It is inevitable that your computer will one day give up the ghost.
However much we might not like to consider it. It will happen.
You prepare for it(or at least you should do - I have learned that much) because these days much of what is important is on a computer of some description.
A while ago my external hard drive packed up.
It was something I hadn't considered for a moment. There I was, every couple of weeks blithely backing up what was on my computer. Only to find that this back up system failed me - simply by dying on me.
The lesson I learned from this is to back up in more than one place. I know I could back up to the 'Cloud'. If I am honest, I do not trust it because I don't understand it.......so I now back up to three separate drives(anal, I know).
And yet when my latest computer did the dying duck act, although I had all the information from my old computer(well barring a couple of weeks worth of stuff) I had not a clue what to do with it.
I really wasn't sure if I plugged this in to my new machine whether it would transfer everything that was on my old machine...including operating system and programs......or whether it would just transfer all my files. There were so many questions running through my head. I know I could have asked someone(one of the computer savvy chaps would have helped me out I am sure)......but I am really bad at asking for help.
I also felt a bit silly because I did not know the answers...and I still don't....so I suppose I also missed out on an opportunty to educate myself.
I could have googled for the answer...but didn't do that either.
I DID toy with trying it to see what happened, but then chickened out of it.
This new machine has a better spec of Windows 7 on it.......and that I wanted to keep.
Also when I thought about it...really thought I decided that the cosmos was giving me a chance to evaluate what I really wanted to have on this newer machine.
We all collect stuff that we think we might use and rarely do we review what we are actually using and ditch the other stuff.
So I haven't used my back up at all.....but having it, gave me a choice.
I will continue in my good habits of backing the machine up...because it makes sense to do that.....but whether it will get used is another matter.
The hard drive was removed and marmelised....destroyed by sander, hammer and drill.......and another hard drive that was from the previous computer to the one which has just died met the same fate...they are probably languishing up on the tip at Whinney hill right now.
I had kept this hard drive with the intention of getting someone to get the info off it....but I have managed without this info for the last six years.....so it could not have been that vital to my existence.
so if and when that day comes that your computer heads off to the great computer store in the sky......just remember it isn't the end of the world(it just feels like it is)
However much we might not like to consider it. It will happen.
You prepare for it(or at least you should do - I have learned that much) because these days much of what is important is on a computer of some description.
A while ago my external hard drive packed up.
It was something I hadn't considered for a moment. There I was, every couple of weeks blithely backing up what was on my computer. Only to find that this back up system failed me - simply by dying on me.
The lesson I learned from this is to back up in more than one place. I know I could back up to the 'Cloud'. If I am honest, I do not trust it because I don't understand it.......so I now back up to three separate drives(anal, I know).
And yet when my latest computer did the dying duck act, although I had all the information from my old computer(well barring a couple of weeks worth of stuff) I had not a clue what to do with it.
I really wasn't sure if I plugged this in to my new machine whether it would transfer everything that was on my old machine...including operating system and programs......or whether it would just transfer all my files. There were so many questions running through my head. I know I could have asked someone(one of the computer savvy chaps would have helped me out I am sure)......but I am really bad at asking for help.
I also felt a bit silly because I did not know the answers...and I still don't....so I suppose I also missed out on an opportunty to educate myself.
I could have googled for the answer...but didn't do that either.
I DID toy with trying it to see what happened, but then chickened out of it.
This new machine has a better spec of Windows 7 on it.......and that I wanted to keep.
Also when I thought about it...really thought I decided that the cosmos was giving me a chance to evaluate what I really wanted to have on this newer machine.
We all collect stuff that we think we might use and rarely do we review what we are actually using and ditch the other stuff.
So I haven't used my back up at all.....but having it, gave me a choice.
I will continue in my good habits of backing the machine up...because it makes sense to do that.....but whether it will get used is another matter.
The hard drive was removed and marmelised....destroyed by sander, hammer and drill.......and another hard drive that was from the previous computer to the one which has just died met the same fate...they are probably languishing up on the tip at Whinney hill right now.
I had kept this hard drive with the intention of getting someone to get the info off it....but I have managed without this info for the last six years.....so it could not have been that vital to my existence.
so if and when that day comes that your computer heads off to the great computer store in the sky......just remember it isn't the end of the world(it just feels like it is)