Finally, a computer that is fast enough for today
I no longer can count how many times I’ve “saved” data for other people, but I can give great cheap advice. Back up your stuff, because your turn will come. Some day, when you least need the stress, your prized virtual world will unravel.
Last week I had a call from a (retired) co-worker. The laptop no longer booted, and I was suddenly the last faint hope. Could I see if there was any simple solution to the now complex problem. Fair enough. The laptop was delivered through the “friend of a friend” courier system, and I carefully cleared some desk space, opened the screen and hit the power button. Sure enough, Windows XP would go through the motions, request a login sequence and then reboot. Not particularly useful.
There are standard protocols in such a situation, and none proved successful. Next up, booting with a copy of Linux, I transferred the contents of the drive to an external unit, so that I could begin harvesting the bits that were still undamaged. And then, the sad ritual where I inform the owner that things will “never be quite the same again”, because the only thing left to do involved a complete reformat and install. A moment of reflection, and I was asked if it might be time to purchase a new machine.
Like the government, I wouldn’t be spending my own money, so I provided a sample budget, and it was approved. One new laptop, delivery date next week.
The new machine, boasting an Intel i3 processor and buckets of RAM, arrived at my desk just before lunch (the same mysterious courier system). I plugged in my driveful of data. Here’s where the joy of a new, fast computer comes into play. I had made a mental note to work on this over the weekend, but within the hour all 15 GB of unsorted files had been transferred.
The owner was left with only one puzzle. How do you get your old email messages back, what with the disappearance of Outlook Express from the menu in Windows 7? There is a way, but the end of another workday is upon me. I’m leaving that little test of my patience for the new week.
