[X-Newbies] Re: Help! Total HD Meltdown

[Charles Martin]

> From: jamiekg at wizardling.geek.nz (Jamie Kahn Genet)
> Subject: Re: [X-Newbies] Re: Help! Total HD Meltdown
>> Judging from the fact that you apparently can't be bothered to back
>> up your stuff, have no utilities and (thus) haven't done any system
>> maintenance, the fault here lies with you. Rather than attempting to
>> blame others, you really should consider reforming your poor
>> computing habits.
>>
>
> Whoa, steady on there Tex. No need to bust this poor soul's chops.

The above came over rather differently than I intended. I was  
*trying* to bust his chops about being quick to blame others for his  
woes, but reading the above it sounds like I was busting his chops  
about not having a backup. Come to think of it, I think I meant to do  
both.

<mini-rant>
I *do* feel badly for the OP, but *come on* -- hard drives are dirt  
cheap, cloning tools are available as *donationware,* and once you've  
cloned the HD one time (which admittedly takes a while) the periodic  
backups are very quick. There is NO EXCUSE for people who, after 20+  
years of being warned to make backups, fail to have a backup.

Just a couple of weeks ago, a shelf on the desk above me collapsed  
(too much junk!) and knocked over my external HD *just as I was  
writing to it.* Oh dear. And yes, when I frantically set it back up  
and turned it on, I could tell in seconds that the hard drive was  
completely toasted.

After about 10 seconds of cussing, I reached over to my backup HD,  
plugged it in and rebooted. I lost a grand total of about 10 emails.  
I was down for maybe ten minutes, and only that long because I felt  
like berating myself for having overloaded the shelf in the first place.

Everyone -- even the gurus -- need backups. People who keep anything  
of real value on their computer need backups even MORE. Don't be  
fools. *MAKE BACKUPS.*
</rant>

> Apple even provides their own utility called Backup (how original)  
> as a
> download from the .Mac site.

This only works with .Mac accounts, but it's not bad, particularly  
when used to back up small but important files to your iDisk. In  
addition to a regular backup, really vital stuff (like passwords)  
need to be backed up to an OFF-SITE location (in case your house  
burns down or something, Bob forbid).

> Yup - this user definitely needs to upgrade to Panther (10.3) or Tiger
> (10.4).

And again, it comically inexpensive to do so compared to be benefits  
gained from doing so. On dealmac.com I routinely see specials on  
Panther from people like Megamacs.com et al for around $60 or so.

I just don't get why so many Mac owners are so hesitant to invest in  
their machines. They already enjoy a HUGE cost savings over their PC- 
using friends by not having to replace their machines nearly as  
often, not to mention all the cash they're not spending on anti-virus/ 
spyware/hackers, no long-distance forever-on-hold calls to techs and  
companies who only blame each other, no weekly visits from $80/hour  
(and up) PC techs and so on.

Dust off that wallet and make a few small, smart investments in that  
Mac and believe me you'll get more out of it for far longer than if  
you don't.

_Chas_

FL-MUG: central Florida's Macintosh User Group.
Meetings: second Thursday of the month, 6-9pm,
at the Orlando Science Center.
http://www.flmug.org