What do you do when your computer crashes?

Anyone who knows me in the real or the virtual world appreciates that both personally and professionally I depend massively on being connected to the Internet. So, if there is one thing which is guaranteed to raise my stress levels, it is a problem with IT.

Five and a half years ago, I switched from a PC to a Mac (Mini) and I have had no problems that a techie relative or friend could not sort out quite easily. Until now …

Over the last couple of months, my Mac has become slower and slower. Over the last few weeks, I have sought help from friends and professionals and every intervention has failed to solve the problem and meanwhile the computer has run ever more slowly.

Effectively my Mac Mini is now frozen.  A click on an icon or typing a letter requires a full minute or so until something happens. Loading a web site takes minutes. The spinning coloured wheel is a permanent feature of my computer experience. Things became so bad that there was simply no way to back up in order to perform a full reloading of the software which might have solved the problem.

Techie friend one,  techie friend two, Mac support in Greece (an American), Mac support in Ireland (a South African) all tried and failed and both the Mac guys advised that going to an Apple store would be a waste of time given the complexity of the issue.

So this morning I travelled into central London to visit an “Authorised Service Provider” called Amsys.  A third tech professional – another foreigner – is now involved, so this time we have a Spaniard in the works. I’ve left my Mac Mini with them, paid £96, and wait to see what will be involved and how long it will take to be sorted out.

Meanwhile I cannot access most of my documents or my older e-mails, I cannot edit my web site, and I cannot send out my Thought For The Week.  So please bear with me if you do not experience my normal level of responsiveness and involvement.

Thanks goodness I have an iPad and an iPhone …


 




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