I love computers. I’m betting you do too.
I hate computer “problems.” I’m betting you do too.
Last year, my 1 ½ year old laptop—a first for me—crashed. Like I turned it on, and nothing happened crash. I panicked. My books! My stories! My life!!!
![computer-smile[1]](https://sisterhoodofsuspense.files.wordpress.com/2019/05/computer-smile1.png?w=368&h=260)
I had a warranty on this laptop. I don’t buy warranties and a nice tech man put a new solid-state hard drive in. I sent the old hard drive off to have material retrieved (which, by the way, cost more to have done than the actual computer). Soon I was back in business.
But in the back of my head was “when is this going to happen again?”
Last week, my computer program was corrupted. I had everything saved, all was wiped, and restored. I had to spend several hours again to bring it up to speed.
Again, my brain went to the dark side— “when is this going to happen again?”
One week later, my laptop wasn’t running well. I determined to have the security software company run its scans. I’d paid for this premium service after the crash and could use as much as I wanted. Fortunately, what they found was no big deal (except in my head) and no virus had attacked it.
I’m still having thoughts of “when is this going to happen again?”
I don’t like living like that. Maybe that’s normal for laptop people. I’m not sure. I don’t watch movies, TV stuff, or do games. I write and buy handbags. So why me?
After a huge discussion with Handsome, I decided to buy a new laptop, but what kind?
So, I’m appealing to you and your computer knowledge…what kind of laptop do you like?
No problems here! Just lots and lots of laughs and happy every afters! “Some had me laughing out loud and others had me saying…awww. Quick little stories and a great way to escape from the stress of the day and just sit back and enjoy. Each story shows how two people meet. Sunshine, humor and heart all rolled into one enjoyable book.”
Find yours at:
Amazon Amazon print Nook Other vendors
Word by Word 
Oh, my gosh, Vicki! Bless your heart. I feel your angst!. Our big computer did that once. I got Carbonite, so I know I can retrieve if something goes wrong. I work predominantly on my big computer, a dell with a large screen. I recently bought a Surface Pro to carry with me on trips or to meetings. But I promptly email the docs to myself so I can work on the big computer. (Have I mentioned that I really like my big screen computer?) LOL I admire you guys who can do serious work on laptops or the smaller things.My fingers hit all kinds of wrong keys with the Surface Pro, so I spend a fair amount of time redoing once I get to the big screen, but it’s better than taking notes by hand, since I can’t read that at all. Hope some folks have good ideas for you on what to buy. My old laptop was a Dell, too. Maybe they make them lighter now. I’ve shared. 🙂
LikeLiked by 3 people
Thanks, Marsha! A while back I had a Dell desktop and a HP mini for traveling. But the mini’s software wouldn’t update any more. Very frustrating. The Dell XPS is supposed to be lighter. (I’ve been doing homework. LOL).
LikeLike
Oh boy, been there, done that, and it’s scary, isn’t it?
I’m on my fourth laptop since 2007, each a different brand than the last. I LOVED my first which was a Toshiba, didn’t love my Certified Data, half-loved the HP but the hinges kept breaking, and I have no complaints about my current which is an Asus.
When I shop for a laptop my single “must have” is a keyboard without a number pad on the side because then it is a wider alphabetical keyboard and I can type with my hands (and of course the laptop itself) centered on my lap instead of off to one side.
But my best ever purchase is a separate, full-sized keyboard which is what I use most for writing. I can have the laptop on the table, desk, or stool in front of me and my keyboard in my lap. The keyboard is over ten years old now but is still ultra sensitive/responsive and I type faster on it than on my laptop or desktop 😀
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m a Toshiba laptop fan. I’ve never had a desk top, and don’t know what I’d do with a tablet. Had one HP, kept breaking down.
Good luck, Vicki. I feel your pain. We used to do this without computers. LOL Looking forward to hearing what you settle on. My newest is about 5 years old, which is getting up there in techno land.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Mary! I don’t know much about Toshiba and am off to check out now. I had an ipad and gave it to my son. I don’t know if I would be writing without a computer; at least, I know I would be writing differently. Thanks for stopping by!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I get you on the keyboard thing. I don’t get touchpads. They force the keyboards toward the screen. For those of us who learned typing first, our hands are in the wrong place. I could do without touchpad and just mouse forever. Hugs!
I’d like to know more about your Asus.
LikeLike
Hi Vicki! I’m so sorry to hear about all your troubles with computers. You asked about laptop advice and here’s mine: Acer Aspire 12 GB. Not only is it affordable but sturdy. We’ve had ours for a couple years without any issues. We also have two Acer tablets and they are just as good.
I’d also recommend Webroot for security software. They are the best and again affordable.
Good luck!
LikeLiked by 1 person
This is good to know. I had webroot. #1son recommended Kaspersky. Thats been ok. Thanks so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, no! First, I’d suggest saving your important files to Dropbox or another cloud-based app for safekeeping.
I have a MacBook Air and would never go back to Microsoft products now. There’s a bit of a learning curve if you’ve never used an Apple product, but it’s worth it. Macs are known for safety and durability.
Best of luck, my friend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have saved many ways so this wont happen. Lots of people suggest mac. Im ambivalent. In comparison reports Dell rates higher. Sigh
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have a Toshiba Satellite which I like. My husband bought a Samsung notebook which he likes. The one thing that I do (and many people have mentioned) is to have a backup. I have a hard back up and also dropbox. I’m really hoping that if something happens, I won’t have lost everything!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi, Melissa! I’ll look at the Toshiba satellite. I have never researched this one. Yup, drop box. One Drive. Hard drive. Email to me. All the above. Thank you.
LikeLike
The only laptop I’ve had is what DISD gave me. It was a Dell. However, my desktop Mac failed me after 13 years. What saved me was the external hard drive. When I got my new computer I set it up with the hard drive and bing bang boom everything was exactly has it was on the old one. I will never be without one again.
LikeLike
Im sorry to hear about your Mac. I should get an external drive. The peace if mind….
LikeLike
As I read over your problems with computers, you might want to consider a Chromebook. They are like a laptop but you don’t load programs on them or save stuff to them (which solves the problems you mentioned of losing your work or the program corrupting). Everything works from the Internet and your cloud drive. If they won’t turn on, you reset everything (which doesn’t lose stuff because you saved nothing to it) or buy a new one. They’re pretty cheap–a couple hundred dollars or more, depending upon what you want.
They take a little getting used to because they work everything from the cloud. Good luck with the problems!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hi Jacqui! And thank you for your suggestion. #2son thought something similar too. This is a suggestion I’m going to have to think long and hard about. It’s the whole learning curve thingy. Handsome said something about perhaps my computer was a lemon. I thought about that. We have lemon cars, appliances, why not computers.
LikeLike
To follow up, I bought a Dell xps 15. #2son and I reviewed several of your suggestions. He was especially impressed with a Chrome book. Thank you for weighing in. Your assistance was invaluable. Hugs!
LikeLike