Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Another Cyber Sucker Punch

I've been sucker punched. Again. Yep, and I did it to myself. Not funny. 

Computer glitch meltdowns fry and refry my brain. There's a definite disconnect in my gray matter when it comes to technology. Even simple changes often cause a ripple effect where one problem leads to another and another. It sends me spiraling into cyberspace mania.

I've had Yahoo Mail for years. I'm a creature of habit. It's so nice to know what I'm doing. But the latest Yahoo Mail upgrade (which I didn't even want) isn't compatible with Mac. It has trouble loading and sending, plus freezes up while trying to access emails. I mean, come on, having to sign in 50 times a day is maddening.

I downloaded recommended firewalls, which made things worse. I finally got a hold of someone at Yahoo support, but got kicked off in the middle of the chat. I had to start all over, but finally got through again. This time I was on long enough to do what the tech told me, but that didn't help. Then I lost her again and gave up.

So what's a tech idiot supposed to do? A friend said I should get Gmail and have my Yahoo mail forwarded, so I took the plunge and opened a Gmail account. The glitch - I need Yahoo Plus to have my Yahoo mail forwarded to my Gmail. Well, I can't afford didley squat to upgrade anything.  However, it did allow me to import all my contacts and info from the Yahoo account. Yay, I was making progress.

Then I stumbled on an option where I could link my Gmail to my Yahoo mail. Aha! That ought to do it. Click. That was easy. Or so I thought.

Now, I know you techies are already laughing and shaking your heads at my bungling. You lucky ducks who find technology a cinch know what an idiotic move that was. I'll blame it on the late hour of the night. I went to sleep, thinking the problem was solved.

This morning when I signed in to check out the new Gmail account, it took me into my Yahoo Mail. Say what? What the heck? I tried to open an email, but couldn't access it. Same old issues. I tried logging in again through Google and it took me back into Yahoo Mail.

Yep, it connected my Gmail account with my Yahoo Mail, the exact opposite of what I wanted. I was running in cyber circles. The insanity didn't end there.

When Yahoo Mail froze up on me again, I decided to go to my Google dashboard and check the stats on my blog. A dashboard for a new account under my new Gmail address appeared. It said I hadn't started a blog yet. I couldn't get to my old dashboard. I didn't know if I'd ever be able to blog again. I couldn't bare the thought of starting over.

I needed to delete this new account, but how? Google doesn't have support people to contact, or maybe they do and they're hiding from me. Over and over I tried to figure it out. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Scream!

Well, it's good to cry and let it out. It beats having chest pains, for sure.

Cyber space cadet - A Classic Case of Refried Brain

Finally, I figured out how to log in with my old email address and accessed my dashboard. What a relief.  But how to fix the other things? How to undo all the mistakes I made? I just can't deal with it right now.  

Are you a tech wizard? Or are you challenged like me? How do you cope with tech problems? I know I'm not the only one, but I know I'm a hard case. I'm going to unplug for a bit. Maybe take a nap, for a day or two.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can I join your cyber-space-cadet group? I'm sooooo technically challenged.

vanyelmoon said...

I am not a tech wizard, but I bungle around pretty well. If I do make a mistake, I usually do a web search and can find someone else who made the same mistake and see how they fixed it. Thank goodness for search engines! :)

LynNerdKelley said...

Tiffany - It would be an honor if you join us, but I think you're way above our level. We could learn a lot from you!

Vanyelmoon - Thank you for visiting my site and leaving your comment. I'll search for more answers tomorrow. I did try today, but it's so tricky, and once I'm flustered, it's best to just step back for a bit and deal with it later. At least that's the strategy I'm trying for now!

Old Kitty said...

I'm so sorry you're experiencing such tech madness!! I'm a complete technophobe and am on the phone to the nearest techie person of any company (Dell, Virgin Media, etc) to help me!! I hope you sort out these crazy techie things soon! Good luck! Take care
x

Bish Denham said...

