Back Up, Back Up, Back Up!

This is not your typical lost data story. I was a good girl and I kept my files on the network drive just like the company recommended. The only thing I put on my hard drive was junk files - things that wouldn't bother me if the hard drive crashed. But not on the network drive. The drives are backed up and even my PC has a local back up program. Can you see where this is going?

On Wednesday, August 25, I accessed my work from the network drive as always. I kept copies of my time report and my daily activities there. Since I was going to be out on August 26 for surgery, I saved everything and did the usual end of day sign out routine.

I returned to work on Wednesday, September 1 and accessed the drive through my 'Favorites' and got an error message. Thought nothing of it -- figured the network was down or something. Eventually, I went into File Explorer and accessed my private network drive from there. Ah ha! They moved me to a new server. Fine, fine. Whatever.

Not fine! On that drive were two folders: /windows and /log. That's it. Nothing else. I opened a ticket. Turned out the data wasn't migrated from the old to the new server. Thankfully, they kept archived data for 30 days, so the ticket should take care of that.

Thursday, I went home early. My surgery wore me out after half a day. Friday, September 3, I had to go to the ER and ended up not returning to work until October 5. I checked the drive and nothing changed. I checked the ticket and it was closed! According to the ticket, the problem was resolved. My foot! I immediately contacted support and explained the ticket wasn't resolved.

He asked for permission to remote control my PC. By all means. I watched him do all the things I had attempted. He passed the ticket to a specific group. I kept checking on the ticket and emailing the contact. I heard stuff like it's past 30 days so it may not be archived. Well, hey, I reported the problem within five days of the last time it worked! Why wasn't it properly resolved while I was out?

If you work for support or have worked for them - don't get me wrong, I am married to a guy who has worked in it and managed it. I've lost serious data here.

Lesson learned? I should've backed up the data onto my hard drive. If I had, then all would be cool. What are the chances of losing the network data AND hard drive data? Wait, don't answer that.

Back up early and back up often.

Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.

---

Is DVD Storage An Attractive Alternative For Your Computer Backup?

If you have a computer for home use or for... Read More

Why Using an Ad Blocker Can be a Bad Idea

Ad Blocking is getting to be a common sport on... Read More

If You are the Only User on Your Windows XP Computer, Do You Think One User Account Is Enough?

I am going to assume that you are running windows... Read More

Choosing a Portable MP3 Player: Part 1

MP3 players are everywhere! It seems that the number of... Read More

How to Place Home Theater Speakers

You have your television and home theater receiver; you just... Read More

Consumer Electronic Information: The Basics of the DLP Projector

Projectors have come a long way in the past few... Read More

Cisco Certification: The Most Important Cisco Study Youll Ever Do

All of us are familiar with the pyramids of Egypt.... Read More

Uninstall Windows Media Player 10 and Start Enjoying Your Media Again

Windows Media Player 10 has been full of bugs from... Read More

An All Too Familar Pain

Lost & Found for the 21st CenturyIn today's hectic world... Read More

The Importance Of Email Backup

Viruses, software failures, power failures, human errors, hard drive failures... Read More

7 Reasons NOT to Take Your Laptop on Holiday!

Heading off on vacation soon?Then perhaps you're tempted to take... Read More

Your Computer Cant Keep Time

A computer needs a certain amount of information to operate;... Read More

How To Buy An MP3 Player

Are you looking for an MP3 player but am not... Read More

Enhanced Web Browsing With Toolbars

As the Web grows more crowded and just plain "noisy"... Read More

Top 9 Ways To Speed Up Your Surfing & Computing

It seems like fast never quite rates fast enough.No matter... Read More

CCNA 640-801 Certification Primer

The Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA) Certification is meant for... Read More

Flash Your nVidia Video Cards BIOS

You will need the following:1. 1.44MB FDD (floppy)2. NVFLASH utility... Read More

Favorite Things To Do With Home Technology

Save money. Save 10-15% on utility bills per month. Work... Read More

What?s the Difference Between Plasma TVs and LCD TVs?

Plasma and LCD TVs are the latest trend in home... Read More

The Ipod Mini: Why Its Not that Hot

I got my eyes set on a iPod mini, as... Read More

Portable DVD Players - Things To Know

In my humble opinion nothing makes a long trip easier... Read More

Cisco Certification: Building Your Home Lab, Part II

In the first part of this home lab tutorial, CCNA... Read More

5 Steps to Removing PC Clutter

It's hard enough as it is these days to get... Read More

Does Microsoft Show Hackers How To Attack?

After another security hole recently surfaced in Microsoft's Windows operating... Read More

Flow Text Around a Graphic in Microsoft Word

Flow Text Around a GraphicQuestion: I have inserted a photo... Read More

HTML Explained: Part 1

Want to save money while promoting your web-based business? Of... Read More

Cache In Your Chips And Get A Bus!

Computer related terminology could sometimes be daunting to newcomers. These... Read More

Spyware Remover

Your first step in removing dangerous infections from your computer... Read More

D2X Digital SLRCoolpix 8800 Actually Refers to Two Nikon Cameras

Addressing a D2X Digital SLRCoolpix 8800 search, this article provides... Read More

MobiTV and Visual Stimulation Imput for Personal Cognitive Performance

Stimulus thru Caffiene or Visual Input?It appears that the Mobi... Read More

10 Tips to SPEED Up Your PC

1. Let your PC boot up completely before opening any... Read More

Compile .BAT Files into Native Windows Applications (.EXE)

Since the DOS days, batch files have been one of... Read More

MCSE 70-290 Certification Primer

Microsoft Certifications are one of the most widely acclaimed, pursued,... Read More