Just to let everyone know why things have been rather quiet around here..
Last Wednesday, I started my desktop computer in the early morning, as is my usual practice. I went to make a mug of coffee, came back to the computer, checked emails and stuff, then leaving the computer still running, I went upstairs to shower and dress for work. This has been my morning routine for years, so I didn't expect that anything would go wrong.
All dressed and ready for work, I returned downstairs for a final check of my emails and blogs that I follow. On arrival at the desk however, I noticed that the computer had restarted itself.. Yeah, it does that sometimes when an update has happened, as I'm sure you all know. So I thought nothing of this and rather than continue the start up process, I clicked on "shut down". I was running a bit late after all...
On returning to the flat in the evening, I went straight to the computer and switched it on.. Everything seemed fine at first until I attempted to go online. My preferred browser is Google Chrome, but it failed to connect. So thinking that this was a problem was with the browser, I tried Firefox and then Internet Explorer. None of them worked. So I thought this might be a problem with Virginmedia, my service provider. I got on the phone and after listening to a machine for several minutes and following its instructions by pressing several buttons on the phone, I finally heard it say, "If the fault is with your broadband Internet, press 4", which I did. Eventually, a rather pleasant gentleman with a Liverpool accent came on the line and introduced himself as Trevor.
I explained to Trevor what had happened. With great patience he talked me through several procedures, checking to see if the fault was with the wiring, or if the computer was in fact connected to the Internet. Trevor could find nothing wrong from his end. The computer was indeed connected to the Internet. But there just seemed to be something in the computer itself that was blocking it from making the connection. Trevor remained on the phone with me for the best part of an hour, but at the end of it all, we both realised that this problem had nothing to do with Virginmedia. The problem was with the computer itself.
Last evening I was speaking to young David, my new-found heartthrob. It was he who suggested that perhaps this has been caused by a virus. Now I know very little about computers, viruses, and stuff like that. Is it possible that a virus has infected my computer, crippling it and preventing it from connecting to the Internet? Might it be that when I'd found that the computer had restarted itself that morning, it was because of the virus? If indeed the problem is with a virus infection, what can I do to get rid of it?
I'm contemplating purchasing a new computer but this hurts, since the current one is hardly a year old and has performed flawlessly thus far. I'm having to type this while sitting at my desk at the office and I generally don't like the idea of writing blogs while at work...it's so much more relaxed and private at home.
