Kid and Caboodle

There are certain unpleasant but necessary tasks I must regularly perform like cleaning toilets, doing taxes and going to the dentist. Now it seems I have another: figuring out what is wrong with my laptop. For at least a week now it has refused to acknowledge it has a battery, which defeats the purpose of having a laptop (portability) as opposed to a desktop. Whenever the cord is unplugged — accidentally or deliberately — the machine goes completely black. When replugged, it goes through all kinds of alarming checks. One time it claimed it didn’t have a hard drive (fortunately it found it again after I rebooted the machine).

I really hope I don’t have to buy a new laptop. It was such a headache the last time. Maybe the local geek squad can help?