In the garden, and RAIN!!! (2) by SIGNYM

REAL WORLD EVENT DISCUSSIONS

In the garden, and RAIN!!! (2)

POSTED BY: SIGNYM
UPDATED: Friday, March 27, 2026 01:11
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PAGE 138 of 138

Monday, March 23, 2026 2:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Quote:
Originally posted by BRENDA:
When I set up the VGA and turned on the monitor a menu came up showing HMDI and VGA. The VGA was highlighted blue but my hand decided to shake and I hit the left side of the mouse enlarging it. So, I am now trying to get it back to the right size and see if it does work with my computer.

You're going to want to set it to HDMI on the monitor, Brenda. That may seem counterintuitive to you because you just bought a VGA adapter, but the monitor is only concerned which input you've put in the monitor itself.

You've put the VGA adapter into the computer video output, but then you plugged the HDMI cable into that adapter and the HDMI cable is going into an HDMI input on your monitor. (There may be more than one HDMI input on that monitor, so you will have to make sure it's pointing to the right one if there is).

And actually, you've just given me some good news here. If for some reason there's something wrong with that adapter and we can't get it working that way, it sounds like you have a VGA input on your monitor. So if you still have a straight up VGA to VGA cable from your old setup, you can just use that instead of the HDMI with the VGA adapter. Just plug in the VGA to the back of your computer, and put the other end of the cable into the VGA input on your new monitor and you should be good.

Quote:
He was refeering to refurbished for both the monitor and computer at $700 Canadian.

I can get a refurbished laptop at a local place. Would have to check prices.

That's really expensive, Brenda. Maybe computer prices in Canada are different, but I think they're taking you for a ride there and that's kind of pissing me off. New monitors are really cheap now, and a refurbished computer that would more than suit your needs are going for anywhere from $100 to $200 USD and shouldn't cost you more than about $275 CAD max. Honestly, if you were able to buy it online, you wouldn't have paid much more than $350 CAD max for a refurbished desktop and a brand new monitor combined.

This is bringing back memories of my grandma telling me she paid a plumber $260 to fix her water heater and all they did was install a new $8 universal thermocouple, or when my other grandma told me that a plumber charged her over $400 to install a new kitchen sink faucet.

I don't want you being taken advantage of anymore, so let's not buy any more parts or computers for now and see if we can get you fixed with what you already have on hand.

******IMPORTANT******

I have a few questions I need you to answer for me. One of them I've asked a few times now, so I want to emphasize it here...

1. When you start your computer, do you still hear the drive and fans fire up, and do you get any LED lights on the front showing you that it is powering on. I'm asking this because I think your computer is still fine, but I want to make sure that it is actually powering on.

2. You said you were using the mouse when you said this:

Quote:
When I set up the VGA and turned on the monitor a menu came up showing HMDI and VGA. The VGA was highlighted blue but my hand decided to shake and I hit the left side of the mouse enlarging it. So, I am now trying to get it back to the right size and see if it does work with my computer.

I'm a little confused here. If the computer isn't working, I don't understand how you're using the mouse or what you're looking at on your screen. The mouse shouldn't be able to control the monitor's setup menu. So it sounds to me like you're not looking at the monitor's setup menu and you've possibly got Windows coming up on your monitor now but there is an issue with the size of everything?

If this is the case, that means that your computer is working, it's sending the signal to the monitor and the HDMI cable/VGA adapter is working and your monitor is looking at the right input. We just need to go into Windows settings and make sure you're using the correct display size if things are too large or small.

3. Before we started, were you just using a VGA to VGA between your computer and monitor? (Blue connectors on each end of the cable).

I'm asking this because I think we may have made things more difficult than they needed to be by adding that HDMI cable to the mix. I didn't realize until just recently how old your computer was and how it only had the VGA out and it didn't have any HDMI outputs. If the answer is yes, remove the adapter and the HDMI cable, and find your old VGA to VGA cable and connect that to your PC and monitor and then power everything up and see if everything is the right size.

You may not have to change any screen resolution settings at all with the VGA to VGA and everything might just work right when and if you do this. It's possible that the screen size is wrong and needs to be changed only because you're using that VGA adapter and the HDMI cable into the monitor and it's confusing the monitor/computer.

If all else fails...

