Backup, backup, backup. Did I mention backup? - Writers Forum

WriterDude · 12-06-2007, 07:47 AM

Here's a fun one for you. I have been working on a novel for quite some time and was about halfway-ish done at 45k words. Nothing to it, really. Just takes time to write it, and I spent literally months online researching all the time as well since it takes place in norse mythology.

Then I had a brilliant idea. As I already had Windows and Freespire Linux installed as Dual Boot, I thought about getting rid of one. Freespire didn't recognize my modem, and Windows is... well, windows.

One thing lead to another, and before I knew it I was sitting with a Ubuntu Linux Live-CD. This lets me "fake" an Ubuntu installation by running it straight from the CD and try it before I actually install anything, just to see if it works. Funnily, it did recognize the modem, so I thought about installing it. As I depend on this computer and don't get to home until Christmas, I decided not to and restarted the computer. If something was to go wrong, it would help a lot to have another computer ready. There were some issues about lacking a user name and password, after all.

So the computer restarted, loaded the boot manager so I could choose my OS, and... Windows was gone? What the...? I tried Redetecting, but came up empty. I stared Freespire and searched for the windows part of the hard drive, but it was nowhere in sight. And with that gone, so was all my work.

In the end, I had to repartition the hard drive, reformat it and install Ubuntu from scratch just so I could go online again, which I depend on for various reasons like checking my e-mail.

So there you have it. The novel was halfway-ish done, and I had several others I had started on. All of it is gone for no apparent reason. The worst part is I can't really get angry either. All I lost was time and the pilot episode for Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (excellent stuff, btw), and I did get rid of Windows once and for all. Loosing all my work is bad, of course, but loosing windows more than makes up for it.

Just keep that in mind. Backup, backup, backup. Always keep a backup. I have most of my earlier works stored on the internet, but for some reason I never bothered keep a backup of my current ideas and work-in-progresses. I know I should have. Annoyingly, the modem even has a 50MB "hard drive" where I could have stored my work, so even lacking storage space isn't an excuse. Damn.

Malone · 12-06-2007, 07:53 AM

Same thing happened to me years ago with Red Hat Linux. I didn't have anything valuable though.

Sorry to hear about the novel. From the bits of heard you talk about it around the forums, I got the impression you'd really put a lot of time into it.

WriterDude · 12-06-2007, 08:27 AM

That I did, and now it's all gone. *sigh* Guess there's nothing to do but restart it from scratch. But heck, now I don't have to research that much, and half the story was finished. That was the hardest part, so writing it shouldn't be so difficult. Just remember to keep a backup. You never know when you are going to need it, and yes, it does in fact not happen to everyone else except you.

SevenWritez · 12-06-2007, 08:48 AM

My four copies of the novel/short story hybrid I'm working on, always:

The one on my Computer.
The one on my Flash Drive. (I save to both at the same time)
The printed copy in the desk drawer.
The printed copy in my back pack.

It's good to be paranoid. Sorry about your novel.

Throughy · 12-08-2007, 12:09 AM

SevenWritez,

I agree on multiple backup types, with different formats.
(tried a flashdrive which now won't playback, the only one I've bought)

My variation:

- backup to external/slave drive
- copy to cdrw* (NOT Memorex brand, some have not replayed with INCD by Nero -- also, would not recommend INCD - - DragonDisk is supposedly more reliable. Verbatim disks are higher quality; after looking into this their production is not farmed out like Memorex, with incidences of 'bad shipments' that aren't that uncommon) The cdrw to be stored at remote location in event of fire/theft, magnetic drive failure, power surge, emp (I think would survive this but am not certain), or whatnot.
- Uninterruptible power supply in case or surge/lightning to some extent to help preserve drive-stored files (though have had a jolt course through one - that also went through surge on home's outer electrical box at the first line of protection since this was a near strike)
- either physical printout every so often or backup to another trusted location (not yet doing, but this should be done)

Might want to remember that there are software programs that can retrieve files commonly deleted from the recycle bin (Windows)

Also, programs like Spyware doctor can prevent malicious code from being run and loaded to other locations. It is possible for someone without scruples to load files like word.doc's from your local pc.

Hodge · 12-08-2007, 01:13 AM

Shoulda recovered your files. They wouldn't have actually been deleted from your hard drive until you overwrote them with other files. Only UNIX based systems actually zero out any data you erase, other operating systems just remove them from the user's view and overwrite them once something else is installed.

WriterDude · 12-08-2007, 02:35 PM

The problem is the hard drive was partitioned, and I couldn't find the windows partition at all. Not from the bootloader, not from linux, not from the live-CD, not at all in fact. How can I recover a file when I can't even find the hard drive? Now that's the question.