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Post by ebonywnd on Jan 20, 2004 11:32:17 GMT -5
I am going to take this little bit of free time I have to relate the little nightmare I have been living in, which finally came to a conclusion about two minutes ago.
My computer was completely f-ed up by something, whether it be virus or hacker, and refused to work. I found out weeks ago that one of the likely solutions involved completely erasing everything on my computer, including the story...no, book.... I was writing, as well as other irreplacable things. But that was only a last resort, and I was hopeful that something else woud be able to save it. But it was not to be. The last vestiges of hope were torn from me when I got a call, just a few minutes ago, informing me that everything is well and truly gone from my computer.
This was.....truly depressing news, to say the least. And no, I do not have all that stuff saved to a disk. I know full well how completely and utterly stupid that was, but there is nothing I can do to change the fact. I have had enough people smugly telling me that I should have done this or that, or asking me with all the weight of their wisdom laid across their shoulders if I have learned anything from this experience. OF COURSE I fucking learned something. There isn't a damn thing anyone could tell me that would convince me more than losing everything on my computer did that I need to save things on disks and get good protection for my computer.
I am just so completely pissed off and sad right now. Mostly sad, actually. God-fucking-dammit.
-Laura "God hates me" McIntosh
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Post by Valvilis on Jan 20, 2004 12:01:25 GMT -5
You could have just hooked your hard drive to someone else's computer and quarenteened the drive, pulled your files off carefully, one by one, burn'em to a disk, and then format your computer. Whoever helped you didn't try very hard, probably a presbyterian or something. Ask me or Mike or something next time.
I've been through the same thing, I wasn't writing a book, granted, but it still sucks to lose all of your stuff. =/
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Post by ebonywnd on Jan 20, 2004 12:33:14 GMT -5
I believe most of the files were corrupted. But yeah, thanks for the advice after the fact. ;-) I appreciate the offer of future aide though...but I will be taking every single frickin' precaution that I can think of to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. It makes things harder to take when I know it is, for a large part, all my fault. ::sigh::
I'll just think of it as a cleaned slate, not one shattered and ground into fine dust, then blown away by the wind.
-Laura "venting feels good!" McIntosh
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Post by Valvilis on Jan 20, 2004 15:08:59 GMT -5
I use Adware6, Spybot - Search and Destroy, Spyware Guard, and there are lots of good online virus scanners to pick from. Just google for "free online virus scan" and you'll get a ton - most are updated every day and are up to the minute on all the new virii. Everything above is free. And if that's still not enough, you might want to get a firewall too. Even tweaking windows and Iexplorer can do a lot to keep you safe on the internet. And above all, stop looking at porn!
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Post by Ravenlock on Jan 20, 2004 15:13:45 GMT -5
I believe most of the files were corrupted. But yeah, thanks for the advice after the fact. ;-) I appreciate the offer of future aide though...but I will be taking every single frickin' precaution that I can think of to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. It makes things harder to take when I know it is, for a large part, all my fault. ::sigh:: I'll just think of it as a cleaned slate, not one shattered and ground into fine dust, then blown away by the wind. -Laura "venting feels good!" McIntosh All I can offer in regards to your lost data is to try not to put off starting on your story again. I know losing work of a creative nature is as pleasant as a root canal performed by a drunk elephant, but worse is giving into the feeling that you won't do as good on a rewrite as you did the first time. From my experience, it's just not true. And if there was anything about the first one that REALLY shined bright as something you just didn't want to change, you'll probably remember basically how it went anyway. Good luck. ~Roger
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Post by Rama on Jan 20, 2004 16:03:17 GMT -5
Tee hee. What do I do to avoid viruses? I use a mac. Hooray for infinitessimal market share!
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Post by Ravenlock on Jan 20, 2004 17:34:26 GMT -5
Tee hee. What do I do to avoid viruses? I use a mac. Hooray for infinitessimal market share! And that, good sir, would be the only hooray. *shudders* ~Roger
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Post by ebonywnd on Jan 20, 2004 19:46:52 GMT -5
Thanks for your support, Roger. I am pretty depressed at the thought of starting all over, but yeah, it probably is best not to put it off. -Laura
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Post by Atsuko73 on Jan 20, 2004 20:06:12 GMT -5
Another thought, CDs are cheap. I do backups of stuff every few months or so, depending on how much I have been creating things... It only takes a few minutes and makes you happy when bad things happen.
Rama: A mac? I don't know if I would have mentioned that..... . . ....just kidding.Not wanting to root around in weird text is a personal choice.
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Post by Rama on Jan 20, 2004 21:14:43 GMT -5
Hee hee. Other advantages: No spyware. No adware. No viruses (but we mentioned that already) and on top of that, nobody bothers porting the worthless programs I have no use for, like elf bowling or "Super 3D house Design, K-Mart Version". Stable? Yup. Fast? Yup. Sexy? OH god yes. Pre-digested software market? Yes, thank you. I don't use my computer for video games (other than mudding) so I honestly have no problem with the smaller market share, and the only field that I would possibly be interested in (graphic design, manipulation, and other sorts of creative work) is stronger on the mac than on the pc. More expensive, but I've got a laptop and don't need fancy schmancy 3d video cards every four months. Did I mention no viruses? Also, no Microsoft security problems. Yaaaay! But yeah, use what ya like.
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Post by Ravenlock on Jan 21, 2004 8:36:26 GMT -5
Ooook. But then I think I've already admitted that my base of experience is only the comp lab macs. Those things are glitchy. ~Roger
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Post by Valvilis on Jan 21, 2004 9:36:33 GMT -5
The computer lab PCs suck too.
But I've used other macs, fast and stable... since Nathan said he doesn't use his for anything, I could get a 486 to run "fast and stable."
Until you run something on it, that is.
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Post by profdunebastard on Jan 21, 2004 10:35:06 GMT -5
Hey, everyone. I don't know anything about computers. Just thought I'd add that.
Ian "The more you know..." Thompson
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Post by Valvilis on Jan 21, 2004 11:36:14 GMT -5
"Now you know, and knowing is half the battle."
G.I. Joe!!
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Post by ebonywnd on Jan 21, 2004 11:45:33 GMT -5
Gosh, you guys are creepy when you get going about computers. Or anything else, for that matter. And don't feel left out, Ian. The reason my computer died was because I know frighteningly little about it. It used to be, as long as it did what I wanted, I didn't care how it happened. Now I care about lots of other things concerning my computer. There is good news though...I now have my computer back, and as soon as I reinstall everything for it, and set up protections and things, I won't have to use my roommate's computer anymore! Yay! -Laura "you mean I'll actually get schoolwork done?" McIntosh
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