A computer says, "Bye-bye," at least for awhile.

Monday began happy enough. I didn't think I had any problems and prepared for a very routine day. That lasted only until mid-morning.


I have four working computers, but only two are generally up do date with software. The two I use the most are a very nice laptop which I just bought in January and an XP powered desktop which is in its fifth year. Monday it tried to tell me, "Enough is enough." It may be.


I keep the computer in use because it connects to my network via wire. All my others connect by wi-fi as does my printer. When I decided to go Wi-Fi and eliminate my ethernet a couple years ago, the access point/router loudly suggested I keep one computer on the wire for router service. It's a habit I haven't broken, even though the new routers aren't quite so insistent.


Since that computer is on the wire, I use it for sensitive internet connections. The wire doesn't make it hacker-proof, of course, but it adds a little layer challenge.


I've been noticing for the past few weeks that it was slowing down and had even begun looking to buy a new computer. I really couldn't justify a new one so the need and want just didn't get together. Surprisingly, they still haven't come together so when the XP machine gave me the error message Monday, "You have no more room on Drive C. Eliminate unneeded files and programs to free up space" I was caught unprepared.


I committed a cardinal sin over those past few weeks when the computer began slowing down. I failed to check for a reason why. Had I done so, I probably would have avoided my present problem.


That hard drive should not have been more than 35% or 40% full. Maybe not even that much. But it now has zero empty space. My Fearless Friend suggesed I do a Google search with a few key words to described the problem. I'm not alone. Yes, I learned I could have a nasty bug on the drive that has taken control. Or, and I'll assume this one for a while, it just might be a glitch in some software that is causing my files to just keep replicating themselves whenever I use them.


Tuesday will be spent checking that out. I'm not sure how I'm going to do it just yet, but it's worth spending a little time looking for a cause before spending money on a cure. My commercial anti-virus software seems to say the problem is not a virus. But we all know, don't we, anti-virus software sometimes lies.


One thing I've learned in the past is one should keep software, especially data files, backed up. All mine are also on an external hard drive so if I must take one of my ultimate choices, the work I need is readily available.


I'm thinking I might just be in a fascinating time. The fascination will be just how it ultimately gets resolved.


GiM