Computer Frustrations

So, a little over 3 weeks ago, the web browsers on my desktop computer suddenly lost the ability to connect to the internet. Other programs, such as Windows Updates and Norton Anti-Virus, apparently still worked just fine, but the browsers could now only display “Unable to load page” error messages. Thinking it an internet issue, I called AT&T DSL tech support. After spending an hour on the phone with two tech reps, I was told that there was nothing wrong with the modem or the connection. If I start the computer in safe mode, the web browsers work. If I start in normal mode, something prevents the browsers from accessing the net. The level 2 tech rep (who sounded a bit condescending and put-upon) suggested that I find a friend who knows computers or take my disabled system to the Geek Squad.

The apparent culprit behind this connectivity issue is one of those automatic updates that run in the background, often without our knowledge. Something in a recent (buggy) Windows or Firefox update clearly does not get along with Norton Anti-Virus or Windows firewall. I researched the problem, and it is apparently not an uncommon one. However, none of the recommended solutions I read about have worked thus far. The only way I’ve been able to get online is with my laptop, which I bought in February to be my work computer.

It’s been over 3 weeks since I’ve been able to get online with my desktop, and I’m facing a rather drastic solution: back up all the data on the system and reimage the hard drive. This means wiping the computer clean and reinstalling all the software. Though a colleague has told me that some (techie) people routinely do this to make their computers run efficiently, I’m feeling a bit of trepidation about this step. But, I don’t really see a way around this. Everything is so web-based these days that my desktop will surely become defunct should its inability to connect to the internet become permanent. And the system is only a little over 3 years old!

This problem has doubtless been a frustrating and annoying one, but it also started me thinking about how dependent on technology (especially the information superhighway) modern life is. And that makes me a tad uneasy. I can’t imagine life without a functioning computer, broadband, and email. What does that say about me and our civilization as a whole? And so much is automated these days… things we don’t even see (for example, the automatic updates that caused the subject of this rant). How easily might things slip from our control? I suppose it is just a fact of modern life that we must accept, discomfiting as it is.