Hello again,
I almost mourned my computer yesterday. It died and miracles exist, it suddenly revived. Actually, I was stupid enough to download Windows 10 on my small, not powerful laptop... It took the better part of yesterday afternoon to go through, but it did work out finally. Then the new windows began asking me questions which are none of their concerns, like my friends' identities, or my favorites apps. It got more and more unpleasant as it told me I had to verify my ID, enter a password (they wanted the one I use to access my email, but I needed a while to understand it) and finally stopped working and kept me stuck on the password, or lack of, page.
I brought the poor little laptop to a place where they have fixed a couple of computers for us before. The guys -you know, young, in their twenties, with lots of facial hair, which seems to be the new computer guy style- looked at it one second, maybe two and told me Win 10 had nothing to do with it, but I had to expect a broken keyboard, or a done hard drive... To check the amount of damage would cost $35, and to repair -absolutely no idea, but a given amount certainly.
Quite unhappy, I visited four computer stores, to notice the price of the one I want. Microsoft Surface Pro 3, with Intel 7 inside. I more or less knew it, but hoped against reason it would have dropped in the last month or so. No, the tablet, plus the keyboard, which is a necessity plus tax ended up around $2,000. A bit expensive, I thought. There were other ones, but most of them were big, 15.6", too massive and heavy to be carried in a purse. I came back home, feeling stupidly very sad and very broke.
I found my usual adapter t connect my dying ((I thought dead) computer to the main source f power, and plug it in, like in memoriam...And I watched windows loading up, while thinking it was not the hard drive -it would not power up. About damaged keyboards, I know nothing, so I did not speculate. But, of course, when it started asking me for a password, I clicked on the empty space, just to see. Then, windows asked me more precisely for a specific password related to that account. With nothing to lose, I entered my email password... and the screen went all black. A minute later, it said "welcome". I watched it, amazed. It was not dead, nor dying, just kind of overloaded.
The first site I went to, or more exactly the first words I entered were "'how to go back to windows 7 after trying windows 10". I thought I would discover one lonely idea within a sea of places claiming Win 10 was the best thing since the invention of the wheel, but no, hundreds of possibilities were there. I am not the only person hating Win 10! Yay!, as would the Martian say. "Go to settings". Fine, but where is settings, when this new, foreign and weird thing does not let me see my programs?
Well, after an hour of fumbling around -very uneasily as the new windows did not like my fingers. I could not move the cursor the normal way, I had to try and try again to move it one millimeter- I found "settings", and clicked happily on downgrading to my old and faithful Win 7. I moved away from the computer while i was going back to normal, and came back an hour later to see my usual screensaver, plus a note from windows telling me it was up to date, all updates had been installed.
And my fingers are enough now to move the cursor on the side, and I can access all the programs I have downloaded during the past five years, and it just works!
What did I learn? Sadly, that the lure of money is enough to twist a honest repairman's mind; even enough to twist the minds of three of them. Then, always hope for the best, because sometimes, it does happen. Finally, the best for some of us may be the worst for others and what will I do in 2020, when the updates for Win  are stopped? I am sure now I hate touch-sensitive screens.I knew it from the cellphones, but now, I have checked it on a bigger screen, and it just makes it worse.
I will look for a replacement, check the specials available. But if I'm allowed to wait a few months, maybe my coveted Surface Pro 3 will be cheaper. Who knows? Wish me luck!