(no subject)

Apparently I only post when there is bad news lately. :-p

My computer finally gave up the ghost and died last night. I had been able to get it to boot up by unplugging the power, popping the case, removing the CMOS battery, holding the power button for 10 seconds, putting the battery back in, closing the case, plugging it back in, and holding the power button for 5 to 15 seconds.

Now it just blinks at me mockingly.

And, yes, I discovered the above fix on Dell's support forums from several other users with the exact same problem I was having. Dell apparently has no clue what causes it, but replacing the power supply or motherboard typically "fixes" it for a while.

I'm getting my tax refunds in a few days. Do you really think I'm buying a mobo or power supply for a computer that was bought as a refurb 2.5 years ago? Yeah, no.

In happier news, my 360 (3rd 360) works beautifully, and Mass Effect 2 is still awesome, so I'm gonna keep playing that for a while.