But a new one is supposed to work.
The new computer we ordered arrived while we were in San Antonio. It wasn't supposed to get here until today, actually, and the FedEX guy was here on Monday. No one was home so he left a note that April signed for us so it would be redelivered Tuesday. It was ready and waiting when we got home. Well, the box was ready. And I was waiting.
I did some of the initial setup stuff Tuesday night in between watching America's Got Talent acts. There is a lot to do with a new computer. All that registering and opening software for the first time and accepting the terms of the user agreements. But all day Wednesday I spent in front of the screen. I typed my blog on the new keyboard. It's very different from the old one. I didn't realize when we ordered it that it was a full sized one, with the numbers off to the side. That makes the keys seem closer together. And the positions of things are different, too. I kept hitting number lock when I wanted to backspace. It's just something to get used to, I know.
I made the mistake at one point of restarting the computer. And before it shut down it informed me that it would be loading up some updates it found online. Fifty-two of them. That took almost an hour. And then when it restarted, it had to finish installing all of them. I finally started transferring files over from the old computer. I got one big file of pictures done, then started on Word files. That was tough. I had to go through my teachings file and copy what I thought I might need in the future. The rest went to our external hard drive backup. Copying them wasn't all that hard, but I couldn't figure out where to put them in the new Windows 7 system.
All that finally accomplished, I decided to personalize the desktop. I did what should have been a simple maneuver. Right click on the desktop and follow the instructions, right? I got to the box that asked me to choose what wallpaper I wanted and it kicked me back to the first screen. Odd. Not to be deterred, I went to the help tool and found out I could go directly to the picture I wanted and do it that way. It worked, so I moved on. Back to the right click and into the screen saver options. But it wouldn't let me choose anything. It kept defaulting back to "none." Not finding any help in the help tool, I went to the Windows website help tool. It ran a diagnostic and said it could be fixed, but I would have to pay for it. Suggested I try the manufacturer.
So I went to the help tool again and connected to hp's online help site where I could communicate with someone by computer chat. I hesitated calling since I've been having so much trouble hearing on the phone lately. I got a very nice lady who walked me through what I had already tried. She made some further suggestions, then told me to restart the computer. When I did I obviously lost the connection with her. Of course the problem wasn't fixed. So I had to reconnect and got someone different. She had access to what I had just done, so we didn't have to start from scratch. She worked through several other attempts, which revealed that the "run" command was weird as well. Then she had me delete a specific video file. She gave me a website to download a new one from. Deleting the file led the computer to go into safe mode – the one where everything gets bigger and the colors aren't as sharp. I did the download. It took 20 minutes. It wouldn't run, though. The utility to open it locked up on the screen asking me what language I wanted to use. So I went back to hp.
Yep. I got someone different yet. He started with the same cheery greetings as the others, so I ignored it and went straight to the point. He – I think it was a guy this time, but I couldn't pronounce his name if I tried – had me download the file again from a different site. I told him it would take 20 minutes and asked if he would be the one I talked to when I came back or would I have to start over again. He stayed with me for the whole time. Once that download was complete I ran the program. This time it got to the "what language" page and wouldn't let me choose anything but Chinese. My techie was just as confused as I was. He finally typed, "Mr. Kelley, do you have any important files on the computer?" I knew what was coming next. All those hours transferring files and registering software were heading down the drain. And I still had to prepare for Life group and do a sermon. And install my Bible program, which I had found out in the meantime, had to be installed one disk at a time in the order I bought them – stack about an inch tall.
I finally got the system restore done. The first thing I did was set up the screen saver. And it worked. Now I get to start over with everything else. And I still have to do the teaching for Sunday and the Bible Study for tonight and meet with our insurance agent this afternoon. But a new one is supposed to work.
James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Father, thanks for the computer trials yesterday. Give me a boost to hang in there today as well. Amen.
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