PC Repairs

:bademoticon: My desktop computer tower had to go in for repairs two days ago .  I had it custom-built three years ago, and now the fans are acting up.  I mean, you know something's wrong when you turn on your machine, and it makes buzzing, hissing, screeching, and deep hums that shouldn't be there.  I looked up the sounds online, so it was definitely not my hard drive failing (every computer owner's worst nightmare).  So I took it to the store where it was built and the techs today confirmed what I thought: two of the fans are having trouble and need to be replaced.  I was most relieved .  Components like that are easy to replace and much cheaper than some parts of the machine. 

Computers and me have had a long, complicated history.  My parents bought our very first family computer in 1991 (kinda showing my age here ).  It was a '91 Dell, and very primitive by today's standards, but in those days, it was the best a middle-class family could afford.  Plus, mom needed it for college.  It was most certainly a step up from her electric typewriter :bademoticon:, and way less noisy.  She told me how the most common thing college students in that time period would get with their grant money, (besides renting a Dorm room and getting classes), was buy a personal computer.  I believe we had laptops back then, but they weren't as common or high-grade as they are now.  One huge difference between early 90s computer use and today is, they got the same treatment TVs did in the 50s: one per household.  Heck, you should have seen our printer!  It was a loud, screechy Dot Matrix, but it suited the purpose of printing the college papers  mom wrote for her classes.  It was also the very first time I ever saw a computer mouse.  It was small, gray, rectangular, had only two buttons, no roller button, came with a wire to attach it to the PC, and ran on a roller-ball underneath (it was very common to steal those from the library computers at school in the late 90s/early 2000s).  Plus, it was necessary to have a mouse pad, with the roller-ball setup.  Nowadays people get mouse pads just for wrist comfort or out of habit. 

I think we upgraded at least twice in the next 9 years, and by 2000s, we had two computers: one for dad, and one for mom.  Dad turned out to be the PC gamer  in the house, while mom mostly just used her computer to write on, and she'd share hers with my brother and I.  Dad usually got the new computer first, with mom having the older machine.  Dad also did work on his computer, (he's a mechanical engineer, so I'm not sure what programs he would use, but it had to do with analyzing what he'd done at the power plant in recent history).  My brother and I would play games on mom's, and I would write my first few stories on there as well.  Sometimes my brother would play the same games as dad. 

Before I discovered I could save pictures in image folders, I took delight in my parents' color printers and would print out pictures to keep.  Incidentally, I would get in trouble for using up all the color ink . 

I inherited my very first computer in '07 when I was 21.  It was a Windows XP that was originally dad's, but he'd gotten a new PC and let me have it instead.  It was around that time I was introduced to Online Games and Sims 2 .  My brother and I had a blast, being able to communicate on our computers alone.  (My brother had his own PC by then too, though I think he bought it himself, rather than let our parents get it for him).  Sadly, the XP only lasted for a year before it finally bit it.  Not sure what it was; overheating, age, who knows .  The XP was already 3 or 4 years old when I got it, so the final breakdown wasn't unexpected.  I was unfortunately introduced to Windows Vista (or as we all like to call it, "Windows Shitsa") in '08 or '09, and it was quite an adjustment .  I don't remember how I got my next computer, but it was a Windows 7, and I bought it with college money, in addition to this laptop.  That was about 2010 or 2011.  Two years later, however, we had a home invasion at our new house, and one of the perps messed with my computer, causing the motherboard to burn out.  (I still want to beat the crap out of whoever was responsible for that ). 

So finally, when we went to get me a new PC, all they had was Windows 8 models, and I was happy with Windows 7 as an Operating System.  From what I heard and saw, Windows 8 was like Windows Shitsa all over again for users .  So I had my very first custom-built computer made.  I think I mentioned it in one of these journals back then.  It's worked very well for the past three years, and I'll be grateful to have it back soon.

After a while I've started to notice a pattern in personal computers.  Typically, a good machine, if used properly, lasts on average about 5 years.  It goes faster if you overuse, neglect, or abuse it .  My grandpa once joked that computer technology was developing so fast, the moment you got your computer home from the store, it was out of date.  In actuality, new technology comes out on the market, on average, every 18 months.  Sometimes sooner, depending on what it is.  So rather than breaking the bank on a new computer every 18 months, it's more practical just to get the best machine you can afford at the time , and upgrade it as well as keep it in good condition for as long as possible.  At least, that's why the textbook  from my computer class says, and it sounds like good advice. 

I'm sure my PC will be back home within the next day or so, so I'm not worried.