Computer’s Not Fixed Yet, But Some Good News
It’s been a few days since my GPU decided to ruin my life by dying and effectively taking the rest of the computer with it. I had yesterday off work and looked a little into the problem, and I just can’t find anything explaining the problem beyond the whole CSM/internal graphics thing. I need a new GPU anyway, so I’m just going to grab one and hope that fixes it. If not, well, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
I flashed Linux Mint on a USB and booted the computer from there, and I was able to confirm everything works just fine. It’s detecting the M.2 drive and all its contents, it just can’t boot from it.
I chilled out the rest of the day. I’d been working so much between the day job, blogging, writing short stories, and my novel that I hadn’t had much time to myself in a while. I went to a diner and had breakfast, which was mostly an excuse to go to the dog bakery next door. I got Cam a fresh-baked cookie shaped like a shark with a santa hat on its fin. He’s not spoiled, don’t worry. Oh, and I got him some watermelon-flavored water too. Not spoiled.
The day before was a bit stressful. The eBay seller who sold me the card finally responded. We had a back and forth for a bit before they finally offered to give me a partial refund of $85 (out of $190). I decided to take it. I’ve fought sellers on eBay before, even having to go to eBay themselves. It’s always a stressful, slow process with no guarantees. I didn’t want the seller to get angry, rescind the offer, and then a month from now eBay decided to side with him anyway. It’s just not worth it, so I took it. They actually ended up giving me $95, but I’m not complaining.
Still, with the holidays coming up and prices growing ever more ridiculous, it’s going to be a while before I can get a new card. And I do mean a new one. Nothing top-of-the-line, I don’t need an RX 9070 XT, the 6600 I had was getting the job done just fine. I'll keep an eye on Newegg and Micro Center for one of those, or a 7600 or 7700 if I can get one for a decent price.
In the meantime, I’m using my laptop for day-to-day computing. It’s been okay. It’s an old Latitude E7470 I bought earlier this year for cheap. Linux Mint has kept it running well, but its still an old machine. It can’t play most games or edit 1080p video. I did a video editing test yesterday, and it tried its hardest, but it was getting very hot and the fan sounded like it was seconds away from exploding before I aborted it. I tested some indie games like Parking Garage Circuit, Promise Mascot Agency, and Our Adventurer Guild – only the latest and most popular games for me, thanks – and it did a surprisingly okay job, but it was still getting very hot. The thing's pretty slow overall, too.
That’s where we’re at right now with the computer. I’ve cooled off since I wrote that last blog. It really hasn’t been a disaster. It’s a bad situation, but it could have been so much worse. Confirming the M.2 drive still works and getting a partial refund really helped, but just going outside and, as the kids say, "letting grass touch me" also did wonders. I enjoyed a great breakfast, I bought some dog treats, had a nice chat with the woman at the register like a human being, watched some Norwegian Farm Life, and then Dante’s Peak on Netflix. What a waste of Pierce Brosnan, Linda Hamilton, and Tzi Ma. Great headshot from that volcano in the opening scene, though. That was some 360 no-scope shit.
Poorly acted death scenes and Norwegian farming aside, it was nice to turn my brain off and chill for a while. But I’m already back at it, and I didn’t realize how much I missed it. Writing, I mean, not the day job. It goes to show sometimes we need some time off to remind ourselves how much we love doing the things we do.