Without getting too personal, I think I’ve mentioned that I’m a parent to who I think is the most amazing child on the planet. Over the years, I’ve digitally chronicled his life and experience. I’ve even kept a journal that I will give him when he is “of age” that talks about his life from my point of view.
As I was doing some “cleaning” on my computer this weekend, (it’s amazing how full those things can get), I had a bit of a scare. Somehow I had misplaced the folder with all my photos of him. We’re talking about 15,000 images taken since he was born.
Talk about a panic attack.
I’m sure you’ve had a situation where you think you’ve lost something and you try not to freak out about it, but can’t help but freak out about it. Yeah, I was that guy.
My photos are important to me. It’s that snapshot (no pun intended) of a moment in time that can invoke feelings, memories and experiences.
Suffice it to say, I found the missing folder somehow buried in another folder. I probably moved it by accident. But the threat of lost memories was enough to make sure I did a data backup to ensure that I don’t freak out if something does happen to my computer.
Data storage isn’t something that’s top of mind for most. Admittedly, it wasn’t for me until I started working here. But as I have often talked about the idea of preservation, I see how important it really is.
Take it from me, as a parent; it’s worth the 5-10 minutes of backing up your hard drive for an eternity of peace of mind.
I purchased a seagate backup drive and have backed up my small 250 gb hard drive, but it takes almost two days to back up…. I have not needed to re-install so I believe it is still worth the time and knowing hardware and software it is not IF I need to but WHEN I need to because it really is inevitable over time…..
I totally agree, Jeff. It’s always good to be prepared.