[Irish]

So ... it was like this ... Sunday morning our computer decided to update our Norton's virus protection as it does every morning. Except Sunday for some reason Norton's after the update decided we had 864 copies of some virsus on our system.

Now this was a bit odd and distrubing as my Michael runs everything through Norton's ... I mean everything. And then twice a week he has our system set to do automatic scans that can take up to 2 1/2 hours to run through all the hard drives he has attached to our beastie.

Which we didn't because no matter how many times Mike ran all the different scans and tests there were NO virsuses to be found anywhere ... So he spends all day chasing these 864 warnings, cleaning-restarting-864 more warnings-searching-restarting 864 warnings again. This went on until late afternoon when Norton updated again all by itself. When the second update was complete and the 'puter restarted we suddenly had NO viruses.

He had spent the whole day chasing hiccups from the first Norton's update.

So it was late evening Sunday before I got my chance at the computer ... just enough time to read the message board but not enough to post.

So Monday comes, everything is good, everything is working until dinner time. Right after dinner we had a thunder storm. Now it happens that we were just headed out to the library so Mike shut everything down and unplugged the phone lines to the computer and unplugged the power cord and off we went.

So ... It's Monday night, we're home, the storm is over and it had been a doozy of a lightening storm ... Can you guess where I'm going with this

Everything is plugged back in but the computer won't turn on ...???... OK...???... Open the case, everything looks ok, we have incoming power but the computer won't turn on. HMMM! We don't have cable either .... HMMM?

So it now appears that lightening fried our providers cable lines including their servers and the voltage surge came through the cable with the last thing on the circuit being our motherboard .... AHHHHH!

We got toasted.... So it's Tuesday, the computer repairman comes, announces the worst case senerio domes day results and carries our poor beastie off the the shop. We grab our hats and head to town to buy an emergency notebook ... AHHHHH!

So, it's now Friday night. We still don't have cable, our beastie won't be ready until sometime in the middle of next week. But we have been up and running since Tuesday afternoon because my Good, Blessed, Wonderful Webmaster hubbie runs three external hard drives.

We plugged the new notebook in, he attached one of the hard drives to the new computer and we had all our data right at our finger tips.

So ... I have learned two thingsies ... Opps phone! I'll be right back

Susan

[Ashbys]

Susan ,
Dang sounds like the week from ......

Glad to see you back on line and as usual leave us hanging ... now for the rest of the Story ......




Garry

[decoycarve]

AHHHH! life with computers. Aren't they grand? Don't feel bad I have hit keyboards so hard I have broke them clean in half. I have disassembled hard drives for some factorys and removed the wafer stack in the drive and reassembled them in a new drive and got 70% of the factorys data back. I program logic controllers for machinery. If I mess up or the computer loses data the Machines do some wild things. You should see the Cookie Monster at work go bezerk. Chucks giant Chocolate chip cookies everywhere. I have literaly had to run when the machines go bezerk. Now with my bad Knees I just get hit with the cookies.
Glad you survived the devestation!
Goody

[Irish]

So ... for the rest of the story

1. External hard drives are dirt cheap insurance policies for all that good stuff you have somewhere on your main hard drive! I promise, see me cross my heart and spit on the sidewalk, will never again complain about the clutter on the desk because Mike has three externals set up to our system. Nor will I ever again complain, see me go outside, turn around three times and say "On my Mom's Grave!" that some automatic data backup suddenly pops up late in the evening when I wanted a couple more minutes on the beastie.

If you don't have one - get one now!

2. I have the very best hubbie, the very best friend and the very best webmaster that any gal could ever ask for and tonight as I sit here typing away I am sooooo appreciative of him and all he does to 'take care of me"!

If you don't have one - get one ... but not mine!!!!

Susan

[Kenny_S]

Yep, I know what you mean Susan, well about 'puter problems. Got three connected together on a wireless hub. Connected on a wireless hub? Yes, this one you can hard wire up to 4 pc directly and up to 250 wireless as long as they are within 150 foot of the hub/router.
One of the PCs that is hard wired is basicly acts as a server and is where the anti-virus ,spyware,spam and pop up blocker program run. It is also our print server. The little bride has he PC in "The Scrapbook room" andI have one in my Den, 'puter,junk room.
And she has a laptop for when she is setting in front of the family room tTV and she wants to instant message any of her friends.