Bummer! I am a total techo-flunk. When Yahoo mail wanted me to upgrade I checked it out, didn't like it and returned to the old settings. There may a way for you to do that as well. I don't know. (Don't have a Mac.)

Hope you get it worked out SOON!

Anonymous said...

For what it's worth, I'm having the same problems with Yahoo mail. I hate the new Yahoo mail. It is a PITA. (And PITA is not a Tex-Mex delicacy.)

You'll probably come to Texas and strangle me for saying this...but I'm going to say it anyway. Reading your blog helped me know what *won't* work.

Also, I'm like you--I will *not* pay $20 a year for Yahoo Plus.

Best of luck figuring it all out. If you do come to a solution, please do a blog post so I can benefit from it.

Karen Lange said...

Oh my, I don't blame you for wanting to unplug! I've had trials with Yahoo and Hotmail over the years, and now I even have a gmail account. You know, because I have nothing else to do but check three email accounts...:P Have a happy unplug!

LynNerd said...

Old Kitty - Thank you for your kind words. I wish Google had phone support, but I guess they'd be overloaded constantly since there are so many people like me who run into one problem after another.

Bish - I wish I could switch back to the old Yahoo, but apparently it won't let me. I didn't want the upgrade in the first place. It seems that upgrades always complicate things.

Catie - Well, I'm so glad that this post was helpful to you so you don't make the same mistakes I did. If I figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know, but there's a fat chance of me being able to figure it out. I had hoped Yahoo would have fixed the glitches after months of problems but I guess Mac users aren't a priority to them.

Karen - Oh, I know what you mean about checking three email accounts because I'm now in the same boat. And I'm so unorganized, it will be a joke trying to keep them all straight! Thanks for stopping by!

Luanne G. Smith said...

Um, wow. You need to get a fourteen year old kid over to your house fast. They should be able to straighten you out in no time. :) Seriously, they seem to be born with an extra technical y-chromosome these days.

Also, I have Yahoo mail (new version) and a Mac and I haven't had any problems with it...yet. Don't have the upgraded version either. So I'm not sure that was your issue. What a mess. I'd freak if my mail and blog got sucked into a digital sinkhole.

Good luck. Hope you get it all untangled.

Anonymous said...

I am sooo challenged it takes me far too long to do things. It's not even funny.

I am feeling your pain. I can't even log into yahoo or my blog from my smartphone or ipad because I can't figure that out. They won't take my password. :(

Enjoyed your post. Made me feel not so alone.

LynNerdKelley said...

L.G. - You're so right, a 14-year-old could probably straighten out all my problems in a few minutes. Too bad my nieces and nephews don't live near me, but I'll keep an eye out for a techie kid who might be able to help me.

debra - With all the comments from people in our Wana1011 class, it made me realize that there are so many others like me who are so challenged, so I went ahead and blogged about it. It did make me feel better to get it off my chest. Each day is a challenge, that's for sure! We can be there for each other.

Lynda R Young as Elle Cardy said...

See, that's why I married a tech geek. He fixes all my problems :)

Enjoy your nap...

LynNerdKelley said...

Lynda - Smart move to marry a tech geek! Lucky you. Better keep him! Haha!

A Daft Scots Lass said...

I think refried brain is delicious!

Unknown said...

Hey lyn, thank you so much for visiting my blog and following because I got to come on over for a good dose of laughter which is what really need. Not taking stour problems lightley of course as I have experienced all such emotions and am an ID10 award holder. According to a tech I once had in my workshop when the computer geek says he says he has an ID10 error it means idiot error.

I've also learnt to google other people's problems first e following whatever instruction google or anyone gives because you'll find someone else has explained the sequence in non-geek somewhere. Still takes time but less bugger ups.
Good luck, a brief time away from it is great.

Anonymous said...

I have no clue what I'm doing with the computer..things change without warning..little boxes pop up here and there...so annoying.
Thanks for dropping in on thefeatherednest.

Tamara Narayan said...

Yes, I am technically challenged. I like to blame it on my hair color, but I'm slowly going grey, so I guess I'll have to come up with a new excuse.