Only 3+ days to set up new computer

The writing life often involves disasters, delays and disruption--many of them from computer and printer problems. On top of that, writers have a life, although if there's a deadline, it may not feel that way.

I was happily (though slowly) doing my revision of my YA, SHELTER, when my new HP arrived. Wow. Mega machine. I loved the speed, the big monitor, all the memory, you name it. But when dh started to seriously set it up, things got complicated.

He and I each have a computer and are on a network. We found out that the drivers on our two ancient but good printers were so old that neither dh nor my very techie brother could figure out how to allow dh to continue to use either printer. My new HP did allow me to use my Brother Multi-function machine, but not my Lexmark color printer.

Brother Fred said, "Buy a new printer--they're cheap."
Dh (also cheap) said no, he'd find a way. And he did get the Brother to work with his computer. Then he called HP for see if they could get our network to share the printers. The HP techie undid dh's connection for the Lexmark to my HP, in the process uninstalling and not re-installing my Norton, which we didn't realize for several hours.

Then Hubby spent more time trying to get my Norton back. No luck. Finally called HP again, got another techie and in "only" one more hour, we both had the Brother M-F machine and I also had the Lexmark. Dh even moved my email address book from one system to another, bless him.

So now I have a great new computer, after only about 15 hours of my dh's time and 3 and 1/2 of my brother's. (And many thanks to them both!)

All that time I was dying to check my email, get back to work on my ms., and
learn how to use Office 7 which seems very different from Office 5 in a zillion ways. So back to the drawing board.

Piece of cake.

Tomorrow.