Then there is the Cable ISP who have foreigners who ask if you have restarted the pc, power cycled the modem, Blah, blah, blah, when they have a server outage and then tells you their equipment is fine and no problem. I need to have Their techie come and look at MY set up. Ok, an hour later, we have service and not techie has come to the house. Cancel Techie call.

Ah the wonderful world of PCs.

What can we do without them?

Spend more time carving eh?

[Just Carving]

Susan,

Sorry for all your computer woes. Now, I'll buy the external backup, I'll buy carving books and magazines, I'll buy carving tools and wood---BUT I DON"T CARE WHAT YA SAY, I AIN'T GETTING NO HUSBAND, AND THAT'S FINAL!!!!

[Irish]

Well! Bob! That's just fine with me .... if you don't want a hubbie that's your decision .....

ROTF-LOL


Susan

(Susan, I don't think you chose your words well for #2. Maybe I should have said something like "life companion" or "significant other" or "soul mate".

Nah, but I will make it "Get yourself a good hubbie or little woman or a 9 year old techie nerd!"

[Kenny_S]

I am Glad Bob!!!

Susan, I know one more thing you will be doing, unplugging the cable connection from now on, eh?

Oh, The last time I had problems with the ISP was they do not support my modem. I gave them the brand name and model number,So, I said, Have your Service person bring me a modom(theirs) instead of mine. Guess what they brought me, The same dang brand and model. HEHEHEHEHE for what the Hepdesk at Cox knows. but since the service guy was so nice, I let him hook it up, billed me and guess what number 2? Yep, still having problems. But this time, the service techie said, he would have to investigate more on the problem. Hmmm, Means, they will not do anything.
Welcome to the real world of high speed internet.

[Irish]

Kenny,

Yes, absolutely, always ... our little beastie will be disconnected from EVERYTHING the next time the skies rumble ... AHHH! It will be stark naked.

Our Cable ISP has been up front and honest with us in all of this. Apparently a huge area is down from Frederick to Mt. Airy, MD to the Virginia Potomac River boundry. I would say an area with at least a 15 mile radius.

So where we got toasted they got nuked!

Of all the things that have happened here in the studio this week there is one thing that really stands out to me. The computer repairman was disconnecting our tower and talking with Mike as he did it.

He said, " The eternet must have taken a direct hit, channeled thorugh the cable to your router and ran through the circuit taking out your motherboard. Now since you run a Raid drive off #1 we will have to try and see if your motherboard was propietary. If not you may be looking at a full Windows re-installation so we will make a ghost of your hard drives first!"

What about that surprised me ... This little 70"s hippe freak who at one time could barely say "Peace, Man" (see the hip hugger blue jeans and the v for victory hand sign) understood everything that repairman said.

Odd where life takes you and even odder what you realize you have learned along the way.

Yes, #3 UNPLUG THE CABLE!

Susan

[Kenny_S]

I am surprised the router didn't fry first.
Understand the RAID as many uses their external drives as a DAID. Not a normal RAID but one non the less. I have five externals on the PC acting as a server and that is the one with backup drives. Two drive are nothing but a morroe copy of our other two PC, the Anti Virus,spyware,spamblocker, pop up blocker, firewall etc. Sometimes that one give me fits.

Funnything when the service tech came by, be said "WHOA, you aren't our typical know nothing customer. I said, Well son, after 35 years in a moajor oil company'sIT department, I might have picked up a thing or two. But then, I don't know it all and have not kept up with technology since I retired in 03. But then, I am a firm believer that you can make a helpdesk techie,even a bad one out of anyone. It is apparent our local ISP gets theirs from the,,,,, never mind. but then, Some don't speak no English.

Best to you and a nice week end your way.

BTW, My 8 year old Granddaughter has had computerclasses in grade school. She will be in the third grade this year. Nothing like starting them early and already knows a lot of Spanish.