Well, I got my computer back on Friday. (I started a new job Monday, and I've been too swamped to post until now.) They replaced the mother board and it appears to run fine now. The hard drive was intact, but I'm still getting an external back up drive.
Yea my wife has one (mainly because she uses her computer for work and can't afford to lose any data). I should have already purchased one, but I've been cheap and lazy. Maybe I've finally learned my lesson.
