Yesterday I came home from work to find that my computer would not turn on. I tried different outlets, unplugging/replugging the power cord etc. etc. all to no avail. So I dug up my Best Buy warranty paperwork and called the service line …

Yadda yadda, after half an hour of over-the-phone testing (the computer eventually turned on but would only whir and grind without fully booting, was unreponsive to restart attempts) it was concluded that sometime during the early morning hours of yesterday, a power surge had fried my motherboard. Now, my computer was in sleep mode at the time and plugged into a surge protector. But according to tech support, most surge protectors have an average life of effectiveness of 1.5 years, and mine was perhaps a few years old.

GOOD NEWS: my in-home full parts/labor warranty is still in effect, so a new motherboard and installation etc. won’t cost me anything. BAD NEWS: according to tech support, there is a “50/50 chance” that even after the installation of the new motherboard, the only way to get my computer up and running again will be to run the recovery disc; i.e. I’ll lose all the data on my hard drive. GOOD NEWS: Just last week I had the foresight to save & also print out a copy of the latest draft of the new novel. And I can take the CPU somewhere and get data recovery of all my files. BAD NEWS: data loss is not covered under my warranty and so data recovery could cost $100. And there are many files (like all my email, and sundry other writing) which I do NOT have backups for.

And, althought the parts are on order, they are estimating that a technician won’t be able to fix the computer until next Wednesday or Thursday.

I guess I’m taking it pretty well. Just kind of que sera sera. I mean, what can I do? Really? We’re at the mercy of machines, but we musn’t let them dictate our happiness (if we can help it).

Knowing that many of my readers have expertise in these areas, allow me to ask a few questions. Do you think the above diagnosis is correct? What/who do you recommend for data recovery? Is it better to just turn one’s computer off/on rather than rely on sleep mode? Any other tips/recommendations? Thanks.