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Double check EVERYTHING! 3/2/2018 8:40:58 AM
Measure once, cut twice. Wisdom that applies to more than just carpentry. After weeks of ignoring the tell-tale signs of a virus/malware on my laptop, I realized it was time to “redo” it and I begrudgingly told my dear, tech-savvy hubby.
“You’re gonna need to back up all your “Schtuff”
“I know.”
“Use my portable hard-drive. Get everything.”
“I will.”
I spent more than an hour yesterday, patiently backing up all the files on my desktop, documents folder, downloads folder and pictures folder, taking care to make folders on the hard drive just like he’d told me to do the last time he cleaned my laptop from a virus. FYI, be careful of all the “links” on Facebook asking you to read about Kim Kardashain’s latest faux pas or the survey that will tell you if you were born in the right time period, what zodiac sign you should marry, or what color to paint your nails so Mr. Right will think you’re hot and sexy. They’re malware! All of ‘em! Yes, I know, but their so innocent looking.
Anyway, I digress. When dear hubby got home, he asked, did you back it all up?
“Yup!” I proudly declared. All but a few shortcuts I wasn’t sure would need to be, oh, and a program I use to keep track of all my WIPs. (Work In Progress) for those of you who are not familiar with writing lingo. Dear hubby quickly googled how to back that program up and began the tedious process of wiping the hard drive, re-installing the usual programs and then, the restoring of all my “schtuff”.
Finally, after several hours, he announced he was finished. Now, usually, this process takes much, much longer, but this time, it went so fast, I was stunned to say the least, that is, until he told me he had replaced, not wiped the hard drive for a much faster one. He told me I was so going to love the speed that it would feel like a brand new laptop. He also said to keep an eye on the battery and if it started to fail, he would replace that one, too.
As it was nearly 11 pm, we went to bed. Today, I woke up, excited to test it. Sure enough, he was right, it IS fast. I poured myself a cup of coffee and sat down to enjoy it and breakfast. I surfed Google news, yeah, I know, I know. Just think of it as watching Saturday Night Live every morning, pure entertainment and no mental nutrition.
Once I had sufficiently fried a few hundred brain cells, I closed the news and began to arrange the folders on my desktop. Now, let me say, it was during this process I began to panic. You see, I am in the process of revising/editing a VERY lengthy novel I have been working on for years. Because it is so large and so tedious, I have copied the first ten chapters into a separate file and have been slowly working on them, polishing them until they are very shiny and you can see your face in them. Ok, Ok, maybe that’s a stretch. Still, these chapters were VERY good and I was really proud of them. But, much to my horror, the file was NOT on the desktop. Ok, perhaps it’s still on the hard drive. Nope. Not there.
AAAAAhhhh. I called hubby, ready to start bawling. I mean, I don’t remember half off the stuff I re-wrote, so how am I going to redo it?
“Was it on the desktop before I redid it?” he quietly asks.
“Yes.”
“It’s still on the HARD DRIVE I REPLACED!” (he didn’t yell, that’s for emphasis.)
“Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“You didn’t wipe it?”
“No.”
I wanted to reach through the phone and kiss him.
“I’ll put it back on the laptop when I get home.”
Angels starting singing, the heavens brightened. My file is safe and sound. It’s just not on my laptop right now. But it will be. Soon.
Now, how to kill time until he gets home????
More Blogs by Mary Lynn • Secret - Tuesday, March 27, 2018 • I am a featured author! - Wednesday, March 21, 2018 • Writing... - Monday, March 19, 2018 • Contemplation - Wednesday, March 14, 2018 • So, you write, huh? - Wednesday, March 7, 2018 • Bullying - Tuesday, March 6, 2018 • Double check EVERYTHING! - Friday, March 2, 2018