If you are seeing your Windows screen but the size is wrong, here are step-by-step instructions with pictures to change the screen resolution:

https://www.wikihow.com/Change-the-Screen-Resolution-on-a-PC

*I can't remember which version of Windows you have, but that above link gives instructions for Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 7/8, Windows Vista and Windows XP (in that order from top to bottom).

They're all pretty much the same, but they can look a little different between versions, so it's good that they have all of them. There's pretty much zero chance you have an even older version of Windows than any of those, even though we know your computer is pretty old now.

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

I've been looking on line for refurbished desktop computer by itself. If I can just get something simple without all of this gaming crap. That I don't need. And I was in a big computer store who only want to make a buck.

I'll have to look at the back of the monitor again. But I am pretty sure there is only one HDMI port on it.

I want it fixed. I don't want to replace or by anything else.

When the computer is on I hear the fans and the LED lights come on. The computer was working fine until the monitor gave up.

My hand was on the mouse out of force of habit. I figure to screw it up this much either my hand shook or just my finer moved or the other thing that is possible is I had a small seizure and moved something and when I came back it was all wrong.

Yes, I was using VGA to VGA with the blue connectors.

I will have a look again and I do appreciate all your help.

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Monday, March 23, 2026 2:56 PM

BRENDA

Library on a beautiful Spring day. Trying to get some other stuff done before I tackle computer again.

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Monday, March 23, 2026 3:18 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Quote:
Originally posted by BRENDA:
I've been looking on line for refurbished desktop computer by itself. If I can just get something simple without all of this gaming crap. That I don't need. And I was in a big computer store who only want to make a buck.

Those links I sent you the other day through WOOT/Amazon are good deals on used (refurbished) desktops and laptops. Short of meeting a stranger in a one-on-one sale, I don't think you'll find better deals on those.

But I don't really think that you need to buy another computer right now and I'd rather try getting yours working for you again first. You may want to consider buying a used laptop after we get you straightened out though, just so you can still get online from home if something like this happens again.

Quote:
I'll have to look at the back of the monitor again. But I am pretty sure there is only one HDMI port on it.

Okay. You have both an HDMI and a VGA input on your monitor then. We're going to abandon the HDMI and VGA adapter for now since you said below that you used to use a Blue-to-Blue VGA to VGA connector before. (see below)

Quote:
I want it fixed. I don't want to replace or by anything else.

Right. Me too. I honestly think you've got everything you need and it's all working from what you've told me. We just have to get your stuff working together the right way is all.

Quote:
When the computer is on I hear the fans and the LED lights come on. The computer was working fine until the monitor gave up.

Okay. Like I said I think your computer is fine. We just need to get the monitor to recognize it.

Quote:
My hand was on the mouse out of force of habit. I figure to screw it up this much either my hand shook or just my finer moved or the other thing that is possible is I had a small seizure and moved something and when I came back it was all wrong.

I understand about the hand shaking. What I'm a little confused about is the fact you were using the mouse at all.

When you used the mouse, did you see a mouse pointer on the screen? I just want to know what you were looking at. Your mouse wouldn't work in the monitor's setup screen, so if you actually saw a mouse pointer moving on the screen here, your computer was booted up and sending a signal to the correct input on the monitor.

I'm trying to determine if this is the case and the resolution was possibly out-of-whack because of the HDMI with the VGA adapter. If that's the case, the display settings resolution needs to be changed using the ehow link I sent you. But before we do that...

******** THE IMPORTANT BIT *********

Quote:
Yes, I was using VGA to VGA with the blue connectors.

I want you to pull out the HDMI cable from the monitor, and pull out the VGA adapter and HDMI cable out of your PC and put it to the side.

Then I want you to get your old Blue-to-Blue VGA-to-VGA cable and plug that into your monitor and your computer, then fire up the computer and turn your monitor on.

This might get you up and running just by doing this and we may not need to do anything else.

If not, I want you to write down exactly what you're seeing at this point to the best of your ability so when you're back at the library tomorrow you can give me some good details and I can try to figure out what we need to do from there.

Quote:
I will have a look again and I do appreciate all your help.

No problem, Brenda.

I bet you're really happy you at least backed up your book to that USB stick now though, huh?

