I'm not sure what changed, but all of the sudden my lovely desktop gave up on me. I first noticed that my security software wouldn't load... I could click on McAfee all I wanted, it did not want to open. I thought that was weird so I opened my task manager. Task manager wouldn't open. I got very scared. Extremely so. Thus, I rebooted hoping that would fix things as it usually does (Windows memory leak and what not). Everything looked fine, booted to my desktop like normal. However, task manager still wouldn't open. Neither would McAfee. Uh-oh.

Now normally if a piece of software stops working, I write it off and uninstall. You can't do that with security software or the task manager. One is important for protecting my computer while the other is literally a part of my computer's OS. I knew I was in trouble, so I Googled like crazy. Many people said it might be a virus, just run your security software. Well, McAfee wouldn't open so I had to solve that problem first. The online consensus was that my Java needed to be updated. So I tried that. It spent 10 hours installing before I gave up. For hours after that I tried to do basic trouble-shooting until I decided I would have to run a System Restore. I've done it before, and in general it works like a charm. So I selected a day that it was working and let it do it's thing. I waited and waited. My computer wouldn't finish logging off. It was in a loop for three days. I finally gave up, forced it off and rebooted to the desktop. It didn't finish the System Restore, but it hadn't changed anything either. I realized that I would need professional help. And no, I didn't need a therapist.

I figured it would be a virus removal or something simple. Maybe the hard drive might need to be wiped. So I tried to pop my 32GB USB in to back up files. Uh, nope. It wouldn't recognize it. I started to sweat now; there were files I hadn't backed up in a while. Important writing. Game saves. Gulp. Then I realized, I still had access to my web browser. Google Drive was my saviour. I uploaded anything and everything I could find that was of any importance. However, after about five minutes of uploading, my Windows Explorer would crash. No, not Internet Explorer (I was using Chrome to upload), but the file explorer that allows me to view my documents and pictures. The task bar and start button vanished. Double uh-oh. Was this going to be more expensive than I thought?

To rescue my files before my computer completely died, I had to keep force rebooting every five minutes. Once Windows Explorer crashed I couldn't access the files. It was a pain in the butt to say the least. Eventually I salvaged my files and called a repair company. I dropped my tower off a day later and prayed that they could save it. I couldn't afford a new $800 desktop.

The very next day, not even 24 hours after I dropped it off, the tech called saying he'd fixed everything! He even replaced my old security software, gave me a bunch of new protection and computer health programs as well as updated all my installed software. He even got my computer to finish all pertinent Windows updates, ones that I couldn't do for years as it'd force my computer into a death loop. When I got it back, he showed me everything, talked me through the new software and showed me that my favourite game was still operable. He even opened the hard case and explained where everything was and what I would need to do when I was ready for a hardware upgrade. This tech went above and beyond; the service was exceptional and very reasonably priced! After about five days of using it, he even texted me to check up on it and answer any further questions I had. Honestly, if you have any computer problems and live in the Lower Mainland, call TSG Computer Services.

My much loved desktop is running better than ever and I couldn't be happier.

Dana~