Okay, so I switched from the actual jukka theme, and I'm using jukka emulation. I like it, I can barely tell the difference, so now I feel like I'm doing something new in an old set of clothes. Perfect!
That said, the subject of this day log is my bequeathing of the highly computer-savvy among E2's population to offer me some advice. You see, I've got computer problems... serious ones. (Skip to starred list if you are not interested in back story)
Before I talk about the problems, let me first say that I replaced my very first computer mainly so I could play Diablo II. I feel sort of guilty about that, as that computer gave me many happy memories. But, the upgrade turned out to be beneficial for more than just my gaming; I was about to start college, and the pure workload I needed my computer to help me finish was already increasing.
My mistake was in giving the old one to my selfish sister. I've no chance of ever reclaiming it now, as she sold it at a yard sale, but I thought I learned my lesson. I was wrong.
Cut to mid 2008, when I realized I would need to upgrade my video card so I could play another damn computer game! Gosh, I'm such a sellout! Another mistake I made was in taking my precious computer to a shady repairman, but hey - he was the only "computer guy" in town.
Long story short, the game worked. But gradually from then to now, my computer's performance and abilities have deteriorated more and more. Now, in the beginning of 2010, I go through a daily hassle just to get it to cooperate with me. Here is a list of just some of the things that are seriously wrong with my computer:
* Any time I try to do too much at once, it cuts off and reboots.
* Sometimes it will cut off and reboot when I open Word, Excel, Yahoo Messenger, Internet Explorer, or Firefox.
* I often get the "Not Responding" alert in the title bar of my applications.
* Sometimes, upon booting, it will freeze or lock, and I must reboot. Sometimes I must do this several times.
* It often takes upwards of five minutes for an application to open once I've double-clicked it.
* Sometimes upon copying and pasting to Word, it will crash and reboot.
* The CD-Rom drive will make a very loud and annoying buzzing sound while it is spinning a disk.
* The CD-Rom drive will often not recognize a disk at all, and manual attempts to run the disk are fruitless.
* Windows Media Player can no longer display video feedback, and when I try to play video footage, the whole computer will lag to a ridiculously unworkable slowness that doesn't go away when I close the player.
* I can no longer successfully download and run applications or executables from the internet.
As stated before, those are just some of the problems. I had made plans to purchase a new computer when I receive my tax refund, but even if I were to buy a new computer, I still have things on my current one that I need and want. I'm wondering if some of you could advise me through making a complete (or as close as possible) backup of the things I want to keep. Obviously, games can be re-installed and certain applications can be re-downloaded. But I have an expansive collection of Firefox Bookmarks, as well as word processing documents, old school work, pictures, music, etc, that would be at the very least awfully difficult to replace.
Considering some of the cheapest computers I've seen out there (three or four hundred US dollars) are stronger than the specs I'm running now, buying a new computer isn't a bad idea... but I'm just wondering how much it would take to fix my current one.
Again, any advice is most welcome, including links to places where the people deal with this sort of thing daily. Thank you all.