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For the last several years I’ve worked from two computers. One is a desktop computer that consumes my long-standing desk; the other a laptop that, when not traveling with me, sits on a long table I set up for my writing. I not uncommonly switch back and forth between the two, literally spinning my chair 180 degrees to type on the alternate keyboards. Now I’m fretting about not having any computer at all.
My desktop is about 7 years old. That is antique by computer standards. Recently it half-died in the most frustrating way. While the CPU turns on and the monitor lights up, it doesn’t recognize my keyboard or mouse. All the guides say to “click this” or “hit these keys” to fix it, yet neither of the devices needed to do so work. Plugging in a backup mouse and keyboard don’t help; they work on other computers but not this one. My friends tell me that it’s likely a motherboard problem and given its age I should just replace it. Luckily all my files were auto-copied in real time onto an external hard drive, so as far as I can tell I still have all my files (even the ones I wish I had deleted).
So I fret about what to do. Should I spend hundreds on a new motherboard and whatever else? Or should I just buy a new desktop computer? Or maybe not bother since desktop computers are so out of fashion?
After all I still have my laptop, on which I have typed most of my books. It’s what I’m typing on now. Hook up the external drive and I’m all set. Right?
Alas, not so much. Four years old itself my laptop is starting to feel middle age. The battery has gone from not lasting nearly long enough to not recharging at all. Again the online help suggests it’s some glitch that can be fixed by a 10-step plan involving turning it on and off while removing/replacing the battery. Ah, but of the three types of battery access available on laptops, mine is the kind that requires experts with special tools. Lucky me. I’ve now been working with it for weeks as I alternatively forget and procrastinate the problem into not getting fixed. This works as long as I have a place to plug in the machine. So I fret some more.
I’m good at fretting, it seems. Almost as good as I am at procrastinating. Meanwhile, I realize I have to install my photo and phone software on the laptop (it was only on the desktop) so I can write about my new trips. That and a “to do today” list that grows faster than I can cross items off.
Fret again.
Maybe I’ll just go read. It’s a great procrastinator and fret-free, at least until I come back to two barely alive computers that I’ve managed not to have fixed.
Sigh.
David J. Kent is a science traveler and the author of Lincoln: The Man Who Saved America, in Barnes and Noble stores now. His previous books include Tesla: The Wizard of Electricity (2013) and Edison: The Inventor of the Modern World (2016) and two e-books: Nikola Tesla: Renewable Energy Ahead of Its Time and Abraham Lincoln and Nikola Tesla: Connected by Fate.
Check out my Goodreads author page. While you’re at it, “Like” my Facebook author page for more updates!
Hot White Snow 
Wow… that’s a familiar lament. My primary is a desktop, but mostly just because it runs the server for my old workstation and VPN. Shifting to a laptop allowed me to move around the house, but it’s comparatively slow. So when the ancient desktop started acting up, I replaced it. Swapping computers isn’t a big deal since I keep everything on networked drives. But now the network equipment really needs to be upgraded — four terabytes isn’t much anymore, and it seems the game has been upped on gateway routers (us-cert”dot”gov/ncas/alerts/TA18-106A). One thing leads to another.
Up side is that the new desktop is much, much smaller. 🙂
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I’m still thinking I need a new desktop, even though I don’t have a server or networked drives. I like the idea of having a second place for my files and photos, which I don’t keep on the laptop (maybe I should). Plus it gives me the distance I need between my personal and business activities, not that I have much in the way of personal activity any more.
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I’ve always considered a desktop to be at the center of things. The laptop allows for some local portability, but I don’t generally haul them very far as they’re just too fragile. My current (fairly high-end) laptop is only 3-years old, but recently lost direct Ethernet function. Nowadays, I usually travel with a small tablet, although lately I’ve been considering a very small solid-state laptop.
A terabyte of external hard-drive space is cheap. I make a point to keep more than one copy of anything I value… more than that if I value it greatly. Drives die, and usually when they’re loaded. My old work files went onto a local Network Attached Storage (NAS) system that was set up to be self-repairing (RAID-6)… before the data would go off-site. Kind of overkill for anything I do now. That said, a portable drive, especially a solid state could give you the ability to move things easily, and provide some backup.
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Good points. One of the problems with my desktop was that I had a ton of old work files still on it. I did a lot of long reports and data files and lost some of it at the office because of the ludicrous way the the company stored files on the network, so I started emailing myself any interim and final work products so I had them in case the company lost them again. That’s also why I have a ridiculous amount of emails sitting in my system. There’s so much I should delete but can’t go through it because there is so much.
Definitely leaning toward a new desktop, especially since my laptop is no spring puppy either.
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I think it makes sense to play leap frog; gives one a chance to learn one new thing at a time. Plus I wouldn’t want to be without a working machine should one fail.
Things do get smaller and more crowded and more difficult to do do-it-yourself maintenance on though.
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That’s what I’m thinking, that I need more than one machine. I definitely need to get this laptop fixed asap as I’ll be trying again to do a road trip I had to cancel last week.
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I’ve had the no-charging problem that persists but made better just by getting a larger capacity charger. Simple fix and not expensive if done online….but it is not the whole solution to my problem. The whole laptop experience doesn’t seem to be designed to last for more than a few years.
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My laptop is 4 years old and I love it so want it to last forever. I’ll check out options for getting the battery fix.
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Oh dear. We are having exactly the same problems with the laptop. It’s six years old and the battery does not hold a charge. It also turns itself off randomly. I don’t know whether to buy a flashy iMac instead……
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Sounds like yours is on its last legs. Now I’m even more worried about mine.
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Sometimes I miss having a typewriter. Puts you more directly in contact with the words. When I was in high school, I wrote a short play. I typed it on a typewriter that had a two-colored ribbon. I typed the dialogue in red and stage directions in black. I still have a copy of it. Surprisingly, it hasn’t disintegrated with age!
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I’m actually glad I no longer have to type on a typewriter – too slow for my thought processes. The computer also lets me edit on the fly, which is a bear on the typewriter.
Exciting that you wrote a play in high school. Did it ever get produced?
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No, and I can’t even remember why I wrote it — probably an English assignment. It was just a simple little one-act modern version of Cinderella. Maybe I’ll dig it out and post about it one of these days!
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Definitely dig it out. Might be your inspiration!
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LOL Sounds like ‘management’ to me, either way
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