... things are making a little more sense.

The answer to "How do I get things from the F: drive on the machine that died to the new machine?" really isn't that tough. I'd been toying with the idea of buying another external drive anyway, just to have something that isn't physically part of the computer to use for backups. The External Hard Drive Enclosure I just ordered solves both problems at once. All I have to do is pull the F: drive out of the dead machine and install it in the external enclosure. Voila, external drive! Not just any external hard drive, but an external hard drive with all of my sisters music and picture files on it! Once I've done that my sister can copy her music and image files to the C: drive where they're easier to get to and still have copies in a safe spot.

It also soaked in while I was trying to get enough coffee down to trust myself near a computer that I can do a lot of what needs done to get the new machine up and running (install service packs, etc) without having to tie up the space where it will end up in a few days. I basically use my laptop as a desktop except when I'm on the road so I already have a good keyboard, mouse and monitor available in my blogging corner and the network cable is still around from the days when there used to be a desktop in here. Sometime soon I'll shut off the laptop and connect the new desktop, then when I have it all ready for the family to use I'll move it to the other end of the house. More convenient for everyone than doing all the things that need done to a new computer in there.

***

I got impatient this afternoon and decided it was time to at least make sure the new computer fired up OK. It did and while I had it hooked up installed all of the latest Windows and Norton Security updates. I'm going to keep it in my room turned off till the hard drive enclosure I ordered today gets here, which it looks like will be Monday.

I guess Matt ended up taking a week of vacation this week and Cordell doesn't have school tomorrow  or Monday for some reason so Tuesday's the first day things will really get back to normal around here. One day of peace then I spend Wednesday driving to the VA hospital in Marion and back.