Okay, well I don't know WHAT all was!

I let it cycle through the attempted repair several times.  Then one of the other options was to...well I don't remember, but do something else, advanced something or other maybe.  I chose that, and a blue screen came up with other options, including something like just shut down recovery and open windows 11...which is what I was trying to do all evening.  So I chose that.

And it rebooted, and opened everything normally, and....well here I am. 

What happens tomorrow night when I try to turn on it, though, well who knows.  But at any rate, at least for now, the Palace is back open. 

POLT

 Well kids, it looks like my laptop may have gone tits up. 

Apparently it’s not able to boot up, or something…what do I know.  I can still access the palace thru my phone, as I am now, but the Palace may go silent for a time. Once I have thf laptop fixed (however that’s gonna happen) or buy a new one, get it here and get it set up, I’ll start regular posting again.  

But until then…we’ll stay tuned I guess. 

POLT 

 I'd kick myself in the ass, if I could. 

I heard in July the US government had outlawed Kaspersky antivirus software.  I've used Kaspersky for many years.  When I heard they were no longer going to be available, I contacted ALCMDPP and asked what he used.  He suggested Norton, he's used it for years.

So what did I do?  Abso-fucking-lutely nothing.  Cause I'm a moron.  I just kept putting off and putting off doing anything. 

And then, earlier this afternoon, I was on the computer and suddenly something orange flashed on a part of the screen and then disappeared.  And then another window popped up welcoming me to Ultra AV. 

What the hell? 

Getting online I saw that Kaspersky just shunted everything over to Ultra AV.  And I also saw that other commenters had a lot of problems with it.    GREAT.

So what I did, for what it's worth, I uninstaller Ultra AV and what remained of Kaspersky (even though others said they did that and it came back unwanted) and downloaded Norton, probably, too little too late.

So we'll see how all this works when I try to get on the laptop tomorrow. I do not have high hopes.  Because I'm a moron.  

But I'm letting you all know that if I stop posting out of the blue, or suddenly disappear, well...it probably has something to do with this shit that has occurred because, once again, I'm a freaking moron. 

Just a total lazy moron. 

POLT

 Well....

As I mentioned before, my laptop went tits up: was very slow, taking forever to do anything, would randomly freeze up. SO I ordered a new one.  Had to get a smaller screen (the 17 inch I was used to cost $400 more! than the 15 inch I got).

It arrived Friday.  My bestest buddy A Local Celebrity, Mr. David ParisPeking, agreed to come over Saturday (as I had taken off that day unrelated tot he computer) and set it up for me.  These things never go well for me, but he was only here about an hour.  Got it all set up and started the download of my over 190,000 files from Carbonite.  

This download took like an hour and a half, finishing sometime overnight last night.   I got onto the new laptop and found that.....a goodly portion of my pics had a red X in the corner.  There were there, but not viewable.  See how that "never goes well for me" thing happens.  So I called Carbonite support.  Didn't spend a lot of time there, explained to the guy what the issue was and he said it sounds like Onedrive is full and holding things up or something.  He said I had to uninstall Onedrive and that should help it.  And that he couldn't help with that. 

So I hung up and looked that up online.  Found out the three quick steps to unlinking Onedrive.  And I did that and then, for nearly and hour it sat there, almost but not quite, completed with what it was trying to do.  Trying to get help for Onedrive was a joke.  No phone numbers given, every time I typed in a problem taken to the same screen, around and around and around in fucking circles.  It was horrible.   But the computer was stuck.

With a rock in the pit of my stomach and fear that my new laptop was fucked and/or I'd have a HUGE problem accessing my pics, or that I'd just have to go back to using the old slow cranky laptop, I did a hard shutdown of the laptop.

I restarted the laptop, a lil window popped up (and I can't seem to get rid of, but that's a minor affair) saying Onedrive could not be located.  And when I went to my pic folders....everything was there!  I've not down a lot with the new computer, but assuming nothing else pops up (and the whole "never goes well for me" thing happens anymore), I'm back to posting on here reguarly.  We'll see....

If I go black and not posting again for awhile, well, you'll know what happened......

POLT

Well the loptop went titsup.  So yeah, I might not be on regularly until I can get a new one.  I mean, it took like three hours to update and restart, and it's been working relatively well since then, but I think it's only a matter of time.  So if I do go all dark, you'll know the reason and know I'll be back.

I have preposted some Jocktober pics, so they'll continue popping up dialy, but that doesn't mean I'm back and functioning.properly.  

I will let you know when that is the case tho.  

In the meantime I'm gonna try to put up some of the daily posts today, for as long as it let me. 

Thanks

POLT

 HAIKU

My computer is 

Acting wonky.  If I go

Dark, you now know why.

POLT

 Okay, well an hour and a half later, it's done and everything back...so far.  Whether there's issues later today or the next time I boot up, we'll see.  But for now, at least, I'm back. 

