Blue Screen of Death May 8, 2008
My computer had to be resurrected last night and subsequently some things are GONE. Sigh. Clients, please resend you manuscripts and contact info. That also goes for those of you whom I requested works from.
Queries are safe ,so no need to resend.
Microsoft is the devil.
Yes. Microsoft is indeed the devil. After a major crash, I bought an Apple iMac. Heavenly. I only convert my documents to MS Word after I have composed and saved in Mac Pages. I also have TimeMachine installed and it backs up every hour. I learned the hard way. Sorry about the loss.
At least the devil doesn’t have to manifest in the form of a snake anymore. That has to have gotten old.
In the spirit of commiseration, I offer these gentle Windows haiku:
(Found at http://www.crisbrady.net/WinHaiku.html. If you have seen them before, I apologize for taking up space.)
Your file was so big.
It might be very useful
But now it is gone.
The web site you seek
Cannot be located but
Countless more exist.
Chaos reigns within.
Reflect, repent and reboot.
Order shall return.
Windows NT crashed.
I am the Blue Screen of Death.
No one hears your screams.
Program aborting.
Close all that you have worked on.
You ask far too much.
Yesterday it worked.
Today it is not working.
Windows is like that.
First snow, then silence.
The thousand-dollar screen dies
So beautifully.
With searching comes loss
And the presence of absence:
“My Novel” not found.
The Tao that is seen
Is not the true Tao until
You bring fresh toner.
Stay the patient course.
Of little worth is your ire.
The network is down.
A crash reduces
Your expensive computer
To a simple stone.
Three things are certain:
Death, taxes and lost data.
Guess which has occurred.
You step in the stream
But the water has moved on.
This page is not here.
Out of memory.
We wish to hold the whole sky
But we never will.
Having been erased,
The document you’re seeking
Must now be retyped.
Serious error.
All shortcuts have disappeared.
Screen. Mind. Both are blank.
…and one original:
Tread the patient course.
The soil beneath you
bears many old footprints.
Having lived this reality twice with my old, twitchy craptop, may I strongly suggest that it’s time to do that which you’ve been avoiding.
Step One: backup external drive $120. Setup time 20 minutes.
Step Two: backup software that works with XP and Vista. $50. Download and setup time 15 minutes.
And so you say to yourself, “$170? 35 minutes of my busy day? Ehn. I’ll get around to it eventually, I guess.”
When that moment of truth arrives –and it WILL arrive– you’ll be living one of two realities:
1. “Oh [insert profanity of choice], I’d pay the $170 right now to have my computer back!”
2. “Whoo-hoo! Where did I put that emergency boot CD I made with Acronis?” “Oh, I’ve got your number THIS time, be-yatch! You’re going to be reloaded back to yesterdays specs in a half hour! HA!”
I’ve lived both realities. Trust me, the second one was definitely worth the money and time. Especially if you get the boss to pay for it and maybe drop the hint that one of your blog buds let it slip the user license for Acronis will work for multiple computers, and he could back up a couple of his computers onto the external as well.
Just a thought.
See now, I’ve given up on PC’s Dwight. I’m going to a Mac. I’ve known people who have had them for 10 years with no problems while my PC’s start stumbling around year two. Plus Macs speak your language when there’s a problem rather then error code cipher and have less bloat in their software.
I’ve done step one and two though so NEVER AGAIN shall this happen, but my mac should be here any day now and I’m thrilled. Thanks for the advice!
Ulysses, haiku= hilarity
Even with a Mac, you should back up. What I do is transfer bookmarks, saved-to-file email backup, email addresses saved-to-file backup and all my current projects to a thumb drive. A 2gb does it for me.
I’ve replaced my hard drive due to failures or crashes five times in two years. That’s a hardware failure. It can happen to anyone, even a Mac.
Sorry to hear about your crisis, because I know from personal experience the frustration.
Oh, I forgot to mention the 156GB usb backup drive. It came with backup software and cost $99. And making CD/DVD copies of things you want to keep permanently. It’s a pain, but what if you had a fire? Or your box got stolen? Or a virus corrupted all your data? (And do you use a password?)
Ah, yes. Writtenwyrdd is correct. You should back up even with a Mac, because you must use MICROSOFT word in the world of publishing.
The devil has found his way even into the angelic Mac. We are dependent on Microsoft. Aaaaaah. The evil infiltrates! It burns!
I’ve had compatability issues viewing/interacting with some Mac based blogs and websites. Yeah, Windows sucks but as long as most of the world uses it (this pretty much sums up why Bill G is so rich), I’m sticking with it.
With an auxilliary hard drive and a bunch of those thumb drive gizmos (and one that comes with me whenever I leave the house) at least I’ve got my files.