for a change of pace, this time it's a software problem

walkingshadow seriously wins Best Friend Ever status for answering her phone at 2:30 a.m. and letting me rant and babble and half-sob pretty much without taking a breath for almost an hour about the fact that OMG my computer wouldn't boot and the archaic process of data storage and never saving bookmarks anywhere but del.icio.us again and fic and music and scary, cold tech "support" guy's Windows is corrupt and the warranty doesn't cover data retrieval, like everything I've ever used the thing for is some sort of incidental.

But I took the chance that it could work when rolled back far enough, and through the magic of resetting the computer's clock, everything turned out to be fine on Dec. 15. If I were in any condition to perform higher brain functions, I'd want to know how that works, rolling back software without erasing any of the files you've created in that time. But everything is now backed up, the benefit of having a software as opposed to the usual hardware problem (please don't ask about the asthmatic noises my other external drive that's holding my Paris photos hostage makes.) I'm honestly not a bad computer owner! No drinking/eating over the keyboard, no blocking of vents, no dropping from heights, updated antivirus software, regular defragmenting, no sketch porn sites, and yet here we are. Proof positive that all the meek will ever inherit is a whole lotta regret.

Anyway, suggestions? Do I have to wipe Windows and start over? Can I *69 the unhelpful, unsympathetic bastard at Sony? Will there ever be such a thing as trustworthy machines? And please don't tell me the answer is Apple, there's far too much in my life that would be rendered useless if I went that route.