Apparently, I am far too sexy and my otherwise enormous brain has started to shrivel and become less reliable as a result.

So here is the situation. I have a new Toshiba Tecra M2 laptop (my rating: 7.9 out 10). Things have been working really well until last night when suddenly no sound would come out of the speakers. So let the troubleshooting begin:

• Check Volume Setting in Windows Volume Control - check
• Make sure Keyboard Mute is not enable - check
• Now I am a bit perplexed, and even though I have not loaded anything new in a while, I check to make sure the sound drivers are installed and functining properly - check
• Damn - everything seems ok. Well, I will fall back to years of Windows troubleshooting experience and pull out the big gun - reboot the system. Still no sound.
• Double damn. Let me try playing different types of sounds. No system sounds. Media player - no joy. Real - nope.
• Ok. Search the Internet using various terms and sites. Nothing.
• Hmmmm... there seem to be a lot of strange symbols on the keyboard representing special functions. Not sure what all of them do. Perhaps I pushed one that disabled the speakers or something. Begin pushing random function keys. Nothing helps though I did learn a few new features on my latptop.
• Maybe I am still missing something with these function keys. Download the electronic Spanish novel called "El Manual" for the Tecra. Use the index and even read some parts - still no clue
• I decide to give up. I am crushed. I will actually have to call the MS Help Desk and see if they can help me. There is no greater humility for a techie at Microsoft than calling the internal Help Desk.

So as I am picking up the phone, wondering what I have missed, something in the back of my brain jiggles loose. Wasn't there an actual, antiquated, analog volume wheel somewhere on the Tecra?

Low and behold, hidden from view by the external keyboard I was using, I see the wheel. A guick spin and the next thing I know, I had volume. Imagine that - I only wasted a couple hours.

Argghgghghghhhhhhhhhhhhhh....