Microsoft Word on my desktop is in a state where it crashes when I try to close it. This has something to do with the newest version of Spybot deleting the wrong damn thing last time I tried to use it. Uninstalling and reinstalling did nothing, so theoretically, if I could find the right data folder for Word, I would be able to restore it from backup. (I tried restoring the Word program folder itself already, and that did nothing.) It'd be in those Windows/User/AppData folders that are complete nonsense.
Diagnosis: Irritating, but fixable. I could always just upgrade, since I have an Office 2010 disk sitting right next to my computer. I'd just rather save that as my last option. :( With Word broken, it's an easy excuse to not write. Definitely not the worst of my problems.
As for my laptop, it has been slowly dying over the past few years, most noticeable in how slow it is with Google Docs and certain other web pages, especially YouTube, both of which are primary ways I use it. Lately, it'd been having issues with losing connection to wi-fi, being unable to restore properly from hibernation, and, over the past couple days, needing to be hard-reset due to hangups on startup. As of this morning, it could not start Windows, hanging on the logo screen.
Assuming it's kaput, my options are thus: I could steal a laptop from someone else at home (or, I guess, borrow one from my friend who has dozens of computers in his home). This means I'd be able to at least read and write while working out, and probably listen to stuff while doing dishes (I wouldn't take it in the bathroom, as I have a feeling the humid atmosphere has likely damaged the laptop as well as the speakers I use). That might also give me the ability to record stuff, too, as right now my only option for that is to use my desktop when no one else is home (read: never), and that's too noisy for actual voice work. The audio editing I'm doing would be fine with that, but that also takes far more time than I tend to have available down here.
I'm going to try booting from a CD, but since the only CD-ROM I can use is USB, we'll have to see how that works. If it's a hardware fault, that won't do shit. (Thankfully, all I'll lose are my downloads of G2 and G3, which are easily retrievable from where I got them.)
I could try using my Kindle. It's been confiscated by others for nefarious purposes, and nothing says I can't confiscate it right back. Unfortunately, as I recall, the last time I tried using it with Fimfic, well, it plain didn't work, and I don't think it'd work for writing either. Certainly not for Youtube or recording. It might give me a way to be able to read on the treadmill, at the very least.
Now, someone has already offered to ship me an old laptop, which is an amazing offer, but the fact is, the situation isn't quite that dire. I will keep it in mind for another last resort option.
Now to the weather comments:
From horizon:
It would be devastating to lose your ponyfic work on multiple levels. You're a valuable presence in literally everything I enjoy about the community, and you've written some of my favorite stories of the writeoffs (I love it when you push my audacious crossover buttons, especially in more serious stories; the Hulk crossover in particular was way underrated), and I'll be damned if I'm going to sit by while technical issues sink that.
The top post on Dealnews this morning is a new laptop for $199 straight from Microsoft; it's a low-end machine, but if your old one is old enough for this sort of self-immolation then I would guess it's still better than your current box. It's got Windows 8 but I guess that can't be helped, these days.
I will double the first $50 in donations to the Buy Present A Present fund. $50 from me and $50 from the community gets you halfway to a brand new machine.
You're making me feel bad. ;_; Don't give me things, it's not worth it! Last last last resort at best. D: I'm not worthy.
From Silent Strider:
If you have some technical knowledge, I would recommend downloading Ultimate Boot CD, putting it in an USB stick (instructions close to the end of the linked page), and using it to determine if your laptop is busted or not. It's what I do when called to fix computers that I suspect of having hardware issues.
(It also includes a version of Linux that boots from the USB stick and can be used to get your files from the laptop, assuming it's not busted.)
I will try that Ultimate Boot thingy, it sounds good. :O And I do have a USB stick available. Thank you. I've considered it might be time for a tablet if I need a new thingy, but I'm not sure what all usability I'd get out of one. It would at least be enough for writing, from what I've seen.
So yeah. Sorry for being whiny again. I'll figure something out, I always do, and I've got a couple folks offering to help already, which is just awesome. Worst case scenario, I won't be able to listen to audiobooks (save for when playing video games! I found out recently that that works, but that time is limited) and my rec output will be severely limited. Not having a laptop would also put a damper on my ability to participate in writeoffs. But I still haven't exhausted all my options, so we'll see what happens. Thank you all again.
Nuu my witty and brilliant comment could have changed the world, now it's ruined, RUINED.
Good riddance.
But srsly. Vacation from internet. Just like a week. It does good.
B-but drama... it's dramatic.
I'm glad to hear things aren't quite as dire as they sounded. I's kinda worried laptop was the center of Ops, but I'm glad to hear that's not the case.
As to the Word issue, have you thought about OpenOffice? It'll open word docs too, and save them. Acts a little weird sometimes with regards to formatting and images, and it looks a little wonky if you're used to the ribbon (I am,) but it's open source and free to use.
Toodles!
