Crash boom bang!
For more than one year now, my main computer has been a laptop. It was originally a secondary computer that would only be used for work, but when my regular miditower machine broke I realized that it was very comfortable to work with the laptop - and since then it has been the primary machine. It has worked well most of the time, but yesterday it let me down.
I was writing an e-mail when the computer suddenly hung up. The HD stopped spinning without any kind of warning or hint that something was wrong. At the following reboot, the S.M.A.R.T system warned me that I should make a backup of the content - and then run a HD self test to see how serious the damage was. The error messages looked really bad, it appeared to be some kind of physical damage on the drive. But even though I tried many different methods I couldn't access any of the files. Starting the operating system was simply impossible, the drive would only spin for a few seconds before stopping again. And the self test hung up at 10%, so I didn't get any help from it.
In any normal case, I would have tried to re-format the drive and install the OS again. I usually have the OS on one partition and all the data on another to make it easy to re-install when needed. But now I had everything on the same partition, and there were some files that I felt that I really had to keep - including photos and video clips from the birthday party a few days ago - not to mention and all the original material for several weeks of work…
Saving the files, getting my work material out of the laptop and into another work computer took up most of the day. Once I had managed to save the most important files, I managed to trick the computer into accepting a new installation of the operating system - and after a couple of failed attempts I managed to get the computer running again. It is extremely unstable, and a nightmare to use since it writes out random error messages whatever I do. But it works good enough to let me copy over the rest of the files to an external harddrive to make sure everything is properly backed up. I will need to buy a new drive and re-install everything for the laptop to become fully functional again, but that's life.
However, what I would really want is a completely new computer. A machine not just for XHTML/CSS coding, but one that could run a music studio as well! I miss the music production, and it is simply not possible to use this laptop to run the entire studio. A new computer, and the beauty mentioned a couple of weeks ago. That would be something!
Back to reality…
But today I would be extremely happy as long as this little laptop would allow me to do the work I need to do. I know that the drive can crash again at any time, but I have a backup computer ready at the ITUS office if needed. There are a lot of things to do, and it all needs to be done before Friday when my father and I go to Piteå to enjoy a very welcome mini-vacation.
We will spend a few days on Pite Havsbad, just having a good time. And on Sunday we will stay in Luleå over the day to see the local team and defending champions Plannja Basket play the third game (out of seven) against 08 Stockholm in the finals of the Swedish basketball league. I really look forward to that, since I'm a bigger fan of basketball than I would admit!
Comments
Comment from Alberto
Time: March 28, 2007, 11:05 am
Recently I had a similar problem with my computer.
It's hard to stay quiet while you fear to loose many important files, images, works, which are a part of your own history. I wasn't able to restore my files (for the hard drive was literaly broken), but I heard that some companies can try to restore it, though that work is very expensive.
Now I use an external drive where sometimes I save my "documents" folder (I'm still trying to make it automatical, but I'm not able!).
Comment from Filippo Ronco
Time: March 28, 2007, 1:49 pm
Hi Andreas.
My laptop works as a desktop too. It's the third from 1998, the year I've started my work online in the wine & food area. I think is better to work with a laptop too. You can bring your data everywhere with you everytime you need to work out of office. But always, I repeat, ALWAYS ! I have had an external HD to backup the most important files on my pc. Today I'm still working with my "mule-laptop" (well, it isn't a mule but I use it as it would !) but I have two syncronized HD always running beside my laptop ;-)
Comment from Tiago Silva
Time: March 28, 2007, 3:22 pm
My sympathies for your HD.
I've lost a 160GB one recently, exactly on its 1st year of purchase.
Comment from Ted Hoffman
Time: March 28, 2007, 6:51 pm
Good luck with your computer problems.
I imagined the top template designers in the world would have computer rooms with special cooling and multiple 30" monitors. I did a google search for "andreas viklund" and got 6,470,000 possibilities. My web page is one of the millions.
I am a hobbyist that has a page just for fun. I am grateful for your templates that are such great learning tools.
Hmmm. Last time I typed here (not submitted) there was a spell check. I wonder if it is OS dependent?
In any event, Great Site!
