When’s the last time you backed up your computer? Here’s some advice…do it TODAY. For all my dependence on my trusty MacBook, I hadn’t bothered to back up my files in well over a year. Does that ring a bell? Are you shaking your head at what an idiot I am, or are you realizing that you, too, may be skating on ice that is so thin you can see the piranhas circling underneath?
I was sitting in a Starbucks on Friday afternoon, happily working away, when my screen suddenly froze. No big deal, I thought. I had recently saved the file I was working on, a 287-page manuscript I was almost finished editing, so at the most I’d lose about half an hour of work. I powered down and restarted my computer, only to be met with a series of painful-sounding clicks and whirs. Instead of the friendly blue welcome screen, my monitor emitted a dull gray light, like it was stuck in the dreary black-and-white sequence of “The Wizard of Oz.”
I tried again and again to restart the computer, my anxiety rising, unable even to pay attention to Larry King who was schmoozing his way out of the Starbucks, venti latte in hand. Finally, something else appeared on my screen: a big flashing question mark. That couldn’t be good.
Back at home, I inserted the original system disk into my CD drive, assuming the computer would be able to start up off of that. Nada. I then spent many hours on the phone with the AppleCare technician and some other Mac-savvy experts I know. They all put me through countless keystroke variations and attempted restarts, but nothing worked. All of the experts had scoffed at my worries initially, convinced that a simple fix would restore my digital world to order, but by the end of these conversations they sounded more like the doctor who walks slowly into the waiting room and pauses before speaking to the family members.
“I’m so sorry. We did everything we could. Your hard drive didn’t make it.”
As the realization started to dawn on me that all of my files were gone, I cycled through the seven stages of grief: Shock and Disbelief, Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Guilt, Depression, and finally, Acceptance. My hyperventilating eventually gave way to a shrug. It’s just a bunch of 0’s and 1’s, what’s the big deal? It’s not like a loved one has fallen ill. I think of my crazy dependency on technology in so many parts of my life and I wonder if this is a message from the universe to chuck it all.
Should I become Amish like my sister and her husband did last week? I've never seen them more content. For the record, that’s an actual Amish dress my sister is wearing, complete with many buttonless, zipperless layers, and that is Jeff’s real beard. I think he grew it while on the road specifically for this one day. They were so worried that it would look like they were making fun of the Amish on Halloween that they told everyone they were pioneers. I don’t think they need to worry about any Amish people seeing this photo unless it appears on the “Amish laptop” I saw a whole website about.
According to the site: “We all know the Amish don't use electricity, and they don't have phones, or anything to do with modern technology. But if you do a search on the web, you will find a ton of Amish websites. Hmmm...how are they getting on the Internet? Up until now that was a mystery.” They then go on to describe the first working Amish computer. “The laptop doesn't really need power...it is just a series of beads controlled by a pulley system, that when arranged in certain patterns can be translated into words or HTML tags. The only source of power needed to run the laptop's pulley system comes from a rather small chicken attached to the laptop by means of a rope.”
Oy, now I’m making fun of the Amish—see what a little trauma can do to a person? But my hard drive crash does make me wonder if I should try to wean myself from technology. Is it time to go back to good ol’ yellow pads and pencils? Especially now that most of my writing projects are lost to cyberspace?
I’m attempting a data recovery on my computer but the place where I brought it was not very optimistic. They told me about some other companies where I might have more luck but that could cost thousands of dollars. Hey, my stuff isn’t that important. I need to see this as an opportunity to start over. New contacts, new photos, new documents—a whole new life to create on my pristine, empty hard drive.
Talk about OY! Oh Danny...How truly TRULY horrendous....Two years ago my Hard Drive crashed and I lost a lot of stuff, because they were unable to retrieve anything---somewhat like what you are experiencing, but I did have a lot of stuff backed-up on discs....So, here's my question: When you say "back-up" do you mean like disc back-up or External Hard Drive Back Up??? Or....well, or what? I am interested because I'd like to make sure I am covered, now....I got an External Hard Drive and it was installed about a month ago...and it seemed to be working just fine...for about two weeks..Then, IT Died!
I am truly sorry this happened to you, my dear. Maybe it is worth the thousands to retrieve what can be---if indeed it can be retreived...! A manuscript??? Oh, that breaks my heart.
