Computer Died

The computer died yesterday. While trying to type something on it, it suddenly froze on me and then even "ctrl-alt-del" was to no avail. So I waited to see if it would "awaken" somehow. But it didn't.

I first brought it down to the Columbia IT Helpdesk. And the engineer took a look at it and tried to switch it on but then it froze on him as well. First opinion: hardware problem. He then recommended WL Computers to me as he said they're pretty reliable and charge lower fees than elsewhere (notably the company that Columbia signed a referral agreement with).

Next stop: WL computers. I rushed down right after Corporations class and found it along 37th St. The guys there were really friendly and it turns out that Jesus (pronounced "Hay-zeus" -- it's Spanish -- the guy working at Columbia IT) was a friend of these guys. They also diagnosed the poor machine as suffering from motherboard problems. So they'd take a closer look and let me know.

The next day I called them up and it turns out that the motherboard diagnosis was correct. But then they didn't have the motherboard that my Toshiba Tecra 9100 needed -- their vendor did not have it and I think they also had a contractual agreement with that vendor.

So I called this other company I googled: Men and Machines. When I called up I told them I had a motherboard problem with my Toshiba Tecra 9100, and the girl on the phone goes, "Oh yeah, I can't give you a diagnosis over the phone cos the Toshiba Tecra 9100 has 2 parts to the motherboard so I'd have to take a look and then quote you a price." Wow, I thought, she knows her stuff so I think I'll send it down tomorrow for her to take a look.

All in all though, I think having the computer konk out on me at this time is not too bad. I have no papers to hand in urgently, and I can still use the computers in the library. Vinay said I looked quite pitiful in Corporations having to handwrite my notes. But then I'm used to it after 3 years of frantic note-taking in Cambridge. Without the computer, and the concomitant ills of MSN and web-surfing, I have time to read and spend more time doing QT. I just started reading Michael Ondaatje's "Anil's Ghost" which is quite interesting -- it's a fictional piece set in real Sri Lankan current history, about a Sri Lankan-born, US/UK-bred forensic scientist working for the Centre for Human Rights in Geneva, sent to Sri Lanka to investigate the alleged killings going on. Who's doing the killing and why? Is it the Northern guerillas, or the insurgents in the South, or worse, the Government?

I'm going down tomorrow to collect the computer from WL Computer and send it to Men and Machines (haha actually the latter sounds rather queer). Hopefully they get it done soon enough.

Meanwhile, if you don't see me on MSN, you know why.