Backup

Backups are important.  I’m talking about both digital backups and extra items.  There’s a fine line between backup and clutter.  I have backups of various household items such as laundry detergent.  When it’s on sale or I have a coupon, I buy one immediately so I don’t have to pay full price when my current one runs out.  For some items, it’s also nice to know that I won’t be suddenly stuck without something (like toothpaste).

Of course, I sometimes have too many backups when I’m not paying attention.  For instance, I had approximately 144 rolls of toilet paper at some point last year.  Oops!  I started storing it in weird places.  I have about a decade’s worth of another product that I haven’t bought in years.  I was a little annoyed at myself when I started decluttering.  I’m looking forward to that supply running out.

I’m pretty good about backing up my digital files, but I’m not perfect.  Last weekend, my laptop crashed.  I was irritated because I didn’t back up my blog post immediately after writing it.  I thought I was going to lose it as well as some other files.

Fortunately, I still have my old laptop for backup.  Actually, I still have both of my old laptops.  I love Windows XP, and I don’t love Windows 10.  My current laptop is using Windows 10, but my older two use Windows XP.  I use the middle one for certain non-internet things because it’s better than my current one.  For security, I generally don’t use the internet on it except to update my anti-virus software.

Well, my Windows 10 did something I’m not used to when it crashed.  I was able to use my middle laptop to research how to get past a certain screen.  Getting into safe mode is slightly different for Windows 10 and Windows XP.  Once I was in the back door, I was able to back up my entire hard drive.  Luckily, I didn’t need to reset my computer back to factory.  I still don’t know what went wrong, but I’m glad I had a backup computer for researching.  When I only had two laptops, I had to use my oldest to figure out what was wrong with the second one when it crashed.

Since I’m pretty good about backing up my digital files, I would not have lost much.  How much would you lose if your computer crashed today?  Would you spend money to recover your files, or could you figure it out on your own?  Is it time for you to back up your files?

Linda 🙂