PC broke and now mom wants to pawn my DS

[granville]

Apparently, my old laptop decided to bite the dust and die. Now I'm using an even older and slower laptop to post this. Mom wants a new PC and she's trying to bully me into selling my DS to pay for it. At least she has to take her precious LED christmas lights back that she bought too. Makes me feel better that she has to suffer as well.

Sorry, but I needed to get that off my chest. Besides that point, what do you think I should do? On one hand, I get a better PC, on the other I lose my DS.

This is the one I'm using now:

Dell Latitude C610 (previously a leased laptop that was for business)
P3- 1ghz
256MB ram (and the slow old kind to boot)
16MB mobile Radeon

I can completely refuse to sell my DS if I wish, she'll just be horrible to me for a long time (that's not really anything new though). I'm kind of lost at what to do. I won't even be able to get a decent PC. It's just that even the cheapest computers of today for even only $300 will run 1000x better than mine.

I'll also mention that I don't really think I'll ever see my DS again. All my work dollars go into a family lump sum for food and bills, so I can't spend my own money. I have a job, but I can't control the money I make. She even hijacked my bank account and overdrew it so I can't use that anymore as well.

 

[science]

Tell her that you aren't likely to get more than... $40 or so for the DS, and that you really like it and it isn't fair for you to do that, especially at Christmas. You should get the same amount for the old computer you are on right now (if not more) then the DS, and tell her "Why do we need two computers? Sure, a new one would be great, but once you have it, we wont need this old one. Lets pawn it, so that way you can have what you like, and I can have what I like."

 

[thegame07]

May I ask why all your money goes to bills etc? You should pay your keep for staying in the house but you shouldn't be giving away 100% of your wages why does she need all of your money? keep your ds m8 you deserve it.

 

[sk3tch]

Format the box you're using currently with ubuntu...it will run better and it has all the apps you need. You may have some growing pains, but it beats buying a new computer! They have a LiveCD option, too - so you can boot into it and check out how things are before blowing away Windows.

Why buy new when you can give the old a new lease on life with Linux.

 

[Gaisuto]

Pretty much what science said, there's no way a DS would even give a worthwhile amount to put a dent on a new machine's cost.

 

[VmprHntrD]

I can see from your age(if honest) you're days away from being 22, and I really don't get the entire situation, but your mom is kind of a greedy bitch. I'm sorry but you have to be at least 16 if you got a real job (and you're 20) that pays with taxes and all that, yet somehow you're not entitled to one dime of it ever, and she is allowed to steal your money and overdraw your bank account helping to create at your young age a destroyed credit rating that'll fuck you for years to come. That's a really bad situation and it appears from your added comment that she's forcing you (more or less) to sell or she'll be a bitch to you for a long time, yet you said she kind of is anyways but more than usual.

I really do feel sorry for you. The one guy did have a point and if she thinks you can't get more than a few bucks for the DS as is maybe it'll help out the penny pincher.

I've been in the crapper for years (credit is awesome) but broke enough I've had to destroy much of my gaming collection (down to a couple hundred from like a 1000, and like 1/5 of the systems) and given up other cool things like laptops, pachinko machine, etc to pay the bills so I get where you're coming from. She seems to have her own problems with money far more deeply rooted than you probably been alive for.

My suggestion is if she'll already be aggravating and her usual self, keep the DS. I'm going to guess you have some flash kit for it or whatever so you'll have plenty to do for free for years to come. Her making you part with a $40 payout (probably less if gamestop as they give less in cash) is ridiculous.

 

[Banger]

I was paying many of the bills when I lived with my mom because she was jobless but she gets by now.. Moving out was the best thing I could have ever done.


You never said what was wrong with this "broken" PC. Did it start on fire and all the parts melt so you can not fix it?

 

[granville]

Thanks for the input. But I can assure you that no pawn shop will take this one as it's so old. And it has numerous technical issues:

- keyboard is unresponsive. I have to use a PS/2 external one to type
- USB port has a short. It has trouble detecting devices
- if I don't use a certain touchpad driver to disable the eraserhead, the mouse drifts across the screen

The reason she wants a new PC is that my mother has several online jobs. One requires more memory than this one has. But she doesn't even like that job. I have an online job too (a texting service called ChaCha). But even on this old clunker, it works fine.

I got this current PC along with an almost identical model for about $200 a piece at Ebay a few years ago. We both had online jobs and needed two PC's at once. The point of having two at once is to work at the same time. I currently have to share a PC and work nights while she works days. But it's just a bunch of things breaking at once, so it's so overwhelming. At the time, my DS is the only luxury I own (and I mean that truthfully as I never drive or do any sort of drugs. I don't even have cable TV).

As for linux, we cannot use it for the jobs we work.

My money goes to bills, food, etc. And it's still not enough. At the moment, our roof is also leaking like mad, and the rafters are showing through the ceiling. I don't say this to be whiney, and I can prove it by snapping a picture. I'm just having a hard time explaining my financial predicament.

And at the moment, we're in such bad trouble that I feel rotten denying my mother money. We're also trying to sell our house in a terrible house market. It's worth a lot, but it's just not selling. We don't have a mortgage thank god, but taxes are killing us too.

@Vampire Hunter D:

I'm currently 19 and will be 20 on the 29th. I'm not lying, as I've posted pictures I assume show my age. My mother can be mean, but she's really pinched financially. And that's why I even posted this. I can just refuse to sell, but am compelled to feel bad if I don't. I hope this latest message will fill in the gaps of my story, but I know how bad I am at telling it.

