Computer UPDATE

What a weekend.  My main purpose was finding an IDE to USB cable in order to check the hard drive of my old computer.  Only way to get something so specialized is to head to the local Fry's Electronics store. Tthis one isn't so local to my location, 20 miles out on the freeway and back.  Been a while since I've been in one - they are HUGE!  At first I was wandering and feeling lost, but eventually found my way to the computer cables and asked for help.  Got my product and headed out the door.  Now, it's been years since I had to do actual finagling on a computer innards, but I was excited - I hated being without the photos I hadn't backed up yet, since October wasn't officially over.  No excuse for September, other than procrastination.

I got home and attempted to make all the plugs fit.  Much to my dismay, I had the wrong set.  And I wasn't feeling up to driving back, so I did other chores and things around the house.  But inside I was restless and fuming because I hadn't been smart enough to bring along the old hard drive... but enough procrastinating.  After supper, I headed out again to return the wrong cable and attempt to get the correct cable.  A really nice guy named Mario helped me out :)  I was feeling much more optimistic about this as I drove home.   Open the box, get it all connected and bummers.  Nothing.  A little research on Google always helps, and I noodled and reconfigured the jumper on the pins -- yes, my hard drive was that old!  hehehe  The next time I plugged in power, the hard drive whirred to life in my hand and it was an A-HA moment!  But still no recognition on the new computer to read this hard drive.

Back and forth with ideas and web pages, more swearing and then the moment when I was ready to give up, and maybe wait for a clear head in the morning when a friend said "hey, turn the drive on its side, let gravity put things back in place....."  and when I did that, turned it on, my new computer went haywire and pulled up all the drives.  I clicked and was in AWE as I saw my old menus.

Happily I started clicking and dragging the old to the new.  There were over 500 pix I hadn't backed up, and it took 30 mins to get all my music moved to the new!   With the rest of the data transferred, I started looking at the programs.  And was feeling all too bummed out, because 99% of them won't run on Win7 and I was so happy with the old programs I had.  Nero and Photoshop being the two programs I used the most, I tried using the Windows version:  Movie Maker.  and while it might suffice in a pinch, and may have to for a little while, I do not like how the options are all or nothing.  Nero let me choose individual times for photos, and Movie Maker has this thing about panning across the photos that I don't like.  I don't really want my pix as a movie, I like them as slides.   And the limitations on photo editing with Windows is ... horrendous.  The only thing I"ll use it for is cropping, but the rest of the options aren't worth the time to learn.


So.  Here it is, Sunday morning.  And I have a new computer filled with old data, and I'm SO happy about it.  All there is now is to get the software I want and need, and my world will feel right again.  With one exception:  A jealous SADIE pug who wants my attention, not give attention to my computer.  LOL