Computer Glitch

Sometimes I hate computers.  I guess it's only when they aren't working.  Several months ago I managed to eliminate the need for entering a daily password to access my computer.  I found the daily requirement for a password annoying but what I found really annoying was that message that started two weeks out telling me my password was going to expire in 14 days, 13 days, 12 days, etc. and did I want to change it now.  So, I bumbled around and figured out how to eliminate the need for a password.  Don't ask me how I did it.  I never know when it comes to computers how I eventually effect whatever it is I'm trying to accomplish.

So I had been happy with the result.  No need to enter a password each morning.  Then a couple of weeks ago I start getting the really annoying message telling me my password was going to expire and did I want to change it now.  Thinking this might eventually go away since, as far as I could determine, I no longer had a password, I kept indicating "No."  Apparently when I logged on Sunday morning I was told the password would be expiring that day, but I didn't have my glasses on and, once again, I indicated "No" I didn't want to change it.

I got back Sunday night and tried to log on to blog and immediately got a screen with the message that I must change my password.  Otherwise, no go.  I was annoyed, but plugged in the last password I thought I'd had, typed and confirmed the new password and got a negative.  I tried every permutation of that old password, capped, all lower case, all caps.  Still a negative.  Then I started trying other passwords I might have used, although I thought there was only one other I'd ever used for computer access, but no variation of that one or any of the others worked.

I decided to try again Monday morning when I was rested, with no success.  Then I decided to call Salvation Army where I'd bought the computer thinking maybe they had someone they used to prep their computers before they put them out for sale who could help me or recommend someone who could.  Joe answered the phone and told me just to hit Enter.  I did that to no effect.  He said he'd be in all day and would be happy to take a look at the computer to see if he could help, so I decided to load the computer into the car and make the trip to Boulder for the third time in as many days.  I have become so dependent on my computer and the internet I felt, even for one evening and a morning, that my right arm was missing.

I knew the footing was too treacherous for me to feel comfortable attempting to carry the computer to the car, so I loaded the computer into my "computer ambulance," this cute little wooden sled I bought at Goodwill a couple of years ago.  At the time I thought the sled would only be good for decoration and dreamed of filling it with evergreens at Christmas until I realized no one decorates outside up here for good reason--the winds--which would not only blow the evergreens out but blow the sled away unless I loaded it with rocks or nailed it to the deck.  I used the sled to transport the computer between car and cabin when I bought it last spring so knew this would work.

I had other errands to do in Boulder, but drove directly to Salvation Army.   Joe was there and turned out to be the new co-manager.  He came out to the car, carried the computer in, carried it to one side of the store where he had other computers set up, plugged it into the power and plugged in a monitor and mouse.  He powered it up, got the "You must change your password message," hit Enter and was immediately in.  I was happy it wasn't anything major, but annoyed that when I hit Enter, when I had him on the phone, the same thing didn't happen.  Perhaps you must do it immediately, not after you've attempted to set a new password?

Unfortunately, in his zeal to be helpful, while he was in the computer, Joe started "fine tuning" things and when I got the computer back up here, dragged it back in from the car on the sled, carried it back into the cabin, got everything plugged in and fired it up, my monitor display was really screwed up.  The left side was totally off the screen, I had a big black line on the right side and the type was so distorted I could hardly read it.  I got into the innards and got that fixed, but now everything is smaller than it was and the entire image doesn't fill up the page.  Right now I just don't have the patience to try to figure it out.

Have you ever had this happen?  Do you know how to fix it?  Teddee