Replace 'journal' with 'email', and this is basically my life right now.
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Which means two weeks spent catching up with everything I missed while away. <.< No thanks.
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I've used OpenOffice before, no idea why I don't now. But since I've got MicrOffice as an option, might as well, right? :B
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I'll probably just try the Ultimate Boot CD thing (once it finishes downloading, yeesh). Word of the day: emborkification.
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Things are hard. ._.
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You know. I find that when my backlog builds into a mountain I can guage how much something actually matters to me by how eager I am to scale it.
None of this "Don't give me things, it's not worth it" business! You are awesome, and don't you forget it, mister. But if you have other, more immediate computer resources you'd like to try first, then I'm willing to hold off on throwing money at you.
Good thoughts go with you.
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And you, too.
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw4761-056.gif
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I have this unfortunate problem where I can't miss anything. Everything is important to me. :/
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Hugs are always welcome.
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I recently put monies into my PayPal account...
Heck, I ain't using it. If the ball does get rolling, horizon, I'll match your $50.
If listening to things in the shower is important for you I would recommend getting something either so cheap it's disposable or else waterproof. There are waterproof bluetooth speakers that would fit the bill, for example, which would allow the device playing the sound to sit safely outside the bathroom, or you could use a cord extension to plug $5 speakers to a computer outside the bathroom.
(And I didn't pay attention to this before. If you have been using your laptop regularly while showering, it means that its cooling system has been circulating water vapor inside the machine for this whole time. This might not be an issue — depends on how your laptop's cooling system routes the air flow, and how resistant its components are to corrosion — but it does widen the range of potential issues and increases the possibility of component oxidation, which usually can't be repaired.)
BTW, does the laptop hang on the Windows logo screen, or the BIOS/manufacturer screen? If it's on the Windows screen then chances are good it's not completely busted. It might not even be a hardware failure, though I would still run a full memory and HD test to be on the safe side.
Regarding your Office woes, it might be worth keeping in mind the possibility of reinstalling Windows itself; it would require you to backup your data and reinstall all other software, but as often as not hunting for the issue actually takes more time than starting from scratch. It's impossible for me to say for certain which is better for your specific situation without diagnosing your computer, unfortunately.
(Windows 8 actually has a nifty auto-reinstall feature, named 'Refresh', which automatically reinstalls Windows without removing the user's files, though of course all other software will need to be reinstalled. I would make a backup just to be on the safe side, but I've never experienced data loss from using that.)
As for LibreOffice, it might be a good idea to keep it installed besides Microsoft Office; just don't associate MSOffice files with it and you will not even notice it's there until you run it. With two programs you get some redundancy, some wiggle room if something goes wrong with one of them.
Regarding a tablet's usability:
- I wouldn't use one to write anything long without an external keyboard; I hear some people can handle the on-screen keyboard very well, but I'm not one of those. Even with an external keyboard I use mine more as a last resort option, given that many of the tools I use on a desktop aren't available there. Not that it's bad, mind you, but between integrated dictionaries, easy online searches, my database of character speech, having a second monitor to keep research material in, etc, I find that I'm far more productive when using the desktop.
- For listening to things it would likely work perfectly, barring some rare corner cases of files with strange DRM, though for this any modern smartphone — even low end Android ones — should also fulfill your need.
- For reading it depends on the screen size and how well you can adapt to it — though, if you could use a Kindle, I guess you can get used to a 7" or larger tablet without issues. Some people have no issue reading on even smaller screens — I used to read EBooks on a 3" screen a few years ago — but other people can never get used to it.
- For watching things it depends on the specs and resolution, plus whether or not you can enjoy content on a small screen. Even low end tablets can handle low resolution youtube and assorted low quality videos nowadays, and a high end one can deal quite well with full HD video. My tablet is actually where I watch most things, dealing really well with everything from Netflix to full HD pony episodes, but then I used my laptop budget to purchase it, so I made sure to get a high end one.
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I've considered this, only recently unfortunately, but unfortunately doing that leaves me without the ability to stop continuous playthroughs. A recent YouTube update has made it extremely irritating to deal with, and videos quite often don't stop when you ask them to. :| (Although I just thought of a solution, so maybe it's not that bad.)
One of its problems has been running hot; over the last week or so, I've only been using it in conjunction with a cooling pad. That said, I have a feeling that using it with wet fingers is a larger issue, since I usually keep the window open, even in winter. (This is almost definitely what's wrong with the speakers.)
Logo screen. BTW, I couldn't get it to boot from UBCD at all. :/ "Missing operating system" error...
My laptop is set up for disposability of that sort, not so much my desktop. :/ Plus, wouldn't I just end up restoring the old, bad Word anyway?
Of course.
I use HDMI to hook the laptop up to a TV, actually. I don't expect a tablet would have that functionality.
