All month I've been working on my ProGen assignment, which is a business plan. I worked really hard on this task, highlighting my qualities, analyzing the genealogy market, etc. I really went overboard just for the challenge, and I succeeded.
The day I finished the business plan is the day my computer died. It won't turn on. I don't think this is a catastropic problem where everything is lost. I just can't get to it. My laptop is poised to go to the computer hosiptal once the special box from the manufacturer gets here.
So what to do now? Blogging is limited because all the groovy pictures are on that computer. I just finished scanning the entire military pension file and now there are no images. Can't do my Find-a-Grave adding because those pictures were on there, too. Can't do RootsMagic because....well, you get the idea.
What I do have is my son's desktop computer, so all is not lost. It's just kind of boring because all the good stuff is on the other computer.
I had a brief pity party but then I started thinking. This little wrinkle has forced me to change my focus for a few weeks. Things that have been put off, are now at the top of the list. I can't add pictures to Find-a-Grave, but I can gather names and take new pix. I can't access my RootsMagic, but I can add to my Geni tree and work with my private Ancestry tree. I can start the ball rolling on the DAR process. I can catch up on reading. I can go to Clayton Library and the other fab local repositories. I can still do research and that's what's important.
I just won't have any pictures of these adventures to share with you. Just another wrinkle and a new path. Let's see where it leads.
You know Amy... if you had installed a copy of RootsMagic and your databases on a flash drive with RootsMagic To-Go, you wouldn't be in this mess ;-).
ReplyDeleteHa! I do back-up to a flash drive. Not sure if Roots Magic To-Go is on it. I'll have to see. I never take my computer to the library, so I hadn't played with that toy yet.
ReplyDeleteTruth be told, I am thankful for my son's computer as a sub, but I don't want to spend hours up here on it.
Amy, how terribly sad. I don't know what to say, other than I hope it all works out. Do you have a portable hard drive, if not, they are rather inexpensive. If not, didn't you just post an article about your wish list for Christmas? Is that on it, nope I just checked. Better add that. Hug your cat for me and the best to you.
ReplyDeleteHi Amy -- bummer about your computer! Not much help to you now, I know, but I'm backing up my genealogy/ProGen stuff on dropbox.com (had my laptop really and truly die earlier this year and learned my lesson!).
ReplyDeleteHTH for the future!
Missy
I have had two computers die, both have been repaired but I learned BACK UP, BACK UP BACK UP.
ReplyDeleteHmm, computers seem to be dropping like flies - Elyse's, yours, and my daughter is bringing her sick computer home from college this weekend....
ReplyDeleteHere's wishing your computer a full recovery.
Electronics... gotta love 'em... I hope you're back in business very soon.
ReplyDeleteAmy - I know exactly how you feel because the same thing happened to me just two weeks ago. But now that I have my new computer, I am in the process of making it all genealogy friendly (a fun project I might add).
ReplyDeleteWhile it is a bit of a pain to put all of my backed up files on my new computer, I am grateful that I have back ups of everything and that all was not lost.
Plus, I get to play with my new tech toy and the new boost of technology makes me feel like a kid in a candy store!
Let me echo Barbara Poole and urge you to get a portable (external) hard drive. I have one, and I put all my files on it, rather than on the desktop or the laptop.
ReplyDeleteWith the external hard drive, you can plug it into either your desktop or your laptop (or your son's computer) and have all your data to use.