Capturing the past
Today I picked up my desktop from the local computer repair shop. Yesterday the repair guy called to tell me it was a lost cause: 60GB of data--most of it not backed up. He said the only option was to wipe the system clean and give me back an empty computer. "Don't touch it," I said. "I'm going to see if I can find someone who can extract the data."Ten minutes--seriously, ten minutes--later, he calls to say, "Good news! I got it!" Not to slam a success, but if he could solve it in ten minutes, he had no business counseling me ten minutes earlier to let him wipe it. I swear...
That's Uncle Jakob. He was on the hard drive. Time to investigate some sort of backup system; that's twice I've dodged the bullet. Anybody have a good setup--preferably one I can install inside this system? (Desk space is a premium.)
posted by I n g e r @ Thursday, July 27, 2006
6 Comments:
If it's a Microshaft Windoze computer and you have a slot, you can install a RAID drive, which will automatically mirror everything on the other disk.
Or you can get an external (firewire or USB) hard disk and backup at intervals.
The kludgy solution is to back up to a tape drive or DVD's. Tedious, and you probably won't do it, but if you did do it, it would be reasonably safe.
You should save your prize photos, writings, etc, to CDs and DVDs as extra insurance.
Do I do any of this? Don't ask.
I bought a 250 gig free standing hard drive a while back to clear the little 40 gig on my Gateway. I transfer things to it, then leave it turned off unless I'm using it. When I went on vacation it went to my son's "just in case".
I also burn a back up disc everytime I upload a memory card...
alan
my mother's computer crashed, and thousands of photos went down with it, too, among which were the only oictures of me with my friend paul who had since died. i had one little photo that i'd printed out before she lost them, which i stupidly kept in my wallet because i never wanted to be without it. the wallet was stolen, too. now i have a gmail account, where i email myself pictures and copies of my memoir drafts, just in case. there's plenty of storage on gmail, and it's been the most reliable solution my technologically unhandy ass can keep up with. and i very much doubt that google's going anywhere.
hello uncle jacob!
he looks like he has a bit of the devil in his eye... but sweet, you know?
i am lax about backup too.. and should burn some cd's of my pictures.. i send a copy of my address book to my gmail and yahoo accounts about twice a year.....and once a year or so i print it..
but the pictures?
i should get busy..
glad yougot your "Stuff " back!
i back up nothing...is it laziness or a devil-may-care attitude or both, i don't know...but i really ought to be doing something...
i so happy that you were able to save uncle jacob...please let me know what you decide to do re: backup...
peace...
I have tons of little flash-memory sticks; that's all I can say.
Glad you dodged the bullet!!!
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