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I just got a new job. Assuming it pays as well as I'm hoping, I could probably chip in some cash too, in a few weeks.
I could probably scrounge up a computer for you as well, PP. I do have my old heavy duty gaming rig i've been looking to move
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This is usually accumulated dust in the cooling system, which is common if the laptop is either old or used in dusty environments. Heh, just today I was fixing the same issue in my desktop's graphic card
If you are not scared of opening your laptop (and it's out of warranty) you can usually find complete instructions online for taking it apart and clearing out the dust. Just blowing compressed air through the vents might also work (preferably somewhere you don't mind making dusty in the process), though if you keep blowing for too much time with too much pressure it could damage the fans.
Do keep in mind that I did work with that in the past, so my point of view is that of someone that is not scared of opening his electronic devices. It's usually not hard as long as you proceed carefully and follow all instructions, but if you are not comfortable with opening a laptop it might be better to take it to a technician. Well, after you make sure it's worth fixing.
I forgot about that. You need to run the batch file that turns the USB stick into a bootable one from an administrator-enabled command prompt, otherwise it won't be able to make it bootable.
(How I run the command prompt as administrator: at the start menu, search for "CMD", right click on it, and select "Run as administrator".)
It would have to be reinstalled from scratch, at which point it should, hopefully, work as new. But, if your believe the effort in reinstalling everything would be too big, the best course of action might be to keep that as a last resort.
Some actually do; there's a way to cram an HDMI output into a Micro-USB port, and some tablets, and even smartphones, use that — I saw a nifty demonstration one time of a smartphone plugged to a full HD TV, with bluetooth mouse and keyboard, working almost as a computer. It does require an adapter that usually does not come with the device, though.
Or, depending on your TV and the tablet, you might be able to just stream your screen to the TV over Wi-Fi. Mine can do that. Or you could pick a Chromecast, it's relatively cheap and currently allows streaming the screen from some Android devices.
This varies a great deal according to model and brand, though. If you want this possibility, some research when purchasing is in order.
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A friend suggested I might try cleaning it out. I've never tried with a laptop before, but since it seems not much could make it worse, maybe I'll try.
Aw crap. D: Good thing I still have the instructions open!
Dat fund name doe.
Also, eww writing in a local editor. I mean, if GDocs is laggy enough to not be usable (and I've tried writing on such a machine, so I can sympathize) then I guess it's your only option and you have my deepest sympathies. But a few months ago my machine got crippled by a virus and required a disk reformat. Like the lazy person I am, I hadn't been backing up all my files, so I lost a few TurboTax files (which I at least had hard-copy print-outs of). If I had lost my only copy of WIP horsewords? Just the thought alone makes me nauseous. No, my friend, documents on the cloud is the way to go. The fact that it's available anywhere, and instantly saves while I'm writing (e.g. wrote for an hour, PC crash, forgot to save) are just icing.
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). The error message is more than a tad cryptic...
My brother, who actually is a computer technician, made the same mistake (which is why I knew the answer
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I use Google Docs for horsewords for two other reasons:
- Pressing <Ctrl><Shift><Y> finds the definition of a word, and with a few more clicks I have about all the info I could ever want about it — images, a Google search, whatever. Really useful for me, given that I typically need to research usage for a large number of words.
- Its spell checker actually understands horsewords. It's nice not seeing red squiggly lines under "everypony", "canterlot", "Celestia", etc
Syncing between my tablet and my desktop is just the icing on the cake
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Totally this. Although I do it a little differently: I've got Scrivener for editing (which runs on my local computer), and then I simply keep all my writing files in my Dropbox folder, which transparently syncs them between every Dropbox-enabled computer and also keeps a backup in the cloud.
Google Docs is a little cranky on my older machines, and I've had show-stopping problems with trying to make massive edits in it (like copy&pasting in 10k words at once), so it's not my go-to solution, but there's no substitute for it when you're prereading/editing and want feedback from others.
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I detest writing in GDocs and only do it when I'm trying to hide certain conventions of my style. :B I use Dropbox for clouding. (And physical backup once I'm done.)
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See, you say that. But what happens when the machine learns too well?
i.imgur.com/la6mO27.png
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Oh, I see. It suggests words we have been using, interesting...
Wait, does this mean that if I fed it, say, every text from Terry Pratchett I can find, it will suggest words to make my writing more like that author's?
I read fanfics on my kindle more often than not.
If I download the fanfics as epubs, they don't work at all, and downloading txts messes up the formatting just a little bit. The best way I found is to download as htmls and then rename each one as a txt. A little tedious when you're putting 30+ fanfics on there at a time, but it works.
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I've had a really hard time downloading things and putting them on my Kindle. :/ It's just not as easy as you'd think it would be.
I seem to remember Calibre doing a good job of getting epubs on my Kindle, but I haven't used it for about two years, ever since I broke its screen and found out that sending it overseas for repair would cost more than purchasing a new one