POLT

 Well, kids, not sure when I’ll be back to posting regularly.  I turned on the computer and it started a “Fixing (C:) Stage 1” thing.  Currently, the ETA for finishing is 3:33:26….and growing.  I’m typing this from my phone.  From looking into it, I see this process can take a VERY long time (now up to 3:42:18).  So when this is done IF I can post then, I’ll do so.  Might just be time to break down and buy a new laptop (I started using this one about 2017 or do I think, maybe a bit sooner).   But when j can post again I will.  

Wish me luck!

POLT

 Well  kids, it looks like my laptop may have gone tits up.  It’s been having issues starting, telling me there’s a problem with my hard drive and to replace it.  It had these issues before, and I was able to fix it myself without too much trouble.  Tonight….we’ll its not quite worked.  It’s running incredibly slow.  So I may have to get a new one.  I’m typing this on my phone.  So we’ll see. 

But if there’s no updates here at the Palace all of a sudden, you’ll know what happened. 

Sigh…technology is great….as long as it works….

And naturally, just as soon as I posted this, it started working okay.  Well, at least for now.  It still stands that if the Palace goes quiet, you'll now know why. 

POLT

 Okay, kids, computer's been acting a bit wonky since last night.  If, in fact, if ends up going tits up, the Palace might be dark, un-updated for a few days/weeks until I can get another computer. 

Hopefully not, but....

I don't know, I guess we'll see.

POLT

Hey kids!  It's Uncle Polt.

If the Palace goes dark one of these days, don't sweat it. It probably just means my laptop went tits up.  

I turned it on today and it went into a self-diagnostic mode (it does this occasionally, has done it for years.  Dell Assist checks things out, tells me everything is fine, and then proceeds to work as normal), but today it barely started before this message popped up and it started making loud buzzing noises.  It said there was a problem that needed immediate attention and to go to Dell Assist and it listed the info I needed (Service Tag, Error Code, etc)

So I got on my phone and did so.  And it turns out, according to the Dell website, there's a problem with my harddrive.  I could order a replacement, or mail it to them to replace it and they'd get it back to me in 10-12 days.  The cost of the latter option was $149 dollars.

So I just thought, "Shit, no laptop.  Great."  I shut it down, and then restarted it while I looked on my phone for purchasing options of a new harddrive.  Incidentally, I also found picture instructions on how to replace a harddrive, so that's good to know should I need to.

But anyway, while doing that, the laptop sat with just the Dell insignia in the middle of the screen.  It does that every time I start it, but it did it for a long time and progressed onto nothing else, so I figured that was far as I was gonna get.

But then, boom, the insignia disappeared, and then next thing I knew I had the time and date in the lower left corner, and one of the normal pretty background photos.  I logged in as normal, and everything came up as normal, and here I am, typing this on my laptop....as normal.

Now, whether it'll boot up normal the next time I start it, who knows?  That's why I say the Palace may go dark.  

I think I'm just gonna keep using this, until I can't boot up any longer.  And honestly, instead of getting a new hard drive, I'll probably just order a new computer.  This one is like 4 years old.  It might be time for a new one....we'll see how long this one lasts.

Anyway, just want to explain to you what's going on, in case you don't see any posts here for a few days.

POLT

Well kids, hello!

When I got home from work, I figured I'd be spending the majority of tonight fixing the computer.  I was all prepared to uninstall and then reinstall the drivers for modem....but when I turned the computer on, it connected to the internet just fine.  One problem solved.

Still couldn't access my photos in File Manager. Tried several different things, nothing changed.  Then I Googled the issue looking for solutions.

Found one, and the first thing they said was check for updates in Windows and install them if they're there.  I always figured Windows updated regularly cause it did so every so often without me doing anything.  But hey, they're suggesting it, I'll try it.

And it turns out I had some updates pending. So I downloaded them and installed them.  And then the computer needed to reboot.  So I rebooted it.

And waited. I was sure it'd make no difference, and tried to think of people I knew who could help me with this.  BUT, when it finished rebooting.....all the icons were there on the desktop, not blank. And I could access them through File Manager finally.

SO that's all it took.  Everything's fixed.  Hunky-dory.  And that's all it took.

SO, kids, I'm back and the Palace in back in operation!  

POLT

Well kids, yesterday early evening, my computer when wonky.  I couldn't access my pictures in the File Manager, and then as I was working on it, I lost connection to the Internet and couldn't get back.  So then, I gave up, shut it down and went to bed.

Hopefully, when I start it up later today, I'll be able to get everything fixed.  But if you notice the Palace hasn't been updated, that's why.  Once I've gotten everything copacetic (or maybe buy a new computer, who the hell knows?), I'll start posting again.   

Until then, keep checking back and I'll see ya when it's all back up and running.

POLT

Hey kids,  I've been having problems with things loading very slowly sometimes on the laptop.  I thought it was the Modem (as this has been a problem before).  I reset the modem myself, and then called the cable company and had the automated answering service send a reset to the modem.  That helped things....initially.

So this morning, I was on the phone with the cable company, two lovely helpful ladies assisted me over the course of an hour.  Turns out, we think the problem isn't with the modem, but with my laptop network adapter.

*SIGH*

The one lady told me if I needed one, any computer store would be able to help, but they can get a bit pricey.  She said there have external network adapter that plug into a USB port and cost only like 20-30 dollars.

