System error. Again and again.

I have a history of computer problems.  My PCs work great for around three to four years (two if I’m unlucky) before they develop mysterious, random problems that are difficult to diagnose.  Anyone who’s been following me on Facebook and/or Twitter these past few months will be familiar with my latest bout of tech difficulties: a computer that either randomly blue-screens, freezes, or crashes to a jumbled mess of colors and fuzz on my monitor.  It has done this when I’m playing games, surfing the web, or even idling.  Sometimes it fails to reboot and simply beeps at me.  Even the beeps are never quite the same.

On top of being plagued by mysterious computer problems every few years, whenever I ask for help from my tech-savvy friends they offer me solutions that I am in no way qualified to enact.  Maybe “not qualified” is the wrong term.  I think it’s more “too scared.”  If my electronics start acting weird when I’m casually using them, I can’t imagine the chaos that would ensue if I actually dug into their inner workings or put my hands on the hardware.

My friends have almost come to look forward to my semi-annual “what’s wrong with my computer now” stories.  Almost.  Some of them roll their eyes, but every so often I see a gleam of interest, as though I’m about to weave some mystery or present a puzzle that will challenge even the most computer-proficient minds in my circle of friends.  Then when I tell them, they throw up their hands and say, “What are you doing to your machines?!” to which I helplessly reply, “I don’t know!”

Ah well.  Maybe I’ll upgrade to one of those high end laptops.  Until it breaks on me, anyway.