Help! Not a computer person, and I (of course) have a final project due tomorrow that I really wanted to be working on with my own computer.
So, I was surfing the Dope after lunch before getting started on my project for the afternoon, and my computer froze up for maybe… 10 seconds or so? Unfroze, worked long enough for me to go - huh, guess it’s ok now," and then I got a “windows encountered a problem and will restart in 1 minute” message, which it did, but it didn’t actually restart - it just sort of hung out in an empty black screen (no little prompt cursor in the top corner either) so I manually turned it off (held down the off button til it shut down) gave it a few minutes to think about what it had done, then turned it back on.
Windows Startup Repair came up, ran for a good while (several minutes) offered to try and restore the system to a prior point, failed, and then gave me an error message with lots of problem signatures culminating in a notice that problem signature 7 is a “bad driver.” It is hanging out on that screen at the moment.
I am not a computer person. I can not fix this myself. I have looked at other places for advice, and it all looks way over my comfort level.
So, my immediate question is, if it is a bad driver, can I take my laptop (acer aspire 5517, running Win 7) to a computer place, and can they fix it for me? If so, how long would it take?
Question two - If it’s going to be a multi-hour or multi-day fix, will it hurt the computer (or my data on it) to just leave it off for a few days until after my final projects are done and I just use my husband’s computer in the meantime (I’m on his right now) until I have the time to spare to deal with it?
No real worries about data on there - it’s all backed up. I do know that much. I just want my machine back - it’s more familiar!
thank you all!