SO what I'm doing now is I'm just gonna keep going as I have been until, it fails completely and I can't log on at all, OR until the slowness of it all pisses me off so much I can't take it anymore.  At which points, I guess I'll go get an external adapter and see how things go then.

So anyway, if the Palace goes dark (ie un-updated) for a few days, just assume this is what happened.  And as soon as I get everything back up and running, whatever it is I have to do, I'll be back.

POLT

So, kids, get this: after the problems earlier today (see post immediately below), I spent 4 hours manually downloading some of the pics from Carbonite to my laptop.  I had all but the files with the most photos (Chests, Tooshies, Blogstuff, etc) already downloaded.  And then I thought....what if I do all this, and then when I turn the computer back on, it ends up like it was this morning, with NOTHING here and I have to do it all over again?

So, to test it, I shut the laptop down, left it down for about 15 minutes, and booted it back up.  And BOOM, everything was back like it was supposed to be!!!!  What the HELL???

I have no idea what's going on, but everything looks to be working correctly.  Again, I dont get it. At all.  But I'm just gonna keep working with it today, as it is.

IF however, you suddenly see me stop posting here (or the purple twitter I have, if you visit there), then you'll know the computer went tits up again, for whatever reason.

i mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad its all back.  But I really REALLY wish it wouldn't have hiccups and farts like this earlier.  Stresses me out.

(and yes, I KNOW that's a First World Problem.  I berated myself for being upset about this while I'm in a warm home eating my lunch and not having to worry about either of those things.  Hell, I berated myself for bitching about when I OWN a computer in the first place, and many people don't.  But whatever, that;s life.....)

So hopefully, this was a one time thing....but the Negative Nancy in me doesn't think it will be...

POLT

Well kids, I got up this morning, booted up the old laptop and.....somehow it couldn't find my account.  So I tried to log in again, and it let me in but....everything was gone.

So I shut the computer down and started it back up again, it allowed me log in but....everything was still gone.  I mean, my shortcuts were still on the desktop, but I had to make Google my default browser again and now I'm in the process of downloading my photos.....ALL my photos.....my thousands, and thousands of photos off Carbonite back onto my laptop.

Not at all sure what exactly happened overnight.  But at least the computer's still working, even if it did kinda fuck me over a bit.  But it's not back to factory resets, I don't have to put my anti-virals or anything back on it, they're still there.

Ah well....such is life....

Anyway, I'm telling out all about this because I have no clue how long it's gonna take to get all my pics back.  I know when I download EVERYTHING back, like to a new computer, all at once, that takes DAYS because of all the music I have saved on Carbonite.  But I dont want to download all that music, as I listen to music mainly on Pandora and I don't want to tie the computer up for DAYS.  I'm hoping I can get all the pic down today.....but we'll see....

SO, there may or may not be Palace updates here in the next couple days.  We'll see.  But just bear with me, I'll get it all back and then get back to our regularly scheduled postings again.

POLT

Okay, so here I am.  

Today I plugged to computer back in (after unplugging it Friday night), opened the back panels, checked the connections, made sure everything looked okay (to me), put everything back together....and turned it on.

And it came on.

It's still running slow, so it may fall apart again (so if I disappear for a bit, you'll know why), but as of right now, I'm back and everything's going okay...so far.

Let's see how long this lasts...

POLT

Well, won't be posting for a lil bit as my laptop went tits up.

This time, I don't think it's a virus, I think it's hardware issues.  I researched what it was doing and the answers were to check the RAM and hard drive and connecting cables, and if that doesn't work, then unplug everything and push this button three times, and do the hokey pokey and turn yourself around.

Or something like that.

At any rate, it's going to be more convenient for me to just buy a new damn laptop than it would be to deal with all the frustration in trying to fix this one. 

So, until I buy a new one, receive it, get up it and running, and get back online, the Palace will be dark.  But please check back periodically.  Once I get everything going, I'll be back to posting like I did before.

Still on the old computer....

But this morning, I was checking out my social media, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and I'm seeing all these people I follow in all their Halloween costumes out last night celebrating at parties and such on the last Saturday night before Halloween,  and I'm just sitting here thinking, 

"Yeah, my costume musta been a comatose man, cause I was in bed by 10pm and asleep by 11pm."

Hey, when you're a year and a month away from 50, that IS a hearty Halloween celebration.

POLT

Hey kids, had issues with the new computer last night, but today when I got home, it booted up just like it's supposed to.  And it's not running slow.  So that's good stuff.  The hardware issues are I think corrected.

I attempted to get some of the software back on it, and damned if I didn't have ALL kinds of issues even getting Google Chrome to be like it had been. I'm sure it's a brainfart on my part, but after screwing with it for over a half hour, I was just like, "fuck it".  I shut it down, and I'll try again tomorrow night.

All my photos and documents and stuff are still on there, that's no problem.  I just gotta get Chrome and my anti-virals, and some other things back on there to make it run like I want it to.  Hopefully, that'll all go easier tomorrow.  

So i hope we're nearing the end of all this, and I'll be back to posting like normal soon.

Hang in there.

POLT