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

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Monday, March 23, 2026 3:35 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Another cold crappy day around here...

Getting some stuff done though.

I pulled out the baseboard out of the bathroom and pulled the nails out of it. I really think that I'm going to throw most of that out and just use the largest part of it to make a new piece of trim that is larger than what they currently have under the windowsill on the window. Even though this trim is thinner than the stuff I used in the rest of the house because it has to be with the shower as close to the window as it is, I want the ends of this piece under the window to extend to the ends of the trim above the windowsill like I did everywhere else in the house. I don't like it when they only make that piece wide enough to reach the inside of the trim above the windowsill. I think that looks tacky.

I've got those two brand new, very long pieces of window/door trim that my neighbor gave me that I may use for the baseboard instead. Either that, or I'll just buy a 10ft length of proper wide baseboard like I have in the rest of the house and do it that way. I'm not going to use that old window/door trim on the baseboard again either way.

I've also ripped off the surface (print) of the wallpaper banner I glued on many, many years ago. Fortunately I was able to get all of it off despite how much it wanted to fight me on that. It will make it really easy to get the paper and the sticky part off now with just a wet sponge and some time.

Got some chipping on the paint on the ceiling around the walls and at the top of the walls. I'm going to scrape all of the loose stuff off before priming everything and sealing it in and get that all ready for some DAP to fill it in. I'm going to pull that piece of trim off the bottom of the window and put the "new" piece I make from the floor baseboard beneath it after I sand down the sill and the rest of the trim. I'm also going to beat all the nails under the surface of the trim with a punch. This was an oldschool job and they didn't use brad nails... it was done with real nails that have a fairly large head to them and I don't want them showing up like that under my paint job.

Not sure what I'm going to do in the bathroom right after that though. I have to decide how crazy I want to get with electricity in there. Right now I only have one duplex outlet next to the light switch for the vanity. I know for sure I want to add at least one or two more outlets in there, and ideally I'll be busting down some drywall in the ceiling so I can install a proper exhaust fan going out the house. I know that some of the problems with the ceiling were because they painted the ceiling with a glossy paint, but if I have an exhaust fan installed that will no longer be an issue. Maybe I'll get really crazy with the ceiling and I'll put in a light above the bath too. This house was pretty old and they didn't do nice things like this back then.

I picked the right day to be doing all of this. Despite how cold it is outside and in my house in general, that bathroom gets super toasty with the door closed and the heat blowing in. It was real fun getting that heat blowing right in my face and drying out my eyes while I was pulling that border down...

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026 2:54 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK

I got the border wallpaper down before I wrapped up for the day. Cool little trick my friend's dad taught me years ago was if you were careful with peeling the top off, all you had to do was put some warm water on the paper with a sponge and let it sit for a minute and you can scrape it all right off. You get a feel for how much water to keep in the sponge and the right pressure to apply so you get enough on the wall but you don't make a huge mess down the walls and on the floor too. If you don't have enough water on it though, the glue won't let lose and you'll be scraping pretty hard on those dry spots unless you hit it again.

If you rip that design top layer off like you were 5 years old, ripping into a present on Christmas morning, you're going to have a much tougher time getting the rest of it off without a steamer or a lot of patience with the sponge and water. I forgot how easy it was when you do it right. I got the few nasty water buildup spots that turned a yellowish brown off the ceiling (a guy I know told me that was happening because they painted the ceiling with a semi-gloss instead of flat paint). Everything will need a good washdown after I'm done patching and sanding, but just getting the worst of it all cleaned up while I was already up there getting the bulk of the wallpaper glue residue off the walls made sense to me.

I also had to glue the top of the right side of the window trim back to the wall and hit it with a few brad nails. The sill was a little loose so I got that in nice and tight again too. It's all scuff sanded and ready to prime. I just have to cut that bottom piece from the old baseboard and sand it down so I can get it back up there. Oh right... I've also got to get a scraper and very carefully scrape stray sloppy caulk off the vinyl window too. That really wasn't too much of a problem on most of the other windows in the house, but they were extra sloppy with this job. Maybe they were a little wobbly from standing on the step stool and toilet seat at the same time...?