The overdrawing of my bank account really angers me, but she had little choice. It still angers me though.

@banger:

The PC that broke currently cannot get past the Windows XP loading screen (the black one that appears right after the bios). It then reboots. I can't seem to boot into safe mode. I'll try to rewrite it, but we'll see what happens. It's had a top of hard drive issues in the past, so I'm starting to think it might be a corrupted hard drive.

 

[epicelite]

Buy a new keyboard for the laptop, I just replaced my mom's dell keyboard for $15
you can get new trackpads too, a bit more complicated.
Do not use that USB port.

I dunno.

 

[VmprHntrD]

Well seems I'm kind of spot on with what I was guessing. You're pinched like I was, and you've had to sell off quite a bit to deal with some crap that came up, same here. The problem is she's being overly cruel when it comes to you in the now and the future. She should never have touched your account, and the DS, I get her argument but as it stands in cash you'll get maybe $30 for it, and in credit from a Gamestop or clone is $40 which is pointless. Unless that $30 is going to keep you from living in the street it's a futile move. You shouldn't feel bad to sell, you said you would, but I'm thinking it's more coerced manipulation of your mom. My mother is one of those manipulative types that'll whimper, whine, or act all overbearing and overprotective to get her way, and when she doesn't the act starts up. I just learned to crack down and blow it off, because when they learn it works they'll abuse it. May as well learn that lesson now or people in the workplace and life will just figure you out as weak and use it against you later. I'd use the DS honestly as therapy for yourself, stand your ground and keep it.

Also on the side I'd look into anything you can do to fix that bank issue before you end up never being able to have a credit card, line of credit, or get a loan on a car or home until you're like in your 40s or 50s when it finally self-repairs itself.

 

[granville]

You seem to understand what's happening Vampire Hunter D. Thanks for the advice. I'm going to try to see what I can do to fix the broken PC if it's not really bad hard drive corruption.

We called Gamestop a while ago and asked how much they'd give for a used DS. It was about what you said and she sort of backed off after that. She's sort of calmed down now as she's gotten over the initial shock of the laptop breaking.

Basically, what she was going to do was to scrap up as much to sell as she could. She bought a few sets of LED Christmas lights that added up to about $50 (seemed a bit of a stupid purchase to me). She was thinking about selling them. I forget what else she wanted to do, but my DS was one of the things she considered. I put my foot down like you said and she backed off. It IS a luxury, which was why I even considered selling it at all. But it was my ONLY luxury.

 

[kevenka]

...I think her controlling his money and impulses is good. If he can't control it right now, someone should aid him. Now...as to what to do. Speak reasonably with her that 40 dollars + shouldn't do much =/ but if she still insist on it, do it. Your mother is someone you have respect for and in the end, everything will work out. You may find something that you never saw before...The joy of your mother receives; you placed her happiness and needs above your desires. =)
Sum it up: If she says even 40 dollars will be significant for her, then do it, but make sure you guys discuss about it. (productively, if she starts ignoring your suggestions...then, for now, just give it up. It will work out in the end)
She'll find a way to make it up

 

[granville]

She decided my DS wasn't worth it. She's still pretty mad right now that her PC broke. She's taking it out on me. I'm going to try to reformat and reinstall windows to see what I can do.

I'd be glad to help my mom out. I just wish she'd treat me more respectfully. I'm nearly 20 years old and she treats me the same as she did when I was 4.

I think I might be able to rewrite mom's computer! I'll be doing that for a while, so I might not post too often. Wish me luck!

Arrggh! The setup is having problems detecting the Windows CD.

Nevermind, I was using the upgrade version of XP. You have to have a full version of Windows for it to work. So I just put in my old full version of Win98 to detect it then switched back in the XP Upgrade to install XP!

 

[nin10do]

g'luck mate.

 

[granville]

Ok, I'm good. I fixed the computer. It turns out it was just a corrupted Windows or something. I'm posting using the PC and it seems to be working great.

 

[Banger]

There you go ;-) I am sure if it was a corrupt hard drive someone here could have sent you one like mega cheap and or free.

 

[shtonkalot]

Just wanted to say good luck granville.

This time of year can be hard enough on people without the stresses you are facing.
I think a situation as personal as this would be hard to get useful advice on, and yet you seem to have found some.

When things are that close to line that a DS being sold can make a difference to someone's life it is a difficult call to make.
I've been in similar positions and to be honest am not that far away from them right now.

Wish you and your mother all the best for Christmas, new year and beyond.

 

[EmperorOfCanada]

Format the box you're using currently with ubuntu...it will run better and it has all the apps you need. You may have some growing pains, but it beats buying a new computer! They have a LiveCD option, too - so you can boot into it and check out how things are before blowing away Windows.

Why buy new when you can give the old a new lease on life with Linux.

There is no such thing as free software! Stop spreading such harmful lies!

 

[science]

Glad to see everything worked out. Best wishes to you and your mother this holiday season!

Posts merged

Glad to see everything worked out. Best wishes to you and your mother this holiday season!

 

[shtonkalot]

There is no such thing as free software! Stop spreading such harmful lies!

I get it, but it is a slightly obscure reference. Unless you watch the social news sites like a hawk... which I do.