Getting the desktop back and running

About a month ago I had to take my new PC back to the retailer because it stopped booting. I had bought the machine in March, so it was still covered by the manufacturer's warranty. I left it there and then returned home to wait, and a few days later the store phoned to tell me that they were working on it. I asked about the personal data on the PC and they told me it would cost me money to have them back it up. If I didn't have a hard drive they could use they would also charge me to buy a new one.

I took my remote hard drive down to the store and then returned home. While the desktop was away I used my laptop, an Asus PC bought in 2012. I would end up using it for several weeks, so I was glad I had it as a spare.

Some weeks later the store called me again and told me the computer was ready to pick up, so I drove down there and parked, picked it up and drove home. I then brought out a tech guy from a Sydney firm to set it up, including the email client and Microsoft Office. He took two hours to restore the backed up data and to install the software I needed. He also set up the email program so that I could see all my email accounts.

But after I shut it down for the night, the next morning the computer still wouldn't start. I videoed myself starting the computer, as they had requested at the store, and when I went back down to the store one day while I was out on a walk I showed the staffer there the video. He told me not to hold down the start button for so long. When I got home I tried starting the PC the way they had told me but still nothing came up on the screen, so I took the computer back to the store again. They connected it up and told me everything was fine, and that the problem must have been my monitor or monitor cable. They sold me a new HDMI cable and I went home.

When I connected everything this time the computer started and I was able to use it for a few days with no mishaps, but then this morning it took me three goes hitting the start button for the thing to boot. I managed to get it to work finally but it's still on probation as far as I am concerned. And one of the USB ports is broken, so I have to use one of the ones on the front of the machine for the video camera. My brother suggested quietly to me the other day when we were talking on Messenger that I might want to think about buying a Mac next time ...