Some progress.
I visited the local Apple store and they advised that if I return on the 9th, they would erase the drive and reinstall the OS at no cost; most generous me thinks.
Even when the machine was new, it required a fair bit of on-going attention and TLC, so indeed a school or such where the multitude are banging away, well, the results are predictable...
Ergo, I am now searching for a bright preteen who is from a desperately poor family.
