Hi LL....sounds like you've gotten to know your laptop real well, as I have my Gateway desktop this week.   Thankfully I have a backup laptop for emergencies, but I don't tinker with it for that reason.   And yes, caution is a good idea with video driver updates.   Make sure you know which key to press in order to go into safe mode should you ever have a mess on your hands....I had to run to the Gateway website by way of laptop to find that seldom used information.    I'm not one to give up on things easily so I was determined to at least give it a fair try, but it's getting to the point where it can wear you out...and like you mentioned, there are real like things like grocery runs and errands, and work.  

When this is all behind us and we've had a little rest, would love to learn something about what you do with lighting....or point me in the right direction to learn.   I get frustrated....have fairly good ideas for composing pictures, but the lighting is always either poor to down right bad because I don't know how to use all the advanced features.....the things that make glass look like glass, and well-placed dim lights.   I know it's all a matter of dials in the right place, so I'm not afraid to try it.   Sometimes I hit a snag with terms that are used....because they are not yet familiar.

Glad to see you online again....I was starting to get a little concerned, if maybe you had your system fail to restart or something.    And you're right, we have XL to fall back on, and perhaps the companion program that just came out may be helpful as well.   Better to have something working, than the whole thing to go "scrambled eggs".   This stuff could give you a twitch after awhile...hahaha.....

~skylab     : )