I think I hate microsoft.

Sorted the strange symbols from yesterday's post. Sorry 'bout that. I need to remember to remove & re-type hyphens, pound signs (as in currency not the thing we call a hash mark), euro signs, dollar signs and apostrophes because the site mucks them up. No idea why. That's computers for you.

Like my laptop. It's buggered again. I came that close to ripping the hard-drive out and setting fire to it this weekend (or doing something sensible like shipping it to some computer genius mates in Wales). Especially since my neighbour's brother-in-law is on holiday in Thailand and couldn't help.

Windows died on me. Can't start it at all. It claims there's a dll file missing or corrupt. I called the local computer shop. The chap there suggested that the only fix was to re-install XP. I pointed out that to do that would mean that I lost everything. (Since as usual I haven't done what I tell everybody else to do and backed up my stuff.) All my writing (including two chapters of one fic, the conclusion of another, and the half-finished story I've started for an online anthology). Two-thousand-plus photos. All my bookmarks and all my passwords, since I don't write them down but rely on Firefox to remember them for me. He told me that I could save them with Windows file transfer that was part of XP.

I told him he was an idiot. You can't use the file transfer wizard if you can't get in to Windows!!He told me he didn't know what else to do. I did - I went to Smith's (WH Smith - one of the UK's biggest bookshop/stationers).

I used the gift voucher my nieces gave me for Christmas to buy a book called Advanced Guide to Windows XP. It tells me that it's a boot record problem. The files are there, they aren't corrupt. My computer just can't find them. It has a solution. Two in fact, as it says there could be two reasons for the problem. It says to try the first & if that doesn't work try the second. Of course it means carefully following three pages of DOS commands which is not a good idea when you get home from work dead tired. So it will have to wait til the weekend when I have time and patience. I'll let you know how it pans out. Wish me luck *g*. And BACK UP folks!!

See you next week. Goodnight and may your God/s go with you.

Ze

CSI:Miami

• Chapter 17C of Choices by sinjenkai (Women in Kevlar).
  
  Glee
  
• The Magic Number by Angie (Her blog).
  
  Nurse Jackie
  
• The Quiet Before the Storm by doesnt_go_away (Saffic).
  
  Original
  
• Chapter 2A of Blood Lust by sinjenkai (Saffic).
  
  
• Chapter 6.1 of Flowers of Edo by Nene Adams (Her website).
  
  Stargate SG-1
  
• Knife's Edge - Part 11 of A Love Too Strong To Break by Arcturus (Area 52).