Posted by: OldOldLady Of The Hills | November 04, 2007 at 10:36 PM
Oh my God, Danny. I am backing up everything as we speak. In fact, the exact same thing happened to Tom recently and what an awful time that was! Good grief. Is it the Mac's or am I just lucky?
I hope the new computer life for you will be full of joy and promise! Oy!
Posted by: tamarika | November 05, 2007 at 04:49 AM
When you purchase your next computer, you may want to consider picking up a small, external firewire drive. FireLite is a great one, very light, easy to carry, and you can use SuperDuper to keep it updated. The advantage of using a FireWire hard drive is that you can boot from it should your primary drive go bad.
All this to say, you don't want to rely on the new "Time Machine" feature to serve as a viable backup. It's much better to have a mirrored copy of your hard drive so you can boot from it and get right back to work with your files and settings.
I hope this helps.
Andrew
Posted by: Andrew Newby | November 05, 2007 at 05:29 AM
Okay.I'm letting you be my cautionary tale.
Oh, and there's a huge Amish community about 20 minutes from my house if you're interested.
Posted by: churlita | November 05, 2007 at 09:05 AM
Oy.
This makes me want to rush right out and buy every kind of hard drive there is. But then I remember that I've done that already. And backed up till the cows come home, on every computer I've owned since 1985 (when I was six). All those pearls, those gems of wisdom are sitting here waiting to be--wait, all those backup drives are obsolete now. And I can't remember what those pearls were about anyway. So maybe the grand wipeout you've had is not such a bad idea.
Posted by: By Jane | November 05, 2007 at 09:27 AM
Thanks for the reminder to back up! I'm in the process of doing this now. And about pens and paper...I'm so used to typing on a keyboard that I have trouble closing my hand on a pen properly now and usually carry around those big fat ball points, the width of a crayon that a toddler would use.
Posted by: Melinda | November 05, 2007 at 09:51 AM
Ironically, BOTH my back up drives failed last week. I'm in the process of hoping to get the data off of one of them, the other, fuggedaboutit. Have you considered getting in touch with MacService? I like them a lot--they might be able to help.
Posted by: Special Needs Mama | November 05, 2007 at 10:36 AM
I get Jeff's outfit. But is your sister an Amish ghoul or what?
Posted by: Scooter | November 07, 2007 at 01:34 PM
I thought they're supposed to show signs that they're dying! Gasps and things. Flickers. When mine just didn't seem to be acting like its old self, my computer guy told me: Time to get a new hard-drive.
Which I did. Sort of like a new heart.
Ha Makom Y'nachem etchem. . .Sorry for your loss.
Posted by: therapydoc | November 07, 2007 at 09:35 PM
Oh no -- I am so sorry, Danny! That is a miserable experience. My boyfriend's hard drive (containing, amongst other irreplaceable things, files of hundreds of hours of original music he had recorded and never backed up) died last January, right before our trip to L.A. It was a black cloud hanging over our vacation until our friend who does file recovery for the government called to say that he had been able to unscramble most of it and get it onto a new drive.
Posted by: Heather | November 08, 2007 at 06:28 AM
My Amish story (yes, I have one. Don't you?):
Many years ago I was in the event-planning business in Kansas City. One of my clients required 30 gold lame table cloths. Not my idea, but whatever. My seamstress at the time was an Amish "widow" who lived in a real honest-to-gosh Amish community outside the city in rural Missouri. I write "widow" because her husband, though alive, was considered dead because he had left the community (for another woman, it was rumored). I think they even held a funeral. Of course, she did all the sewing for me on a pedal-type machine by the light of a gas lantern. As long as I live, I will never forget the sight of her sitting at that machine in her home with the flickering light surrounded by yards and yard of glittering gold lame gathered across her work-table and spilling onto the floor. Surreal.
Posted by: Mark | November 08, 2007 at 07:51 AM
Though I'm sure my 14-year-old son would quibble about piranhas in an icy habitat, I loved your sentence about "ice that is so thin you can see the piranhas circling underneath." Hang in there!
Posted by: Julie | November 08, 2007 at 04:00 PM
Woah, how terrible to have your computer crash. When you described it, I immediatly started doing inventory on what I might lose if mine crashed. I'm going to do a back-up tonight.
Posted by: Ian | November 15, 2007 at 02:26 PM