Guest Writer Moira Allen
I often
wonder how we managed, back in the dark ages... You know, those ages when one's
household was "dark" because it wasn't perpetually lit by the glow of
one or more computer screens. Well, last
week I got a chance to recall those ancient days. It was rather like being a guest on
"Pioneer House" or "Victorian Manor," only without the
interesting clothes and weird foods!
It began
when my antivirus program -- a well-known, trusted program -- informed me that
a "new version" was ready to install and would I be so kind as to
download it now before it shut off my computer and life-support and did it
without me? I complied, downloaded the
new version, declined to shut down my computer right that very moment, and went
on my way. The next morning... wonder of
wonders, "The Beast" (which is my pet name for the computer) would
not reboot.
Fortunately
I was able to reboot in "last known good configuration" and all went
well. A week passed, and then, lo and behold, an announcement came from my
antivirus software, with yet ANOTHER "new version" -- which suggested
to me that they'd figured out there were bugs with the previous version. Joyfully, I installed that.
The next
morning... well, what a surprise, "The Beast" would not boot. Only, this time, not only would it not
reboot, a red-flagged warning appeared upon my screen declaring that I needed
to reset my parameters in the BIOS as it could not boot from the current
set-up.
Now, to
me, "BIOS" is something I put at the end of my articles, NOT
something I muck about with on my computer -- which was now doing a marvelous
imitation of a very large paperweight. Time
to call in an expert. The expert poked,
prodded, grunted, and made noises about "maybe it's time you upgraded to
Windows 7" -- but reluctantly acceded to my request to put everything back
just the way it was. And, miraculously
(he honestly wasn't sure it would happen), he did so. But... it took almost a week.
A week
without my key programs. A week in which
I couldn't update web pages, or load them online even if I could. A week in which my scanners sat idle. A week in which I kept wondering, "How
on EARTH did we cope?"
Granted,
I had a lap-top, which enabled me to check e-mail and do basic writing tasks,
but most of my programs and hardware weren't loaded. In addition, many of the
programs I use are downloads, so I couldn't even install them from a disk. And granted, I did have all my files, but I
balked at trying to load them all onto the laptop and then have to remember
which ones I needed to copy back onto the computer when (and if) it came home
again. On the bright side, at least I
had no trouble downloading my favorite games!!
Thankfully,
"The Beast" is back home safe and sound, and I'm back in action. But the experience was a reminder that all of
us who depend upon computers for our livelihood -- and especially those of us
who keep our life's work stored on those computers -- are just one bad software
download away from catastrophe. So let
me take this opportunity to leave you with my regular reminder and warning:
BACK UP
YOUR WORK!
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