Well, this sucks.

So I come home today and my computer was off, which is odd. Sometimes I'll come back and it's on the sign-on screen because Windows installed some crap and had to reboot, but off? That's a new one. I turn it on and Windows won't even boot... I get some error message saying that a system file is missing or corrupt, and that I need to get the Windows setup CD and try and repair the file from there.

But of course, guess what? I can't find the CD. In fact, I'm not entirely convinced there ever was a CD... pretty much any OS comes pre-installed these days, and the CDs are only ever backup. I have the CD for the Windows ME from my old computer, but a fat lot of good that does me. It's possible that there is a CD and it's floating around in my morass of a room - I found the CD for my printer, and for Microsoft Front Page, and these are both things I would have to have used on my current computer... so if there is a CD, you'd think it would make sense for it to be there... unless of course it's still in the computer box, which is I'm not even sure where. (Home? I feel like I've had this computer since senior year, because I remember picking up the box at Plex. So I've been home - I'm referring here to DC - at least a couple times since then. Did I take the box back with me? I probably didn't throw it out - especially if it contained CDs - so that's as reasonable an explanation as any.)

But still, this sucks ass. What if I can't find the CD? Am I going to have to buy a new copy of Windows XP just to repair this thing? And God forbid I have to format my hard drive - I have everything on there and no backup. (Yeah, yeah... clearly I should ask for an external hard drive for my next birthday or something.) Anyone ever had an experience like this before?

(By the way, I'm posting from Alma's now, obviously. Depending on how this plays out, the bowl picks will probably not see much updating for a few days or longer. Grr.)