I've got a pretty warm day or two coming this week. Maybe I get lucky and it isn't raining the whole time and I can get a few big things outside on the horses to sand them down without getting that all over my basement and in my lungs. I've got a few closet bi-fold doors and a over the toilet storage cabinet and medicine cabinet that need a good sanding.

One of my bathrooms have been gutted since forever, and the one I've got working has always looked like crap. Pure DIY-don't-give-a-crap work done by Uncle Bob and nobody told him to get his drunk ass back here to do it right. The vanity lights, medicine cabinet and vanity don't line up at all. They didn't even get two of them paired up right. I know I'm a perfectionist, but we're talking a few inches here and not just a couple of millimeters.

The medicine cabinet is cheap metal crap in the wall with a basic mirror on the front, the vanity lights are an out-of-style brass color metal that you just screw lights right into the face of it. It's all garbage and doesn't even match. I think what happened with the lineup is that they didn't have any idea where the studs were when they already did the lights and the vanity and they realized that they had to move that box way to the side to fit it with in the existing studs. I guess it's better than them trying to cut away the studs. I don't believe this is a load bearing wall, but with some of the things I've seen behind the walls, it wouldn't surprise me if they tried something like that and the house just caved in on them. The light fixture doesn't even line up with the vanity either. That's just bad lazy work there. You've got plenty of play with the electric and there's no excuse for not centering the vanity light over the vanity.

The new medicine cabinet I'll be putting up after I paint it is a beautiful oak piece I got from my friend when he remodeled his bathroom. Top quality stuff from a very nice house. It's designed to be right on the wall instead of recessed into the wall, so I won't have to worry about where the studs are other than for hanging it.

I can't wait to get the over-the-toilet cabinet thing painted and ready to put up. I've also got a beautiful oak shelf piece that has the towel holder underneath, and I'm going to figure out the best way to put them both up there together. They don't match right now, but they will after they're all painted and I put the new oil rubbed bronze hardware on it. If it doesn't make the cabinet too high for the average person to reach, or make the towels hang too low over the larger toilet I'll be putting in, I could use that shelf underneath for actual storage for something. But if that would be pushing the cabinet height too high, I can use the shelf right under the cabinet and it would look pretty fancy that way and I can make it look as though it's just a single piece. I think I will probably add an electric outlet on the inside of it too. I believe for myself I will be using the inside of that to hold my beard trimmer, and I can get rid of the stupid shelf I put up on the wall right above the light switch and the cabinet can hide all that stuff when I'm not using it. I'll have some nice contact paper on the surface to protect the finish too. Mess-be-gone the second I close that door. I have a cool little low-profile night-light that I can put in the other outlet too, so whenever I open that it will light up for me.

I can basically hang that as soon as it's painted, minus whatever time it takes me to figure out how I'm going to do the electric and if I'm really going to put an outlet inside of it. Once I get the walls patched and sanded down, I can really put a couple of finish coats on the walls and have it ready for the cabinet. Even when I get a bigger toilet, the center is going to be the same so I know exactly where to hang it on the horizontal axis already. Just need to figure out the vertical when I know what sized toilet is going to go in there and we're good to go. I won't miss the medicine cabinet while I'm figuring everything else out if I do it that way.

I'm kind of excited about working on my house again. I haven't felt that way in a while. I wasn't feeling it when I was working on the landscaping last year. I don't think I've been excited about a project like this since I did that fancy overlook into the basement.

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026 2:37 PM

BRENDA

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Quote:
Originally posted by BRENDA:
I've been looking on line for refurbished desktop computer by itself. If I can just get something simple without all of this gaming crap. That I don't need. And I was in a big computer store who only want to make a buck.

Those links I sent you the other day through WOOT/Amazon are good deals on used (refurbished) desktops and laptops. Short of meeting a stranger in a one-on-one sale, I don't think you'll find better deals on those.

But I don't really think that you need to buy another computer right now and I'd rather try getting yours working for you again first. You may want to consider buying a used laptop after we get you straightened out though, just so you can still get online from home if something like this happens again.

Quote:
I'll have to look at the back of the monitor again. But I am pretty sure there is only one HDMI port on it.

Okay. You have both an HDMI and a VGA input on your monitor then. We're going to abandon the HDMI and VGA adapter for now since you said below that you used to use a Blue-to-Blue VGA to VGA connector before. (see below)

Quote:
I want it fixed. I don't want to replace or by anything else.

