Well I didn't take my computer to the hospital as I stated in my last post. I couldn't do it Monday as it was Labor Day so I thought, why not give it another try on my own? Maybe this time I could free up enough memory.
So I started looking for programs that I no longer use. One was Office 10 which held my attempt at a novel that I hadn't added to in years. Nope, I was not going to finish it so I deleted it. Thought that would be painful but it really wasn't.
Then thinking of books, I went to my Kindle library where I discovered every book I had ever ordered or borrowed from the library for over 12 years was still there. I had deleted them off my Kindle but not out of the Kindle library. I had over 1000 titles sitting there.
So I started deleting what I knew I had already read or probably wouldn't ever read. I was able to delete almost 600 titles. That wasn't fun but effective. You think hanging on to the over 400 books makes me a bit of a hoarder? That's OK, I've been called worse.
Also I discovered that the email I had gotten from Amazon about no longer servicing my Kindle applied to my first one. My second one, which is about 9 years old, still has some life left in it. As you can tell, I tend to milk my devices.
Anyway, I think the moves I made have bought me some more time on my ancient computer. I still delete my history, cache and cookies weekly. I gave this last attempt 7 days to see if I had solved the lack of memory and crashing problem. Seems I have---maybe. Now if I could only do that with my brain. There is so much useless stuff I am storing in my head that I would love to delete.
I have still been able to visit you this past week but will be glad to be posting again. Thanks for bearing with me. It is good to be back.
Do you put your devices on life support or are you quick to ditch the old and start over with new and shiny? I get attached to familiar and comfortable. Might be why I drive a 19 year old vehicle.
Good for you Patti, I hope this does the trick for a long while. I'm like you (when it comes to gizmos), familiar & comfortable. I recently got a brand new battery for my 2011 Toshiba Satellite laptop (thank you Ebay!) which gave my computer a new lease on life. PS I bought a 2002 Honda Civic brand new from the showroom and it was the only car I drove for 20 years. Sold it in 2021, still miss it. :^)
ReplyDeleteDoug,
DeleteWe are definitely alike. I know you are holding on to your laptop also. Hope the new battery did the trick.
I'll bet whoever got your Honda is loving it. I enjoy mine every day till I have to go through a drive up window and then I wish I had gotten electric windows:)
I tend to try and make things last as long as I can. Heck, I still have a computer with a tower stored in a closet that I should toss....after breaking up the hard drive.
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
Anni,
DeleteMe too. I have a former laptop that no longer work and needs to go. Where did I put that hammer. Maybe someday.
I'm glad you figured out how to get more life out of your old computer. I keep my computers until they literally die. We have a PC that's probably 15 years old and an old Mac that's 10. We use them for stuff that our new shiny computers just won't do.
ReplyDeleteRobin,
DeleteHa ha, shiny isn't always the answer is it? So glad you can still use your oldie goldies.
Glad you were able to bring new life back into your computer. I pay to have my files backed up at carbonite so I don't really worry about crashes, but I purge, reformat and run cleaning programs every other day to keep my computer healthy. I never put books on my computer, just on my Kindle. My Kindle is a miracle machine that someday probably will crash but they are so cheap I don't really worry about it. I used it daily.
ReplyDeleteJean,
DeleteI thought my books were only on my Kindle but Amazon keeps a library for you that you have to delete manually. I was unaware of that. Not sure if it is part of your memory but when I deleted them, things improved. .
Jean,
DeletePS.
I hadn't heard about Carbonite. Thanks, will look it up.
My computer crashed recently so I had to buy a new one. That hurt! And, now I am struggling with learning Windows 11 and also finding some of my programs are different. It's like learning all over again.
ReplyDeleteLatane,
DeleteI am so sorry. That is why I try to keep this one going. I loathe the idea of learning a new system.
Your vehicle is 19?!! Makes my 14 year old Toyota seem like a youngster. I tend to hold onto my computers and vehicles until they pass away on their own. The iMac I'm typing this on is also 14 years old. As for deleting things from our brains? It's all reference material from our School Of Hard Knocks.
ReplyDeleteFlorence,
DeleteYour car is a teen while mine can vote:)
That Mac is older than my laptop. Maybe I should have gone Mac. Next time.
You are simply amazing! I am glad you were able to gain more memory by deleting more stuff. Wish we could do that with our aging brain!
ReplyDeletegigi,
DeleteThanks and me too on the brain. There is stuff in there that will never have a good use.:)
because of finances I always try to fix first. That is why I drive a 15 yr old vehicle too. :-)
ReplyDeletePeg,
DeleteI am surprised at how many of us are driving old vehicles. Detroit must hate our kind.
I'm afraid I'm hard on laptops - they have a tendency to die painful deaths from crashing to the floor. The last one which was only a couple of years old died due to the plug in pins being damaged when the cord was yanked out one too many times.
ReplyDeleteI didn't think to check to see how much memory this cheap one I bough had so I've had to backup to an external hard drive regularly. Which is a good thing because I lost months of data on a financial spreadsheet I maintain. I could have sworn I backed it up every month...but I couldn't locate it.
However, my vehicle is rapidly approaching it's 16th year of service and running well. It's a Toyota - with the few kilometers I drive a year I expect it will keep on going for several more.
Eileen,
DeleteYikes you are brutal on computers but evidently gently on your vehicle. Mine is a Toyota also and it is just hard to beat them. They are the automotive Energizer Bunnies.
