Techno-no-no...Waitaminute

So I recently lamented that I was having Internet Issues, and pleaded for advice of anyone who knows more about computers than I do...which is about everyone. Advice came back, mostly in the form of, "sounds like a hardware issue," which had me banging my head on my desk and seeing a massive bill in my near future.

Then the most amazing thing happened.

I fixed it.

All by myself.

Last Saturday, I was battling a nasty cold, and not feeling up for much of anything besides lounging in bed with a book or sitting at my desk listlessly surfing the Internet. I decided to use this for good, and got on the Dell support page to see if I could chat with someone. A few months ago, a Dell rep remotely helped me fix the sound driver on my computer after all sound stopped working (horrors!). And though my last foray into online chat help wasn't so helpful (he uninstalled Google Chrome and reinstalled it), I figured I'd have a better chance this time.

Only...the technical support chat is not available on Saturday. What?!

I started poking around the support pages, putting my computer's number into the box to determine what might be going on. There were some recommended downloads--free ones--that had me raising an eyebrow, but one mentioned wi-fi and Bluetooth, so I figured, well, what the hell. I either fix this issue or not, and I can always uninstall it later.

So I downloaded. My computer whirred and hummed for a few minutes and I rolled my eyes, thinking, "Oh God, I'm making it worse and now I can't go back." But lo and behold, when the download was complete, and the computer restarted...my Internet worked again. No weird freezes. No Dino of Doom

tormenting me and making me want to throw my laptop out the nearest window (which is approximately six inches away from my left shoulder).

It has stayed that way. I fixed my own damned Internet. ME. The lady who still hasn't figured out how to connect the ancient TV in my classroom to the new DVD player. I'll get there. I mean, hey, I downloaded some doohickey to miraculously fix my Internet. Before you know it, I'll be landing people on the moon.

Well, maybe not.