Computer update

So, the uprising of the computers has been squashed....at least for the time being. Oh how I was frustrated, though! I even got to the point that I cleaned out the storage closet in the spare room to find our old desktop for our jukebox, which is currently still in the developmental stages and doesn't have a working power supply, so that I could use that to access my accounts and the internet and pay bills.

Mike came home yesterday morning, after successfully re-driving his 7 deleted routes and began tackling the laptop/internet issue. Several hours....okay, like 9 hours later, he began backing up all of the data on the laptop. Then, this morning, he reformatted the hard drive. Now, this totally scared the crap out of me, because:

1) Our in-laptop DVD drive is broken, so we have a USB DVD burner that we use

2) For the longest time he couldn't get windows to boot up from the DVD drive

3) We didn't have a working computer, and can't be computer-less as we pay all of our bills online.

He finally got Windows to boot from the DVD, and got it installed. YAY! Also, the internet now works! YAY! Of course, I'm back to using stupid IE, instead of totally awesome Firefox, but that's okay for the time being.

Now, this didn't solve all of our computer problems. See, we have a Dell laptop. Apparently the Dell power cables are crap, because we are on our 3rd cable in 3 1/2 years. Yep. That's right. And, we need to buy a new one. I just bought a power cable in February. Can you believe it? I can't believe that they don't make them last longer! How dumb. Anyway.... the issue is that either the power cable is shorting out, which is a possibilty, or the computer jack that the cable goes into to charge the battery is no longer holding the cable in. Now, if it were just a cable issue, I would grudgingly shell out the $40+ to get a new one. But, since we don't know if it's the cable or the computer, I didn't really want to do that. Especially when they are non-returnable.

So I bet you are asking how we solved this problem? Well.....we decided to build us the coolest, most kick-A desktop computer ever! The way we see it is: we were going to build a home theater PC this year anyway, so since we need a computer now, why not? Besides...when you can buy the top of the line components for the same price as a basic-not-so-good laptop, which we don't really need the portability feature, why not build something that will last forever?

Mike built his parents a desktop about 10 years ago, and the only problem it has had is that the harddrive went out about 3 years ago. That means it lasted about 7 before kicking the bucket. That is the only problem. They have upgraded the video card and the ram since then, but no major problems with the beast.

So, we looked at the track record: 10 years and still going strong with a customized desktop or 3 1/2 years and pooping out with the Dell. Hmmmmm.......which should we do? which should we do? I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW! DESKTOP!

We actually just got back from EBC Computers in Orem where we bought all of the components. Oh it is sweet! Mike is putting it together right now as I type. I'm so excited! The cool thing about it is it has HDMI built in, so we can just hook it right up to our tv. SWEET! I'll post photos when he's done. Hopefully tonight. I'm so excited! (can you tell?)