I hate doing this, but I need a PC.
Donation protected
So, here's the thing. For those of you who have been here for a while, you know I've had significant issues with my hardware. I really don't like doing this sort of thing, but I feel, at this point, like I have to. Let me walk you through my frustrations.
I have an old PC which is good, because my newer one recently bit the dust. Catastrophic failures on multiple fronts mean that it's completely unusable, so I'm extremely glad that somebody gave me a PC before that happened, because it has meant that I have been able to work, despite that roadblock. However, this PC is replete with issues.
Most of the USB ports don't work, and the ones that do make it hard to work at all. They will randomly stop working, for no reason. At least, none that I can figure out. I've tried all possible troubleshooters that I can find, and none of them seem to work. The CD drive doesn't work either, so I can't manually install anything from CDs. Not that that's the main issue.
But the other problem is, it's an old PC, and windows just discontinued support for Windows 7, which means I have to scour the internet for drivers, because the automatic driver search doesn't find any new ones that might solve the problems I'm having. Not that it would help, because I've tried every troubleshooter out there, and literally poured days, if not weeks, of total man hours in trying to make this thing work.
It's to the point, where sometimes, while I'm recording, the USB port associated with the camera, microphone, keyboard, or mouse, will fail. It's even done that during livestreams sometimes, leaving me unable to interact with my chat, and nervous about my ability to efficiently end the call. Much less access information, or do anything else. It's also meant that I need to restart the computer entirely in order to get a mouse working, which is necessary to recording. Because it will stop working seemingly at random, and nothing I do at that point will reactivate it. Additionally, since this PC has no Wi-Fi card built in, and since I use a USB Wi-Fi attachment, whenever the USB ports fail, there's a chance that it will disable my internet connection as well. And the problems don't end there. If I leave it locked for too long, it will have an "unexpected" shutdown. Some of the other ports on the computer don't work either. And since Windows is stopping support for Windows 7, sometimes my work will simply be interrupted by a big blue window redirecting me to a page telling me to buy new hardware.
Now, I want to be clear. I'm deeply grateful for the PC I have - I'm in no way trying to say I'd be better off without it, and it has helped me immensely. But my stress levels are constantly high, and I can't even work for a decent chunk of the day, because I have to assess these problems. I don't know what to do but this, and I think this is the only way.
I've tried uninstalling and reinstalling everything, I've tried updating drivers, I've tried clearing out all bad drivers, I've tried turning off USB selective suspend, and I've done every single other suggestion I could find online. Nothing worked. And now I'm at my wit's end, and typing this out on my phone, while my PC restarts for the fifth time this morning.
I just want to get a reasonable PC, which won't have the problems this one has. And I figure, if I simply set up a goal, anyone who wants to help me get there can. Because I could put out a significant amount more content, if I didn't spend hours every day pushing the boulder up the hill trying to make this work for me. I don't expect this fundraiser to do well, and I don't even expect anybody to help. However, I figure it's best to try, because if I don't, and I keep struggling with this unnecessarily, when there might have been people willing to help, I'm wasting everybody's time, not just mine.
So, if you decide you want to help me do this, thanks deeply. I hope to put out daily content, and this would enable me to do so, finally. Additionally, a better PC would enable me to render video faster, do more complicated visual effects, and stream better content. It's a step on a much longer journey of bringing you the content you deserve. And even if it doesn't happen, thanks deeply to the donors. Means a lot to know people think I'm worth it.
Organizer
Jeremy Harding
Organizer
Spokane, WA