This past month has been coupled with new-found productivity and alarming computer issues. First a word about the computer issues.
1. My art program (Paint Shop Pro 9) picks and chooses which files it will save, and has become progressively worse. To save a file that won't save, I have to copy and paste it in a new canvas and save it as a different name. If it tries to save over the 0 KB file it created during the failed save, it is disallowed from saving over the file. And a strange .tmp file is created during the failed save as well, like Sav80B.tmp, for example. I never had this issue pre-recovery disk. It does not appear memory related, as I can have one or two or no browsers open and it will still randomly happen. I have bad luck uninstalling things (why do programs have to act like tick bites?) so I'm wary of uninstalling and re-installing.
2. Errors with applications happen during shut down. Also, a post-recovery disk issue. The applications dealing with my wireless is the usual victim, having a "not responding" or "must close" message after I try shutting down my computer. One time such an error message (for a different application) popped up during the blue shut down screen!
3. Hard drive stalls during shut down. Two times already my laptop has needed its power button held in to turn it off because the hard drive will just stop in the middle of the blue shut down screen. You know, freezes. The computer seems alright upon start up the next time, but the manual shut downs could be killing it slowly.
* For a rant, see bottom of post.
So these issues have made using the computer an unpleasant chore for me. I don't know if my computer will turn on, or especially turn off. I don't know if the Internet or hard drive will go all wonky. I don't know if I'll be able to save the art I've spent so much time on (even if I saved constantly, my old program can only copy layers singly or merged. So I would lose layers every time I pasted into another canvas to save.) I've come to dread the days I've picked to use the computer, even though I know I have art to scan, writing to type, messages to respond to, and news and blogs to read. And I just can't enjoy using it while I worry.
So my new viewpoint is this: "Every computer day could be my last." (Or at least, for a long time since it could take months, even a year, to afford a new computer, even if I'm lucky enough to land a job soon. Because I want a computer that will last another six years and I'll need to upgrade my tablet, scanner, and art program to go with the current operating system.) So with that "deadline perspective" in mind, I'm trying to make the most of every computer day. Inked art, comic pages, blog posts, updates to my Google Docs (for certain people), and answering messages will be crammed in every week as I play "how long is my computer going to last." and it starts now, go go Go GO!
Oh, and I'm going to forget about digital coloring for now unless there's a good reason. I'm going to focus on sketching, drawing, inking, and scanning as much as possible, still following the order of the list of major and minor projects (with exceptions if certain paper is in the way of my stacks. Then I'll do those projects first.) Anything I was going to color before showing people (like the Hobo Story)... well, I guess I won't be for now. I'll have to upload it in black and white first. If I finish my to-do list for the year, then I might slowly color, if my computer still works. But otherwise, I'll probably wait for a new computer. I will still traditionally color some stuff. It's sad that these are the circumstances upon which I get more active, especially after the year started out okay. But hopefully this will all end well, and maybe the last month or two of the year will be colorful?
Two months of work a month now to stay on track, right?
Major Projects
1.) Hellhoney - One calendar page and part of a comic panel with other panels blocked in.
2.) Minervellas - Nothing.
3.) Power Warp - Nothing.
4.) Toilet Spawn - Nothing.
Minor Projects
1.) QT Crawlies - All 21 previous WIPs redrawn.
2.) Optimizzy - Nothing.
3.) Random/Silly Calendar - Nothing.
4.) Hobo Story - Nothing.
5.) Zodiac - Nothing.
6.) Super Popcorn - Nothing.
7.) Mervscorn - Sketches.
8.) Birds - Nothing.
9.) Plush Owls - Nothing.
10.) Pin-Up Calendars - Nothing.
11.) Random/Original Art - Nothing.
12.) Pantheon - Nothing.
13.) Playing Cards - Nothing.
14.) Tunnels and Elevators - Nothing.
15.) I'm a Bug?! - Nothing.
16.) Tutorials - Nothing.
* This doesn't apply to most of the people that probably read this blog. Heck, it might not apply to any of my readers, since this is mostly for random people I've come across. But I have to rant a bit. Just in case someone thinks all these computer problems are easy fixes and I'm just coming up with excuses or have no idea what I'm doing, well, three things:
1.) I'm not computer illiterate. I've been using computers since I was three and I was probably one of the few elementary school students at my school that could operate MS-DOS. And I've learned from a very knowledgeable person throughout my life about troubleshooting and computer care. Sometimes I have my "blonde moments" but I'm not an idiot.
2.) Not every computer problem is a virus. And I'm very careful with my surfing. Just like washing one's hands often during cold and flu season, I know how to avoid most malware nasties. I don't torrent/P2P download or go to shady sites. I don't open suspicious attachments, even from people I do know. I use AdBlock after being bitten once by a trustworthy site with a bad ad in rotation. I have anti-virus running (I've had various ones in the past, but now use Avast. Thanks, Meshia!) ... again, I'm not an idiot. None of my computer's current problems have given me indication that I have a virus or other malware. And I've run scans anyway (after Avast blocked an infected script on a blog... this happened after the computer problems started, by the way.) No virus.
3.) My computer is old. Six years old. 1 GB RAM, Windows XP, no upgrades to the original hardware. It's going to need to be replaced soon anyway, as it increasingly becomes hard to use in this current technological landscape. After accounting for all the parts that may need replacing, I might as well get a new computer that will last another six years (I love you, Toshiba.) I'm thankful it continues to hang on to life for me and we've been through a lot together, but yeah, no amount of programs is going to fix my poor old computer. What will happen if I download a dozen different anti-virus and registry cleaning programs? Will they find a virus? Will they make my computer run faster with no errors? Probably not. I'd be lucky if the poor thing ran in any usable manner.
So please, if someone knows an exact fix, by all means, let me know. But I'm not impressed and very frustrated by the people that shoot out general condescending commonsense comments. I know some people feel they have to say those comments because there are a lot of people that really have no idea about computers. But to always assume everyone is a moron... that's not very nice. Unless someone is obviously trying to hurt you or doing something wrong, maybe assuming the best instead of the worst of people would be the best idea?)
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