Right. Me too. I honestly think you've got everything you need and it's all working from what you've told me. We just have to get your stuff working together the right way is all.

Quote:
When the computer is on I hear the fans and the LED lights come on. The computer was working fine until the monitor gave up.

Okay. Like I said I think your computer is fine. We just need to get the monitor to recognize it.

Quote:
My hand was on the mouse out of force of habit. I figure to screw it up this much either my hand shook or just my finer moved or the other thing that is possible is I had a small seizure and moved something and when I came back it was all wrong.

I understand about the hand shaking. What I'm a little confused about is the fact you were using the mouse at all.

When you used the mouse, did you see a mouse pointer on the screen? I just want to know what you were looking at. Your mouse wouldn't work in the monitor's setup screen, so if you actually saw a mouse pointer moving on the screen here, your computer was booted up and sending a signal to the correct input on the monitor.

I'm trying to determine if this is the case and the resolution was possibly out-of-whack because of the HDMI with the VGA adapter. If that's the case, the display settings resolution needs to be changed using the ehow link I sent you. But before we do that...

******** THE IMPORTANT BIT *********

Quote:
Yes, I was using VGA to VGA with the blue connectors.

I want you to pull out the HDMI cable from the monitor, and pull out the VGA adapter and HDMI cable out of your PC and put it to the side.

Then I want you to get your old Blue-to-Blue VGA-to-VGA cable and plug that into your monitor and your computer, then fire up the computer and turn your monitor on.

This might get you up and running just by doing this and we may not need to do anything else.

If not, I want you to write down exactly what you're seeing at this point to the best of your ability so when you're back at the library tomorrow you can give me some good details and I can try to figure out what we need to do from there.

Quote:
I will have a look again and I do appreciate all your help.

No problem, Brenda.

I bet you're really happy you at least backed up your book to that USB stick now though, huh?

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

You're forgetting SIX, I don't use Amazon.

Like I said I have been thing about a refurbished laptop but again without the gaming stuff or the keys that light different colours.

Yes, there is both HDMI and VGA on the monitor.

It would be nice if the computer and monitor would talk to each other.

Like I said having my hand on the mouse is just force of habit. When I sit down in front of it, I am going to get to the internet, so mouse.

Right now there is no mouse pointer on screen.

Okay, I will pull everything out but the vga cord I have won't fit the new monitor. The old cord has one small blue end and the other is bigger and thinner.

Okay what I am seeing on the screen is I call it a menu. It was sitting right into the corner of the screen on the right. The top is an arrow and signal. Below that is HMDI not highlighted. Below that is VGA highlighted in blue. Then a space and below that is an up arrow, down arrow, check mark and x.

Then when it got screwed up it moved over to the left and was expanded. Trial and error got it back to the other corner but there now is a space between the area where it was and now. Also the blue highlighting for the vga is no longer blue. The two empty boxes for checking are still there. I can also get the logo screen to come up.

I'll see you tomorrow.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026 2:37 PM

BRENDA

Library in the rain.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026 7:07 PM

BRENDA

Hey, SIX. I got it straightened out. Right adapter, my fault. Wired it up wrong. Lady at Century House was helping me again when I thought I would try something when I got in. Just needed to wire in a bit that was for a USB port. Once I did that it was all sunshine and rainbows.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026 7:34 PM

BRENDA

New set-up is a little strange. Just have to get used to it.

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026 7:55 PM

SIGNYM

I believe in solving problems, not sharing them.

Sounds like good news, BRENDA! YAY!

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

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Tuesday, March 24, 2026 10:50 PM

BRENDA

Quote:
Originally posted by SIGNYM:
Sounds like good news, BRENDA! YAY!

-----------

"It may be dangerous to be America's enemy, but to be America's friend is fatal."- Henry Kissinger

It is good news. Finally. There was one other piece with a USB on it and that had to go into my computer as well and then viola. The monitor came on and I got on Face Book as I had some explaining to do. Clean out my email some that had gotten backed up.

And I can spend my evenings reading again.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2026 1:17 PM

BRENDA

Out in the rain in a bit. Meds refill and see what is what. Spring has deserted us for today.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2026 5:32 PM

BRENDA

Back and in. Now the sun is out after I am finished for the day. Returned season 5 of Cobra Kai to the library and had to tell them the second disc is screwed up. Specifically the last three episodes. They pixel, stop and the screen goes black with sound.

