What's Blue and White, and goes BOOM all over...

[temporus]

So, yeah.  I've been missing in action for a bit.  Lots of stuff going on, most of which is the kind of busy life happenings that make you busier than you thought you were going to be, and never planned on.  But all that's nothing much to blather about.  One thing, however is.

Blue screen of death.

A few weeks ago, I got hit with it pretty hard.  My main laptop just started to go belly up on me at random times.  I'd run a windows repair, fix what I could and it would be fine for two, three maybe four days, then boom.  When I hit the two week mark, I knew it was time for a reburn, and hope that it took care of the problem for good.   It's worked so far.  But this just goes to once again illustrate what I tell people.  BACK UP YOUR STUFF.

I already back up my stuff.  But when I first started to get hit with the BSOD, I decided that my current home solution wasn't going to cut it, as my data was pretty extensive.  So I stopped in to a large chain that sells electronics.  Not because I like them in particular, but they are quite convenient on the drive home.  I snagged a Western Digital Elite USB drive for I think $90.  It comes with it's own backup software.  So I don't have to think about it.  I like that.  I can still make an EXTRA backup folder for my own manual copies that aren't in encrypted backup format.  Which is nice.  And I did.  And I backed the whole damn thing up their way too.  Just in case.

Which was a good thing, because I ended up needing to reburn the PC and reload.  It's a pain.  Kills my productivity for days after, because no matter how thorough I think I am when I jot down all the software, etc, I inevitably forget things and have to stop to fix things.  And of course, no matter how good you think you are, you forget or miss things.  It happens.  To all of us.

It also brings up a few points about Disaster Recovery.  Okay, so maybe you've heard me prattle on.  And you think: Yes.  I make backups of my data.  But if you had to start over with a blank OS, can you get your PC back to the state it's in right now?  Do you have all your install disks for all your software.  Do you have the install/key/license codes?   Do you have all your tech support #'s handy, so that when you have problems on the reinstalls, you can get someone on the line to help?  If you used backup software, have you tested what happens when you try to restore to a "new" machine?  (I did this at home, to make sure I'd be able to recover files from the automagic backup system.)  Because you need to know that BEFORE you decide to wipe your PC and reinstall the OS.  Do you know where your OS install disk and License codes are?  Was it an OEM version?  Do you know if you'll have to go back to the manufacturer to get your OS reinstalled?  (I sure hope not.)  What about drivers for all your peripherals.  Like your printer.  (Important if you're a writer, no?  Well, unless you're John Scalzi who does rather well enough without one.)  

Backups are important.  Vital.  But it's not the only piece of the puzzle.  And you just never know if you can trust any one single method.  Which is why I still make hard copies of all my stories and put them in a drawer.  Because you just never know.  Keep mindful, however, that backups alone aren't the only concern.  And of course, it's Wednesday, so BACK UP YOUR DATA!
(Mine is running as I type this post.)

Comments

[jongibbs.livejournal.com]

I love a story with a happy ending :)

[temporus.livejournal.com]

While I'm happy to have the good backup, there's always a price to be paid with these things. Lost time and productivity. I'm certain that some stuff did get lost, because no matter how good you are, you just miss some things as you go. I was most fortunate that it was the kind of problem that hit me over the course of days so that I could prepare. Not that I lack recovery options if the OS had gone bellyup right away, but better a controlled crash landing than an emergency one. So to speak.

[jongibbs.livejournal.com]

An emergency landing, as it were :)

[plattcave.livejournal.com]

I use an only backup service called Carbonite. $55 a year and it backs up all of my files (stories, photos and music) in the background. As soon as a file changes, it's backed up. And sometimes you can restore to older versions.

I had a backup hard drive, but it proved useless when my computer crashed. The data was all encrypted with a program that I was unable to install on my new computer -- so I couldn't get the files back off the backup hard drive! Talk about useless and frustrating.

[temporus.livejournal.com]

This is EXACTLY why I mentioned that before I relied on my new backup drive, I tested it against another computer so that I was confident that I could recover the data. But you really emphasize a critical point. If you don't test your backup/recover/DR procedures, you have no idea whether they will work when the emergency comes. This is critical! Last thing you need is to be behind the deadline have a crash, and *then* find out that the backup software won't load on your new OS/PC.

[temporus.livejournal.com]

Oh, and that's also why, even though I tested the backup software, I *still* made a normal file level copy of all my critical data in any case.

[dendrophilous.livejournal.com]

Are you on a PC or Mac? I was looking at online backup services, but Carbonite's web site has a link for "find out what files are backed up on Mac" which sent me to the index of their knowledge base, where I searched for Mac and the results wouldn't load... So I was wondering if their program works better on Macs than their website.

Linux

[lavericknine.livejournal.com]

This is why I have different distros of Linux on three flash drives. Via Slax (or any live cd/usb) I could get on the computer and dig out data. I end up with most of my data on flash drives, since I switch between using two to three computers.

It is a good practice to back things up though.

Re: Linux

[temporus.livejournal.com]

Most flash drives aren't going to hold the amount of data I've got backing up. (50-80 GB) Which is why I use the USB disk. And flash drives can go dead, just like any other device. So it's still a good idea to make sure you've got some kind of backup. Never a good idea to rely on one type of media. I use both flash drives, as well as spinning disks. Used to also burn CDs, but with this volume of data that's unweildy and unless I'm going to spend the cash on a blue ray burner, even DVDs aren't much better. Though for bare minimum of writing stuff, it's probably still worth it.

Re: Linux

[lavericknine.livejournal.com]

Backing stuff up via disk sounds like a good idea, but I'm a bit lazy to do something like burn a CD. Most of my media isn't worth backing up. The worst thing I could lose on my flashes is the massive number of passwords and usernames I have for various sites.

Considering the amount of data you want to back up, have you considered getting an external hard drive?

Re: Linux

[temporus.livejournal.com]

I've three.

Mind you, besides my writing, I'm also backing up photos, and videos and music. My music I can always rip again from my CDs. But the photos and vidoes are mostly of the kids and family. Not so easy to replace if lost.

Re: Linux

[lavericknine.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, videos will definitely eat up a hard drive. I don't keep video on my comps, I always end up making a "DVD" of it. That worked better when I had a Mac (it was very easy to put together home DVDs) and not a tower. I'm not a huge Mac fan. I give my boss heck for being an iSheep. However, if I was going to be working with a lot of media, I'd probably go with a Mac.