May 09, 2005 - 7:28 p.m. Last Tuesday, my hard drive died. It's first symptoms were a clicking noise and a high pitched squealing, the latter being inaudible to me. After trying to examine the problem, I attempted a reboot, and... nothing. Just an error message about how there is no bootable device. After 2 hours online with Dell tech support, they decided to send me a new hard drive. I received said hard drive today. So begins the arduous task of reinstalling everything and getting my settings back to their custom places. Funny how you get everything just the way you want it, and then kablooie. The data that I miss the most from my old, deceased hard drive is my music. Yes, some of it was "borrowed," and I claimed to my friends--only half-jokingly--that God smote me for my less than legal activity. The other thing I will miss is my pictures, like the blurry ones from my first night at school. I suppose it could be worse. Actually, I've been taking this remarkably calmly, I think. What a project for my nice time at home. ...before & after...