The value of back-up

[Jonathan Ford]

So, this afternoon I lost a laptop...the one I posted about a few days ago with the dodgy screen. No idea what happened - plugged a Kindle in to charge as I've done umpteen times before, went out, and returned to an absolutely red hot machine and a screen telling me to restore my system.

Fortunately, this wasn't a gigging machine. Unfortunately, every scrap of administration regarding my business was on that machine. Certificates, quotes, confirmations, testimonials, images, emails...the lot. Gone. Luckily, I still keep a manual diary, so I know where I need to be and when, so not a complete disaster, but not far off.

And here lies a cautionary tale...everything matters. Don't just back up your gear...back up your business!

[spin mobile disco]

Wise words.
usb memory sticks are so cheap these days I have a 64gb one I keep a backup of all my accounts contracts emails etc. And when i go out it pops on my keychain. For £30 its real value is priceless.

[dehayco]

I work on a mac here and the one thing i love more than anything is Time Machine, automatic backup to an external HD is a lifesaver in situations like this.

[Shaun]

So, this afternoon I lost a laptop...the one I posted about a few days ago with the dodgy screen. No idea what happened - plugged a Kindle in to charge as I've done umpteen times before, went out, and returned to an absolutely red hot machine and a screen telling me to restore my system.

Fortunately, this wasn't a gigging machine. Unfortunately, every scrap of administration regarding my business was on that machine. Certificates, quotes, confirmations, testimonials, images, emails...the lot. Gone. Luckily, I still keep a manual diary, so I know where I need to be and when, so not a complete disaster, but not far off.

And here lies a cautionary tale...everything matters. Don't just back up your gear...back up your business!

Been there got the t-shirt mate. My main HDD and backup HDD fried a few years ago, I lost EVERYTHING. I'm still feeling the ramifications yet. Like yourself I had paper copies of the gig information. It was all the personal stuff (baby photos/ videos of my dad who's no longer with us...those stuff I didn't have backed up.

My own fault, technology isn't infallible. I should have been more stringent in my backups.

[Jonathan Ford]

It was all the personal stuff (baby photos/ videos of my dad who's no longer with us...those stuff I didn't have backed up.

My own fault, technology isn't infallible. I should have been more stringent in my backups.

That must have been a real kick in the nuts...feel for you, mate. Shame we've both had to learn the hard way!

[katman]

I have two hard drives in my laptop. All my important stuff is backed up to the other drive hourly.

Every lunchtime my laptop backs that info up to the server at work which in turn is backed up nightly.

Every evening my laptop backs up that info to my file server at home.

I also do backups to an external hard drive at home as well but that one is a manual process. All the others happen automatically.


That must have been a real kick in the nuts...feel for you, mate. Shame we've both had to learn the hard way!

There are two types of computer users.....

Those who have lost data
Those who WILL lose data

Like the two of you I have lost data in the past, in my case because I formatted the wrong partition DOH !!!! :daft:

The loss of irreplaceable personal data is the worst possible type which is why I now have multiple backups taking place.

[Shaun]

That must have been a real kick in the nuts...feel for you, mate. Shame we've both had to learn the hard way!

:Censored: happens:o . I tried sending the drive to a few data recovery specilists but no joy. I tend not to dwell on things I can't change. Friends and family were great and rallied around to give me copies of photos they had. I also had a few images of the wee one online in a gallery Marc had kindly setup for me earlier. All in all it could have been a lot worse. :)

[Dynamic Entertainment]

My main documents are backed up and archived on both Dropbox and Google Drive.

[DazzyD]

My main documents are backed up and archived on both Dropbox and Google Drive.

Same here but with me it's Google Drive and 1&1's Office Drive. I also keep a multi-generation back-up system at home which was instilled in me when I worked for Philips UK.

But, like others, I too have lost important stuff (like Shaun, including photos that I just can't replace) through hard-drive failure. Nowaday's I'm a lot wiser.