Three weeks ago my Ethernet connection quit, due to some kind of problem with the network adapter. After a false start or two I ordered a card with an Ethernet plug which I thought I could just drop in as a replacement for the failing one. After two weeks of Best Buy mishandling the order it finally arrived today and I hastened to open the case and make the fix.

Dammit. The old plug is part of an adapter attached to the motherboard, not a separate card. There are no slots available in which to put the new card and I’m not sure how I could get the OS to override the existing adapter on the motherboard and find the new card even if there were.

Now what? I think the Geek Squad charges a minimum of $160 just to open a PC case and probably another $100 to diagnose. A new HP machine would cost only $40-$50 more than that after taxes. ‘Course, then I’d have to transfer all the data from the old machine to the new one, but it might not be all that hard.

Whaddya think?