P.S. I'm happy to hear you were able to get the current computer running reasonably well. That's a lot of books!
ReplyDeleteEileen,
DeleteThanks and yes that is a lot of books but I had been collecting for many years.
I hope it continues to work. I hold on to the old and familiar because there are always snafus in an upgrade. My last laptop only lasted a few years which was very disappointing!
ReplyDeleteMargaret,
DeleteMe too. I hate the thought of setting up a new computer.
Things really don't last as they used to. We just replaced a microwave that was only 2 years old... and only a few weeks out of warranty. Luckily they are not expensive. Our desktop computer is very old... (uses Vista) but still works although no longer supported. Laptop is Windows 10, but about 5 years old. iPhone is a 6... and they're on 14. So, no, we aren't quick to upgrade.
ReplyDeleteRian,
DeleteYour desktop really is a relic. I have Windows 7 which came after Vista and mine is old. I can tell you aren't quick to jump on the new version either.
My car is a 2001 Honda Civic. I will drive it until the wheels fall off. I just got a new iPhone and love it. My earlier one was ten years old! :-)
ReplyDeleteDjan,
DeleteCongrats on the long lived Honda. I'm like you, I keep up maintenance and wait for it to disintegrate.
You're a tech wizard in my book. Hadn't heard that about books on the kindle, so I'm going to check mine this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteTom,
DeleteI thought when I deleted it from my Kindle that took care of everything. I found the library on the Amazon account. Good luck.
Oh, if you or anyone else finds a way to free up memory in the brainplease let me know right away!!
ReplyDeleteOlga,
DeleteHa ha, you bet I will. Wouldn't that be nice?
Wow! You're really a great techie, Patti. I tend to hold on to my electronics for a long time because I can't stand to have to get used to something new. Unfortunately, I didn't know my iphoneXR did not have a lot of memory so I did have to kill things on it. Now I'm looking at the iPhone 14 and wondering.....Hmmmmm.....
ReplyDeleteKay,
DeleteI'm just too cheap not to try. I hope you didn't have to lose important things on the phone. Good luck if you go new.
We hang on to things also, until they no longer work or aren't reliable. Our computers are only several years old. I hope they last awhile. New technology is expensive and difficult to get used to.
ReplyDeleteLinda,
DeleteIt is that difficult to get use to that keeps me attached to the old.
I am a chronic phone upgradee. Generally everything else I keep along time but I'm going to need a bigger laptop with a bigger screen soon. Haven't had a desktop in years. I delete the kindles from the cloud only if I never wanna read then again but if they aren't downloaded I don't think it affects my memory.
ReplyDeleteBarb,
DeleteNot sure about whether deleting my books did affect the memory but I know my computer sure picked up speed. If nothing else, I'm sure I made Amazon happy:)
I delay any new device as it is a pain in the a** to get all the features I am used to and to get accustomed to new features and acce3ss methods.
ReplyDeleteJoeh,
DeleteExactly-- and then sometimes find that the accessories you bought no longer work with the new device. Too much effort for me.
I buy books from "bookbub" they come via Amazon to my computer, then I download to the kindle via usb cord, so I've known about the Amazon library from the beginning. whenever I finish a book on my kindle I delete it right away and from the Amazon library too. other ways I save space is by transferring important stuff or just stuff I want to keep onto external hard drives which I then label so I know what's on them, then I go through my pictures files and start deleting from there too. Once in a while I remember to defragment the hard drive, which doesn't gain space but does put files back in place and speeds things up a bit. I don't remember how old this laptop is, only a few years, but I've kept the old Toshiba because, well who knows why. It's just such a pretty little machine and I don't want to throw it away.
ReplyDeleteRiver,
DeleteYou are doing what I should have been doing all along. I also deleted a lot of my pictures that were mostly repeats and some of my music that I never listen to. I really need to do as you do and work more with external hard drives.
I'm not very good about clearing stuff off my computer and not on a regular basis as would be better for me to do. Yes, I use my devices as long as I can but I really don't know all the tricks of the trade to extend their life. I often don't know how to get rid of some stuff. Also, my son takes the lead like when he decided to go to Apple, coincidentally when my laptop went down. Security support had also ended for the system I was using, when he wanted me to just switch. So, I did to keep in step with rest of family and they could best help me
ReplyDeleteacross the miles -- my tech support.
Joared,
DeleteIt is so comforting to have a tech guy in the family and smart to use what they are familiar with so a fix is easier.
My Windows 7 is no longer supported either so I tread lightly.
Meant to add, I have a 1999 Toyota bought used but will last me the rest of my life.
ReplyDeleteJoared,
DeleteWow, yours is 4 years older than mine. Those Toyotas are hard to kill. When I bought mine in 03 I really felt it was my last vehicle also. Didn't know I would live this long but think we are both OK.
Wouldn't it be great if we could delete all the crap from our brain we no longer want, including all the bad memories. I hope this fixes your computer issues for a while.
ReplyDeleteJoey,
DeleteOh yes that would be so great. I have so much useless stuff stored up there. Hadn't thought about bad memories but that would also be wonderful. Who needs them?
I had planned to be gone a couple of weeks and ended up gone a month. Now I am trying to catch up with all the past posts and I have missed a lot because of my book mania. All my family is on Goodreads and I'm picking up lots of books to read on their lists. It's addicting.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
DeleteI totally agree. You can never have too many books.