Out of interest

Is the "turn off computer" option you get from then Windows start menu any different to the "turn off computer" option you get when you call up the Task Manager with CTRL+ALT+Del and go to Shut Down-->Turn Off?

(The computer lady seemed to think they were different somehow.)

HOORAY!

Hooray senji!

I now have a monitor hooked up, and lo and behold, I can see everything once again!

This means I can switch my desktop colour scheme back to purple (I'd set it to high contrast white and black when I discovered I could just get by on the laptop so long as 2 desk lamps were shining on the screen, but that even then light text on a dark background was nearly impossible to read) and I can redo my LJ in pretty colours (I changed that to white/cyan last night so I could peek at it from my computer in my room).

All is well, disaster is averted and I am happy.

*bouncebouncebouncebouncebouncebounce*