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Wednesday, March 25, 2026 11:00 PM

BRENDA

Mah jong tomorrow morning then errands in the afternoon.

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Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:40 PM

BRENDA

No luck at mah jong this morning and I finally moved the old monitor off my table.

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Thursday, March 26, 2026 5:59 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Hey, SIX. I got it straightened out. Right adapter, my fault. Wired it up wrong. Lady at Century House was helping me again when I thought I would try something when I got in. Just needed to wire in a bit that was for a USB port. Once I did that it was all sunshine and rainbows.

Oh.. Okay. Nice. I guess you got the adapter with the USB for sound then? I had no idea you actually needed to plug that USB in and would have assumed that the only thing that wouldn't work is the sound if you didn't. I was never going to suggest that to you, so glad you tried it on your own.

It sounds like maybe your new monitor doesn't actually have VGA input from what you said before that, so I'm glad this worked.

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
New set-up is a little strange. Just have to get used to it.

Yeah... Whenever I have to make a change with a computer it takes a while for me to adjust too.

You'll be alright.

Glad you're back up and running, Brenda.

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

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Thursday, March 26, 2026 8:14 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Even though it worked out, which I had a good feeling that it eventually would have with your old computer, now would be the time to start thinking about getting a used laptop as a backup, Brenda.

I know that you don't buy anything off Amazon, but I thought that was because you didn't have credit cards. It sounds like maybe you're ideologically opposed to buying anything from them maybe? I understand if that's the case, but just letting you know that you're going to probably spend quite a bit more for one if you don't use them. I was just suggesting that maybe you could have your boss or her husband order one for you, and you could pay them back either through your work or with cash money.

Don't buy it from that shop. I'm sure the guy is helpful, but with the prices you've quoted so far I think he's probably taking advantage of people who don't know better too. It's skeezy, but with the high rents and taxes I'm sure it's part of the job, frankly. Whatever people need to do to keep the lights on right now.

You should have bought yourself quite a bit of time now that you're up and running. Maybe you could bring it up that you're looking to buy a used backup laptop while you're out playing Mahjong or things like that and somebody might have an extra old one lying around they wouldn't mind selling to you for cheap. I've lucked into quite a few good buys over the year by just letting people I knew know that I was in the market for something.

I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to have at least one fallback way of getting on the internet when your main avenue is blocked off. You know that now and it's fresh in your mind, so I wanted to bring it up again.

Just make sure it has an HDMI-out port when you buy one. If it's new enough to have that, it should have everything else you need too. And if your desktop ever went down, you'd be able to plug the laptop into your nice new monitor with the HDMI cable and you could even plug your keyboard and mouse into it as well and use it like a backup desktop until you got a new one.

And now that you've been through all of this, now might be a nice time to think about other things you may have had on the computer that could be lost today if it actually was broken and you hadn't backed stuff up onto your thumbdrives.

There actually is ways to pull off data from old computer drives after a computer breaks, but unfortunately I think that level of work would be way beyond our current computer knowledge level and I don't think I'd ever be able to walk you through it here while writing things back and forth, so it would be best if you made sure that everything you could ever think you'd want to be able to use or see on that computer gets a good backup or two.

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

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Thursday, March 26, 2026 8:26 PM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Boy... Having a rough couple of days with the computer project over here. Nothing too serious, but having spent so much time with it, the fact that the workflow has evolved so much never really hit me in the face until the other day when I went back to some initial work I'd been doing several years ago now and how something I had written off as finished almost 2 years ago really needed a lot of updates and maintenance. Making things worse is that a lot of this stuff has been backed up in 2 or 3 other places and when I make a change somewhere I need to make a note that it needs to be changed everywhere else before it gets scratched back off the list of things to do.

I'm almost done with it now, but that's a few days worth of work that I hadn't ever planned on. I think part of me in the back of my mind always knew and subconsciously I was always going to end back up here doing this at some point. I just had no idea how much needed to be fixed to bring it up to the same standard as everything else. I took a particular amount of pride off of this one big thing, so I couldn't possibly ignore the fact it needed some upgrades now.

