For the last few weeks I've been having some trouble with my wireless connection on my laptop. Although every other device in the house was having no trouble, I was loosing my wireless connection several times an hour. Long story very short, the Geek Squad had to take my laptop back to it's factory settings. Total restore.I knew, deep in the file in my brain entitled "least likely scenarios," that this was a possibility; a few days earlier I had cleaned up the external hard-drive I use for backup and done a whole new save. When they lowered the boom, though, I was stunned. It was like someone had told me my car had been stolen and totaled. What? Huh? You said you...eh? Didn't quite hear you...
 |
| Seagate External Hard-drive |
My book is safe, too. Three years of work (mostly drafts, but still...). All the files are there, they're...uh...not quite the same though...
Because I put my MS Word recovery disc in a really safe place, I'm using Open.org instead, a program I'm not used to at all. I can't seem to change the page numbers, and so far I haven't been able to compile from Scrivener properly. But it will be ok. I have the backup. Its all there. It's ok. It's all there...
I imagine I will be adjusting to these changes for days or weeks to come. I have to re-store all my bookmarks, for example, and hope I can remember my various passwords. In the end though, eventually, I'll move it all into place again. Like a re-built car, it will be the same but different.
Happy Writing!
6 comments:
Thank goodness you'd done a recent backup! I can't tell you how many horror stories I've heard of sudden disk crashes where people hadn't done a backup in months -- if ever. Even as someone who knows better (IT was my profession, after all), I'm still guilty of doing only sporadic full backups.
However, I do make a nightly backup of my work to my Dropbox and Box accounts. If you don't have free accounts with either of these yet, you should. You get (I think), 2G of space for free with each one. They look like another folder on your computer, but they're Cloud storage (a term I despise -- they're out on the network). Very easy to use. Of the two, I prefer Dropbox, but I have both for emergencies.
That's a great idea, Debbie. I will check into that.
As I wade my way through this re-build, I have found that I did lose all my programs, as well as all my browser bookmarks. The backup didn't save those, which I had expected it to do, darn it. Any ideas how to solve this?
Yikes, Meggan! As Debbie said, so glad you had a recent back-up. I'm usually good about doing back-ups for awhile, then get sloppy about it. So I appreciate the reminder!
Meggan, unfortunately, recovering things like bookmarks and programs all depends on whether: a) you use an actual backup program to do your backups, b) how you use that backup program (full backup, partial backup, etc.), and c) how effective that program is at performing restorals. Personally, I don't use any backup software, but then, I'm comfortable doing a complete system rebuild if necessary (used to be a common part of my job).
Here's what I do for backups. (Caveat: I have Macs, but I wouldn't do anything differently if I had PCs)
1. Data Files. Periodically (especially after big changes) I save a copy of my important data files to an external harddrive, as well as burning copies to CD/DVDs (for my writing and important financial files).
1. Bookmarks. Periodically, I save off a copy of my bookmarks file and put it with my other data file backups. There are also external bookmarking sites/utilities, but I can't be bothered ;-)
2. Programs. I save a copy of every digital-only program installer (ex. Scrivener) with my other data file backups -- and include a text file with the program serial number, if a SN is required.
If the program has a CD/DVD to use for installation (ex. Photoshop), I make sure it's stored in the same place as my system disks. I also make sure I save, backup, and print out any required serial number and tape the printout to the CD/DVD case, if it isn't already on it.
If I make substantial customization/personalization to any program, I document what I did and/or save/backup the preferences file.
That's pretty much it. I only have 3 programs that I couldn't live without -- Scrivener, Photoshop, and MS Word -- and only two of those have an installation CD. Every other program I use could be easily downloaded again.
Thanks Debbie! That is a very thorough and useful list!
But I have good news; I found my Word disc! That was the one I most needed. Everything else, as you say Debbie, can be re-built. I would love to know how to backup favorites, though, because I lost all those. I do the other things you mentioned, if not quite as thoroughly. It's my hubbie's fault, or maybe my kid's fault, that I can't find one other disc, but I had an alternative for that.
All in all, this was a shocking but ultimately harmless splash in the face for me. I have to be pleased that I did enough preparation to come out of this experience so cleanly. The rest of my life is not always like that; I'm usually dealing with one urgency after another. So, yay!
I'm just glad to hear you actually had backup files, after being lured to your blog under false pretenses by your tricky email blast for this article! D'oh! ;-)
Post a Comment