Laptop Blues
Apr. 28th, 2026 10:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
billroperSo that Gretchen wouldn't have to haul back upstairs to file her Social Security and Medicare applications, I figured I'd just borrow the tiny laptop that I got for her a few years ago and use it for the process. Piece of cake, right?
Well, it would have been, except that the laptop had so little charge on it that I couldn't get it to stay awake. Ok, let's let it charge a bit. Now, I should be able to get it to stay powered up.
Google Chrome is so old that I can't get it to connect to the Social Security site. I try upgrading Chrome and cannot, because the disk is completely full. This box only has a 64 GB drive.
I give up. I borrow Gretchen's phone and use it to complete the process. Yay, me!
Then it is back to studying the laptop. The disk is so overrun with Windows 11 that it can't even load updates to the OS. A web search indicates that it's time to give up and install Linux, because Windows 11 will only barely run on the box.
I'm installing Linux Mint now.
*sigh*
Well, it would have been, except that the laptop had so little charge on it that I couldn't get it to stay awake. Ok, let's let it charge a bit. Now, I should be able to get it to stay powered up.
Google Chrome is so old that I can't get it to connect to the Social Security site. I try upgrading Chrome and cannot, because the disk is completely full. This box only has a 64 GB drive.
I give up. I borrow Gretchen's phone and use it to complete the process. Yay, me!
Then it is back to studying the laptop. The disk is so overrun with Windows 11 that it can't even load updates to the OS. A web search indicates that it's time to give up and install Linux, because Windows 11 will only barely run on the box.
I'm installing Linux Mint now.
*sigh*