Fortunately, from my notes I can see that only one other part may need some of this additional maintenance as well, and the new ways of doing things had been established for sure right after that. From a cursory glance the other day, it looks as though I had pretty much adapted to all the new changes while doing this 2nd part, but I just hadn't been documenting everything like I did going forward. I'll probably spend a bit of time just verifying things are right and properly documenting everything. I always take advantage of these types of scenarios and use them to double as another round of Quality Control when they occur. The average person would be really hard pressed to find any errors at all with just casual use, but that's because I've done so much work behind the scenes cleaning everything up and making sure none of the links in the chain are broken, and taking every opportunity that comes my way like this to also do more spot check verifications on things I've long considered finished. It's quite rare at this point, but when I am forced to go back and verify stuff like this, I do find a little bug that slipped through the cracks every once in a while, and now that's just one less thing for some random person to bitch about one day.

Got some creative upgrades I need to do as well. My skills have evolved quite a bit since a few years ago, and what was once the best of the best is now looking outdated and needs some tweaks.

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Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

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Thursday, March 26, 2026 9:29 PM

BRENDA

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
Hey, SIX. I got it straightened out. Right adapter, my fault. Wired it up wrong. Lady at Century House was helping me again when I thought I would try something when I got in. Just needed to wire in a bit that was for a USB port. Once I did that it was all sunshine and rainbows.

Oh.. Okay. Nice. I guess you got the adapter with the USB for sound then? I had no idea you actually needed to plug that USB in and would have assumed that the only thing that wouldn't work is the sound if you didn't. I was never going to suggest that to you, so glad you tried it on your own.

It sounds like maybe your new monitor doesn't actually have VGA input from what you said before that, so I'm glad this worked.

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:
New set-up is a little strange. Just have to get used to it.

Yeah... Whenever I have to make a change with a computer it takes a while for me to adjust too.

You'll be alright.

Glad you're back up and running, Brenda.

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Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

Well, I have speakers and that wire goes into my computer. There is another connector with two plugs on it. Not sure where it would go but I don't need it. There is a spot on the monitor for head phones which I won't use. My hearing is bad enough without doing any more damage to it.

Honestly, I don't know. There is a spot on the monitor that does say VGA and has the same blue plug in that is on the back of my computer. And I don't think you can reverse wire everything and I wouldn't want to try.

My problem is the Zoom feature. You Tube videos look strange because the monitor has a 27 inch screen as the older one was 25 inches. So things are stretched out.

And I can't move it much up or down because the print looks weird.

So am I.

The other monitor died before I could warn anyone like on Face Book. I scared some people. I was off line for a month except for the library and that didn't cut it. I depend on this thing for doctor's appointments and of course my writing.

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Thursday, March 26, 2026 9:42 PM

BRENDA

Quote:
Originally posted by 6ixStringJack:
Even though it worked out, which I had a good feeling that it eventually would have with your old computer, now would be the time to start thinking about getting a used laptop as a backup, Brenda.

I know that you don't buy anything off Amazon, but I thought that was because you didn't have credit cards. It sounds like maybe you're ideologically opposed to buying anything from them maybe? I understand if that's the case, but just letting you know that you're going to probably spend quite a bit more for one if you don't use them. I was just suggesting that maybe you could have your boss or her husband order one for you, and you could pay them back either through your work or with cash money.

Don't buy it from that shop. I'm sure the guy is helpful, but with the prices you've quoted so far I think he's probably taking advantage of people who don't know better too. It's skeezy, but with the high rents and taxes I'm sure it's part of the job, frankly. Whatever people need to do to keep the lights on right now.

You should have bought yourself quite a bit of time now that you're up and running. Maybe you could bring it up that you're looking to buy a used backup laptop while you're out playing Mahjong or things like that and somebody might have an extra old one lying around they wouldn't mind selling to you for cheap. I've lucked into quite a few good buys over the year by just letting people I knew know that I was in the market for something.

I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to have at least one fallback way of getting on the internet when your main avenue is blocked off. You know that now and it's fresh in your mind, so I wanted to bring it up again.

Just make sure it has an HDMI-out port when you buy one. If it's new enough to have that, it should have everything else you need too. And if your desktop ever went down, you'd be able to plug the laptop into your nice new monitor with the HDMI cable and you could even plug your keyboard and mouse into it as well and use it like a backup desktop until you got a new one.

