It has been a long and dreary week my friends. Last week, without much warning, my computer died. It was running a little slow- and when I checked, I saw I has 122 windows updates pending. I clicked “install” things really began to slow down and then when the system went to reboot- it hung on the window starting screen for over 3 hours. I knew it was bad. Turned out, my OS was fried.
I use Backblaze, which is constantly running in the background so I had my files protected- (all 500 GB of them! ) the hassle was the painstaking process of restoring my programs and settings- after 30 days the files get deleted from Backblaze- so I had a biological clock of sorts ticking in my gut. Of course I could get everything downloaded in 30 days… but just knowing that they would all be deleted was enough to keep this woman clickin’ like mad!
Seven Things I Learned:
- Get onto the Cloud. Sure an EHD is nice- but I need a safety net that is always there and constantly running. Paying 60 bucks a year for this is well worth it. For the price of a Mocha latte, you too can protect your files! 😉
- God is in the details. I wish I had a little more order in creating folders for my files. Maybe more detailed names- or more sub folders. I now have things grouped a little better.
- Flat is Fine. PSDs are HUGE!!! I may think twice before saving files this way- really- I rarely go back and edit a layout from a PSD form. Saving as 3600 is a good idea- but PSD- meh. Don’t think I need to as much.
- Get a Little Black Book. I now have a phone book of my installed programs and their registration numbers. I got many of these by running Belarc on my laptop where I had duplicate copies of my programs installed. I will keep better track of this- it’s invaluable info when you need to restore. I have also included password to sites I visit and email accounts in this phone book. And yes. It’s and old fashioned paper one. They never fail.
- Be the Tortoise. When you are downloading a file to restore, don’t freak out if it fails. Even if the download fails 6 times. Just keep swimming. Take a deep breath and download again. It will work. And dont get impatient and try to download everything at once. Keep your downloads to under 2 GB. And don’t download more than one file at a time. It doesn’t make the process go any faster- and only winds up taking longer and getting messy. Slow and steady wins the race. Coffee and chocolate help too.
- Believe in reincarnation. I had a few versions of programs I loved- but that aren’t available anymore. I got lucky at oldversion.com. They have some oldies but goodies and are recognized as a trustworthy source. Check out Wikipedia here.
Save Your Settings. Take a moment to save your favorite presets in Photoshop. I did this last year and boy was I happy with myself! You can save brushes, styles, actions, shapes, whatever you’d like. I saved mine in a folder on my desktop called “Favorite Photoshop Presets” Downloading that baby was a huge weight off my mind! Adobe TV has a great video tutorial here.
That's a nice and entertaining breakdown. People should really take note of that. The most important idea in all of that is backup. Always back up your software and files, then make another one for a spare or two. However, what's most important is to always make sure that the computer itself is in proper order and well-kempt enough, so that those crashes wouldn't be such a surprise. All the best!
Lillian Walker @TaylorWorks
That's a nice and entertaining breakdown. People should really take note of that. The most important idea in all of that is backup. Always back up your software and files, then make another one for a spare or two. However, what's most important is to always make sure that the computer itself is in proper order and well-kempt enough, so that those crashes wouldn't be such a surprise. All the best!
Lillian Walker @TaylorWorks
Carbonate removes deleted files after 30 days as well, but if you have an external drive to bak up, it costs TWICE as much as Backblaze! Thanks for the article– I'm going downstairs right now to sign up for Backblaze. Then I'll get started on that black book. 🙂
Hey Teresa- I know we touched base on this on Facebook- but in case any other peeps were wondering- Backblaze is so low cost b/c they don't hold your files forever- here's what they say: "While files are expunged from the servers after 30 days if they're removed from a computer, no backed files will be expunged for 6 months if your computer is completely unable to contact our servers (either it's shut off, or no internet connection). Feel free to turn off your computer if you're going to be away for an extended period of time. As long as your computer can contact Backblaze at least once every 6 months, your backed up files will be retained. When you do return to your computer, make sure all external hard drives are connected to ensure that the data on them is not expunged due to the 30 day window."
I played it safe and figured mine would be gone after 30 days… worked like a mad dog- and now- ahhh- I am breathing easy again! 😉
Hey Teresa- I know we touched base on this on Facebook- but in case any other peeps were wondering- Backblaze is so low cost b/c they don't hold your files forever- here's what they say: "While files are expunged from the servers after 30 days if they're removed from a computer, no backed files will be expunged for 6 months if your computer is completely unable to contact our servers (either it's shut off, or no internet connection). Feel free to turn off your computer if you're going to be away for an extended period of time. As long as your computer can contact Backblaze at least once every 6 months, your backed up files will be retained. When you do return to your computer, make sure all external hard drives are connected to ensure that the data on them is not expunged due to the 30 day window."
I played it safe and figured mine would be gone after 30 days… worked like a mad dog- and now- ahhh- I am breathing easy again! 😉
I bet you had an AWESOME aunt who helped you through that one kiddo! 😉 Thanks for the love xo
I bet you had an AWESOME aunt who helped you through that one kiddo! 😉 Thanks for the love xo
I have a question my computer crashed and says won't load windows. I lost over 500gb in files I had purchased. I wish I had backblaze and won't to get it when I can afford a new computer. I'm concerned though because you said files are deleted after 30 days. Can you explain a little better so I can decide between them and Carbonite? thanks.
I have a question my computer crashed and says won't load windows. I lost over 500gb in files I had purchased. I wish I had backblaze and won't to get it when I can afford a new computer. I'm concerned though because you said files are deleted after 30 days. Can you explain a little better so I can decide between them and Carbonite? thanks.
AHH! That's the worst – I learned to go on iCloud too after I lost all of my files/pictures/old art projects when my laptop was stolen. Glad to hear you were able to get almost everything back!
AHH! That's the worst – I learned to go on iCloud too after I lost all of my files/pictures/old art projects when my laptop was stolen. Glad to hear you were able to get almost everything back!
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hooray! you're back!
hooray! you're back!
Thanks Patsy!! There was alot of takeout food this week- and my back is not happy with all this sitting and hunching- but I was very lucky that the only thing I lost was a few days at work 😉
Thanks Patsy!! There was alot of takeout food this week- and my back is not happy with all this sitting and hunching- but I was very lucky that the only thing I lost was a few days at work 😉
Wow, what a week!! Glad you're back up and running!
Wow, what a week!! Glad you're back up and running!