Comment from jude
Time: March 28, 2007, 8:52 pm
I find win ME exasperating
Comment from Andreas
Time: March 28, 2007, 9:59 pm
I make plenty of backups, but I didn't have any copy of the work, photos and downloaded files for the last couple of weeks. That is of course my own fault, and it made everything much harder since I couldn't just format and re-install as usual. I will get an external HD soon, I have wanted that for a long time. Right now, I'm using my 30gb iPod for both backups and file transfers and that works really well. But having a larger drive sure wouldn't hurt!
Ted: I have friends who want to believe that the cooler computer you have, the better code you write. I wish it would be that easy! No, I don't have any cool gear like that…
Back in the days of Lagoona we had a really good hardware music production studio. But I still found myself using only software when I wrote music. And I didn't use the programs that offered the most cool features and effects - I used simpler programs that were more fun to work with. Huge systems are really fun to play around with. But smaller and more customized systems create more challenges - and brings more inspiration!
Finally, calling me a "top template designer in the world" is really nice (thanks!) - but it is a bit more credit than I deserve. After all, I'm still just a fat kid who have written some XHTML/CSS while playing with a laptop in a small apartment in northern Sweden… :)
Comment from Greg J
Time: March 29, 2007, 10:46 am
I use a program called Spinright and have never lost a drive once. Even when the system just gave me the click, click, click, sound from the HD.
You can get Spinright at http://www.spinright.info/ for 89 USD or about 67 EUR.
Comment from Thomas
Time: March 29, 2007, 10:08 pm
I've done a S.M.A.R.T status scan of my hard drive and its dying - so mine could also cut out at any moment - I really should make backups.
Although, I've never really heared of a case as serious as yours - lets just hope you get a nice new computer which will be able to cope with the tasks you wish to fulfill.
Comment from Gnome
Time: March 30, 2007, 4:32 am
There is a reason I have 4 hard drives: backups. i never 'trust' a single device to hold my stuff, so I have DVDs with my backups on them for every three months, and nearly-weekly backups from my system drive on to my data disk. I (almost) never lose data.
Comment from China Henderson
Time: March 30, 2007, 11:04 pm
Dear Mrs. Gurski,
Hi, Mrs. Gurski how are you? How are your new students this year, was it , better than last year's class?
Middle school is great I have a lot of new friends and the work there is easy and I have very good grades . But I moved by Barber Middle School and I go there now.
I sent this message to you because you are my favorite teacher. Can you tell Mrs. Roberts she's my favorite teacher tool.
Your old student,
China Henderson
Comment from Andreas
Time: March 31, 2007, 4:44 am
Greg: Thanks for the advice on Spinright (or Spinrite), I'll check that out soon!
And to China: Hello there! I am a 27-year old website designer from northern Sweden named Andreas. I am not Mrs. Gurski, and I don't know her at all. I don't know how you ended up on my website, but I would guess that Mrs. Gurski is using one of my free website templates. If so, you need to return to her site and send the message directly to her, as I don't know where to forward it!
And to everyone else: Yes, I'm online. Sitting at a classy hotel room in Piteå in the middle of the night, having a really good time. I'll post an entry with nice photos (me at the spa - be warned!) after I have got a few hours of sleep.
Comment from Jack
Time: April 1, 2007, 7:42 pm
It is always a nightmare when the computer crash … it has happen with me sometimes. And I still do not learn…. I never have all the backup files I need.
Comment from DDR
Time: April 2, 2007, 9:03 am
Good luck with your computer problems…
Comment from vokzzi
Time: April 7, 2007, 8:31 am
I never have all the backup files I need.Good luck with your computer problems…
Comment from hobie
Time: April 10, 2007, 8:43 pm
Tja!
Om du har kvar driven så går nog det mesta att få ut :) "fixat" hårda diskar värre än det där tror jag :)
Vi har ett fint program på jobbet som kollar sektor för sektor o återskapar det mesta.
Kan testa om du nu vill ha ut det där.. (ingen betalning, bara som en liten tjänst :)
Hör av dig
Comment from Ahmad Azimi
Time: March 28, 2007, 6:09 am
Hi Andreas,
My name is Ahmad , 25 years old and form Iran. I'm working on some blog templates and found your site at BlogTopSites.
I'm very happy to found you :-)
I hope I can use your experience in template design.
At the end, I'm so sorry for my bad English ;-)
Good Luck