Don't Crash Your Files With Your Computer, You Fool | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Lifestyle

Don't Crash Your Files With Your Computer, You Fool

Lessons from a person who made all the mistakes.

64
Don't Crash Your Files With Your Computer, You Fool
Unsplash

I recently lost a dear friend: my laptop. I didn’t lose it so much as have it die on me. In a dramatic fashion befitting the personal computer of a creative writing major. Thanks to the timely intervention of a very hardworking and inventive computer tech at Office Depot, I am up and running (and writing) on a new computer, but I almost lost all the data and work I’d accumulated in four years of computer ownership.

Whether the contents of your hard drive are your life’s worth of written work, like mine, or a compilation of photos from every place you’ve ever visited, it’s a good idea to make sure you can retrieve all your data. Based on my catastrophic failure to plan for the worst, here is some advice (from me, but ostensibly also from the computer tech and my mother) on saving your important computer stuff.

Run your updates on time: I almost never shut down my computer all the way, which is bad. Computers need to be shut down and restarted every few days or so in order for them to update. If you don’t do the updates regularly enough. They’ll pile up and when you need the computer most it will be drowning in a sea of updates. Another problem that can occur when you don’t shut your computer down frequently is that you don’t notice issues it’s having until it’s too late.

Don’t be like me. Shut down and update your computer.

Back up your devices to an external hard drive. The tip is that when a computer crashes, you’ll still be able to retrieve the data from it. I learned the hard way that this is not the case. When my computer went down, the USB drives also shorted out, making it impossible for me to retrieve my files and photos on my own. If not for the tech guy at Office Depot, I would've been stuck using the files from my last back-up, which was about six months ago.

Don’t be like me. Back up your computer at least once a week or more if you have particularly important files.

For the really important stuff, make sure you can access it from multiple locations. If you have more than one email account, attach your important files to an email from one account and send it to the other. This will ensure that even if your computer crashes, you’ll still be able to retrieve the important things. This is also easier than purchasing, setting up, and running a backup drive, but make no mistake. This is not a solution for all your data-saving woes.

Do at least one. Better yet, do both.

Store your photos in print as well as online. Photo albums are a lost art, and they’re also a good way to preserve your pictures without taking up space on your backup drive or in your email account. You don’t want to lose those memories, so make sure you can access them from multiple spots. The process of choosing which photos to print out and put in an album will also help you narrow down the photos that you really want to keep.

The twenty snaps of your dog from the same and angle might not all make the cut, but that’s a good thing.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Entertainment

Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

These powerful lyrics remind us how much good is inside each of us and that sometimes we are too blinded by our imperfections to see the other side of the coin, to see all of that good.

143691
Every Girl Needs To Listen To 'She Used To Be Mine' By Sara Bareilles

The song was sent to me late in the middle of the night. I was still awake enough to plug in my headphones and listen to it immediately. I always did this when my best friend sent me songs, never wasting a moment. She had sent a message with this one too, telling me it reminded her so much of both of us and what we have each been through in the past couple of months.

Keep Reading...Show less
Zodiac wheel with signs and symbols surrounding a central sun against a starry sky.

What's your sign? It's one of the first questions some of us are asked when approached by someone in a bar, at a party or even when having lunch with some of our friends. Astrology, for centuries, has been one of the largest phenomenons out there. There's a reason why many magazines and newspapers have a horoscope page, and there's also a reason why almost every bookstore or library has a section dedicated completely to astrology. Many of us could just be curious about why some of us act differently than others and whom we will get along with best, and others may just want to see if their sign does, in fact, match their personality.

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

20 Song Lyrics To Put A Spring Into Your Instagram Captions

"On an island in the sun, We'll be playing and having fun"

35139
Person in front of neon musical instruments; glowing red and white lights.
Photo by Spencer Imbrock on Unsplash

Whenever I post a picture to Instagram, it takes me so long to come up with a caption. I want to be funny, clever, cute and direct all at the same time. It can be frustrating! So I just look for some online. I really like to find a song lyric that goes with my picture, I just feel like it gives the picture a certain vibe.

Here's a list of song lyrics that can go with any picture you want to post!

Keep Reading...Show less
Chalk drawing of scales weighing "good" and "bad" on a blackboard.
WP content

Being a good person does not depend on your religion or status in life, your race or skin color, political views or culture. It depends on how good you treat others.

We are all born to do something great. Whether that be to grow up and become a doctor and save the lives of thousands of people, run a marathon, win the Noble Peace Prize, or be the greatest mother or father for your own future children one day. Regardless, we are all born with a purpose. But in between birth and death lies a path that life paves for us; a path that we must fill with something that gives our lives meaning.

Keep Reading...Show less
Health and Wellness

10 Hygiene Tips For All College Athletes

College athletes, it's time we talk about sports hygiene.

31337
Woman doing pull-ups on bars with sun shining behind her.

I got a request to talk about college athletes hygiene so here it is.

College athletes, I get it, you are busy! From class, to morning workouts, to study table, to practice, and more. But that does not excuse the fact that your hygiene comes first! Here are some tips when it comes to taking care of your self.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments