It has begun. Computer trouble.

Whilst I LOVE playing on them and with them, I HATE them. I.Am.Not.a.Programmer.

But I have some brains. Sometimes they're a bit mushy, but I do have some. And when the cable-guys came in and installed my online modem doodad, I asked them: "What about my current dial-up ISP?" And.They.Said.They.Fixed.It.

They.Didn't.

They did supposedly click where they were supposed to click to tell the computer to ignore the three-lettered ISP that begins with M and ends with N.

And it did. For an evening.

Then last night I went online to show DH how to get online and look stuff up and sell stuff on Craig's list (his newest obsession and get-rich-quick-idea). I clicked on a link in a message, in order to reply to that poster, and I got an error.

So after talking to a friend, I uninstalled M-N Dial Up, apparently successfully, until the very end where it said it would reboot and it didn't. So I tried to shut down and start up again, so that the uninstall would take effect, and my computer wouldn't shut down.

So I called the cable-guys. And their tech support suggested he take control of my computer and designate Microsoft Outlook as my email manager since I didn't want a cable email address. (Oh, I almost forgot - I didn't get any manuals or instructions with the new computer/phone/TV thingee like my friend did who had the same thing installed two days ago. Cable-guys suggested I go to Paterson to pick them up at the store. Paterson??? NJ??? Are you kidding me???)

And it didn't work. I still have a rundll32.exe error. I know it's serious. And I know it has something to do with "panes of glass" and the operating system, but I don't know how to fix it. So cable-guy told me to call the computer manufacturer.

I did. And I HATE them, too! This is the 5th piece of equipment from a company that starts with H and ends with P and I don't like them any more than I did the first time I had trouble. Do not ask me why we keep buying them. I'm not paying for these items so I just say thank you and open the box and keep my fingers crossed.

Here were my two options:
1) Pay $99.95 for an extended warranty that includes virus protection for a year. (My response: No thanks. I just paid for Norton Anti-Virus for two years last night so I don't need that.)
2) Pay $49.95 for the "event."

Fifty freakin' dollars for them to read off a piece of paper how to fix my problem????? No way. No how. Not a chance.

I slammed the phone down on them.

DH gets REALLY stressed when I go ballistic over computer problems 'cause he can't help me fix it. He's clueless when it comes to computers, and actually, so am I. I just use them. And drop the f-bomb a few hundred times while I'm doing it.

I emailed my friend to see if her brother had an idea about fixing it. She's very computer savvy, too, and suggested reinstalling Windows. She said she'd come over next week and help me.

Thank the dear Lord for friends who understand computers.

I'll keep you posted.