It’s a good thing I don’t rely on my laptop as my primary technology. I turned it on over the weekend and out came this noise. It would seem the disk drive is dead. Now how it died while I was on vacation, no one is saying. I suspect it was dropped, but I’ll never know. But there you go. First the microwave dies, and now this.
And only when it’s gone do you realize how much you need it. Like right now. I have a large project that is quite portable. Yet I can’t get up from the desk right now. It’s substantial enough that I devote at least 5 hours a day to it and once you get going, you can’t really stop. But again, I’m chained to the desk.
And the desktop? Yea, it’s eight years old or older. It’s great for the small stuff, but when I have a bigger document with formatting, the repagination function bogs me down – sometimes for ten minutes at a stretch. I’ve got a work-around that’s saving me a good bit of time, but it’s not the perfect solution. The perfect solution is a new computer.
Despite my wanting a new laptop, I’m opting for a more powerful desktop. The current laptop, in theory, can be fixed. For $200 I can have a huge hard drive and a whopping amount of memory. The laptop itself isn’t four years old, so it’s worth saving for the little bit of stuff I expect from it. I save ALL my laptop info to a memory stick, so nothing was lost, amen. Laptops, I’ve heard, are much more prone to dying faster than desktops. I don’t know. I’ve had both go ka-flooey on me.
Amen that the info is on the stick. But sticks die too, you know? So how do you protect your info? An external drive is great, but if, as in the case of our own Inkthinker Kristen King, the laptop AND the external drive die at the same time (did one die of a broken heart? Hard to say), you’re pretty much screwed.
I use an online backup. It’s a 2G freebie from Mozy. For a few extra bucks a month I could upgrade to an unlimited amount of space. Maybe I will. The more places I have the critical stuff, the better.
How do you protect your data? What’s your backup plan? And what are you – desktop or laptop?
Hi Lori. I use Carbonite with unlimited storage in the price range as Mozy. I like to see the charge, as it MAY give some indication of the company's likelihood of staying in business (cash flow). The unlimited storage for such a nominal price was unheard of a few short years ago. I maintain my own key, so research has told me that encrypted storage is a very safe way to go. I encourage readers to make their own enquiries and satisfy their own security needs. Services such as Mozy and Carbonite provide you with offsite backup, an essential risk management approach.
However, with over 60 Gigs of upload (mine, mostly photos), recovery would be slow. An additional local backup source for quick recovery is needed. I like the idea of an external drive if you want to be able to switch between computers. You can use a program to keep files in synch, if need be. Please do not rely on a USB stick as the only backup, as I understand they are subject to failure. Multiple backups are the key.
Tony
I have a desktop. I also have an external hard drive. I back everything up to the external hard drive AND CDs. Becuase I just don't have that much stuff and I'm rather lazy and the less I have to do to backup, the better. 😀 Of course, living with an IT man sort of beats the idea that you need to backup – and OFTEN – into your head. Especially when you work on things daily. *sigh* It's an awful cycle.
You turned me on to Mozy, Lori, and I sprung for the $4.95 monthly unlimited plan. Among other things, my iTunes files are backed up now, all 10+ gig of them.
Did you lose any data when your microwave crashed?
[ducking]
I lost all my recipes, Kirk! I can't cook a thing. Must order out. 😉
Tony, thanks. I've been fortunate so far and I'm very thankful the laptop was just my "get out of the study" tool. I never wanted to keep anything vital on it. Good thing, huh?
Michelle, time for me to come up with a plan. 🙂
Remember, Mercury goes retrograde on the 7th, so it all goes kaboom, so get it sorted before then.
Switched from desktop to PC to laptop Macbook — much happier. The Macbook has about 20X more power than the PC, and, since I have to be able to file from the road, it works better.
Eventually, I'll add an Apple desktop.
Backups: Time Machine (the world's greatest invention to date, I'm convinced), Mobile Me iDisk, flashdrive, sometimes CD as well.
Yes, I'm paranoid. I've lost too many manuscripts and had the PC eat the backups not to.
Just in time then! We installed the microwave last night – no hitches whatsoever.
The hard drive is installed and now all that's left is installing the operating system, which we intend to do today.