If It Is Broke, Then Replace It

    I have had a lot of things breaking down on me lately, with the capper being my computer last week.  That is the reason why there wasn't a post last Wednesday.  Let me update some of the problems I have been having.  First, my watch band snapped a few weeks ago.  I was finally able to get it to a jewelry repair store, but they said they weren't able to fix the damage.  The watch still works, as long as I remember to shake now and again to self-wind it.  I might be able to get a new band though, but it might be difficult to replace it.  Next, my electric shaver stopped working two weeks ago.  As I mentioned in my last regular post, I was trying to find a way to fix it or get a new one.  I checked an online troubleshooting site, but nothing seemed to match my problem.  I went to a local big box store to see if they had anything I could buy as a replacement.  Well, I knew they were kept locked up, even though the trimmers weren't and some of them cost just about as much. However, the shavers were stored with the bottoms of the packages face out. I couldn't tell what brand and model was which.  Let's not even mention about how hard it would be to find a sales clerk to open the cabinet for me.  Well, while I was shopping around, I had someone else call the toll-free number about how to dispose of my old shaver.  Out of nowhere, the company sent me a new, replacement model for free.  I'm not sure why, but I'm thinking that there was a recall of the old model and I missed the notification. I did register my shaver when I first bought it, but I think I remember not using the right zip code for the mailing address and I may have unsubscribed to the notifications after a while.  Still, the new one charges much faster and lasts for about the same amount of time as my old one.  Now, for my old computer.  Last Wednesday, I was doing my regular routine. I checked my email, and then I started watching my YouTube shows before going on to my blog.  I was just starting my video when the screen froze, the audio began to repeat, and the cursor vanished.  The screen then went dark.  I tired turning the computer off and on.  It tried to come back on, but quickly turned off again.  I checked some of my guides for help.  Again, it only partially worked before failing.  I got on my phone and checked Apple's support site for help.  Again, nothing seemed to fully work.  When my mother cam back it, she suggested a friend of hers who is an avid Apple user to see if he knew anyone who could look at it.  He suggested someone, but they didn't work on Apples, but hey knew someone who did.  We called him and described the problem over the phone.  He didn't seem to be that enthusiastic about the chances he could fix it and save my data.  Finally, my mother suggested the technician who works for the town we live in. She called him, and he managed to get to the store a few hours laters.  He looked at my computer and diagnosed the possible problems.  It didn't look good.  He helped me order a new computer, but was somewhat confident that he might be able to save my data.  Well, even though we ordered it overnight, it took almost two days to arrive because it was ordered so late in the day.  The good news was that he figured out why my old computer died.  I can't really explain it all, but there had been numerous warning signs that I had missed for weeks if not longer.  The bad news was that he didn't have the equipment needed to ship the data over to my new computer, although if I had gone through Apple directly like I wanted, it could have.  He was able to salvage the hard drive, so if I ever can find someone who has the equipment, I can restore the data.  Most of the things I lost are also stored on the cloud, so I can retrieve them whenever I want.  Many of my downloads are also stored on other servers, so I can get them back without any problems.  My videos are also stored on YouTube and/or Facebook, so I can retrieve those as well.  A few things are now unavailable, as they aren't easy to get back, but most of them would ultimately be trashed at one point anyway.  The biggest hassle was the passwords.  While I had copies of most of them off my computer, some rarely used ones weren't, especially the very long ones suggested by the computer itself.  I'm now going to have to redo each one and that is the worst.   I can't even remember everything that had a password.  I'm finding new ones every day.  I'm now so scared of what can happen to my new computer, that I'm not using it as much as I used to.  Should I run it off the battery or the cord?  How long should I go before recharging?  I have seen multiple ideas, not all of them agreeing. I know I shouldn't fully recharge it that ofter.  That accident led to the death of my old one.  However, I am still afraid of another disaster.  The final straw is that my old mouse won't work with my new computer.  I have to use the trackpad only until I can find a cheap, newer one.