Welcome to PC!

Well, that's the protocol here. We each start our own thread. Posting your problem within someone else's thread has internet lingo associated with it: "hijacking". And actually, I think you increase your chance of having it be seen because some people read just the first post of a thread and either decide that it's not something they want to or can contribute to and stop reading, or else they continue with it.

No, you should not post the same thread in more than one forum. The moderators will delete one of them (sorry - but we have to keep it manageable). If you are looking for similar topics, there is an Advanced Search feature in the upper right corner of each screen.

The best way to make contact with people is to post your problems in your own threads, and to respond to other people's problems with your support and input (as you have already, very helpfully done to mine). THAT is how you make friends and supporters here. PC is a very supportive place and if you do those two things, I guarantee you will make friends easily. There is also the Chat room, and weekly there are scheduled Chats on Tuesday nights, 9pm EST. That's when you'll find the most people in Chat, so try to be there!

Good luck!
LMo