And now that you've been through all of this, now might be a nice time to think about other things you may have had on the computer that could be lost today if it actually was broken and you hadn't backed stuff up onto your thumbdrives.

There actually is ways to pull off data from old computer drives after a computer breaks, but unfortunately I think that level of work would be way beyond our current computer knowledge level and I don't think I'd ever be able to walk you through it here while writing things back and forth, so it would be best if you made sure that everything you could ever think you'd want to be able to use or see on that computer gets a good backup or two.

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Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

Like I said I have been thinking about that more since this episode.

I'm not sure why I don't like Amazon outside of the fact I don't have a credit card. But I have heard a lot of stories about things getting ruined and delivered to the wrong address. Had that happen. Fed Ex or something delivered something to my door and I had to take it down to the manager's office. I can ask and see what they say. It's all I can do.

No, I won't be going back to that shop after he told me those prices. I don't know how long that business has been in that area but no. Too much even for refurbished.

I was thinking about that too. A few of them have lap tops and they might be able to point me in the right direction.

No, I don't mind you mentioning again.

That being only allowed an hour at the library was brutal. My boss's husband called this my version of a cell phone and he isn't far off.

Okay, I will make a note to myself about all of that.

It is mostly some pictures of characters from tv shows.

My writing is safe in 3 places. Computer, hard copy and memory stick. I will get the pictures in a bit.

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Friday, March 27, 2026 1:11 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:

Well, I have speakers and that wire goes into my computer. There is another connector with two plugs on it. Not sure where it would go but I don't need it. There is a spot on the monitor for head phones which I won't use. My hearing is bad enough without doing any more damage to it.

So do you get your sound from computer speakers, or from the monitor now? Both? I've never actually used an adapter like yours and I'm curious how it works.

I'm assuming that you always had a set of external speakers that plugged into the back of your computer. Now, supposedly through that USB connection you made, your computer is sending the audio signal to your monitor as well as the video signal through the HDMI cable. You may be able to control your computer volume with the monitor now, and if that's the case it's the reason they have a headphone out jack on the monitor.

None of that really matters, but I'm just curious is all...

Quote:
Honestly, I don't know. There is a spot on the monitor that does say VGA and has the same blue plug in that is on the back of my computer. And I don't think you can reverse wire everything and I wouldn't want to try.

Oh... well that means it should be one of the inputs. Yeah... if you didn't get it working with the adapter like you did today, I was just going to suggest to remove the HDMI and use the old VGA adapter and see if that fixed it. No big deal now.

Quote:
My problem is the Zoom feature. You Tube videos look strange because the monitor has a 27 inch screen as the older one was 25 inches. So things are stretched out. And I can't move it much up or down because the print looks weird.

I was afraid something like that might happen. This could also be an artifact from the adapter and something that wouldn't happen with the VGA plug. But I don't want to mess around with cables now to find that out.

How bad is this problem? Can you still do everything else you'd want to do like reading emails and writing your book?

I don't understand exactly what your issue is from the way you described it, but there may be a few options we could try like changing your screen resolution, or making text larger or smaller.

Quote:
So am I. The other monitor died before I could warn anyone like on Face Book. I scared some people. I was off line for a month except for the library and that didn't cut it. I depend on this thing for doctor's appointments and of course my writing.

That's good you got back in touch with them now. Let's get you situated with a reliable backup so you have something else to use if your main computer goes out on you again.

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

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Friday, March 27, 2026 1:11 AM

6IXSTRINGJACK

Quote:
Originally posted by Brenda:

Well, I have speakers and that wire goes into my computer. There is another connector with two plugs on it. Not sure where it would go but I don't need it. There is a spot on the monitor for head phones which I won't use. My hearing is bad enough without doing any more damage to it.

Quote:
So am I. The other monitor died before I could warn anyone like on Face Book. I scared some people. I was off line for a month except for the library and that didn't cut it. I depend on this thing for doctor's appointments and of course my writing.

That's good you got back in touch with them now. Let's get you situated with a reliable backup so you have something else to use if your main computer goes out on you again.

--------------------------------------------------

Be Nice. Don't be a dick.

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