Save It - Surviving Computer Files

Date: April 24, 2005
            Someone in my writing group just lost 10 pages of writing when a circuit breaker blew in her home. So, of course (of course) I had to relate the rules. One more time. It doesn't hurt because I can screw up with the best of them and need to review them myself.

      The first rule is - set auto save for every 10-15 minutes - Word and Write Perfect - under preferences or options or use Help to find it. In fact, ANY software that you use should be set for auto-save. If auto-save fails, you have another problem.
     
      Use ctrl-S ("Save" short-cut) anyway (even if auto-save is working) every time you have written anything you like and do not want to loose.
      This can be every 5 minutes --- or even more often - I use the rule that I save anything I don't want to have to retype. As soon as I do it once, and it is obvious that I don't want to do it agai, I save before getting coffee, before answering the phone, before walking over and playing with my new total gym.
     
      I sit in meetings and chant Save It at guys typing away like fury and not saving.
      ----- Guys who damn well know better.
     
      Also - Use Save As and keep a copy under a different name periodically (you can bounce back and forth between two names to save space if you must). Because I am paranoid, I sometimes email a file to work (and back). This makes a backup copy off-site and on. You can clear it off your work system later. (If your work system is so space-limited that you have no room, you should already have called IT and demanded a bigger drive.)
      It's why the hard drives are so big on today's computers - people need to do this - train your left thumb and a finger or which ones work on your keyboard. My split keyboard on my G5 Mac has a different key - actually the one labeled with the Windows logo - that is the control key - threw me off. It's not that way when driving the Toshiba PC.
     
      End of day - use a floppy - ZIP , memory bug (those tiny memory storage units you can hang on a keychain) or second hard drive and back-up your work. (Tape is not the best back-up in the world - 80% effective.)
     
      Another rule - never use more than 60-70% of your hard drive - if your drive is full - you need another drive, a bigger drive, or need to remove junk from your hard drive - having a too-full hard drive can cause your software (like Word) to misbehave. I have 149GB drive - 120GB available.
      I am considering another drive, to back-up the first one.      
      Also - Word is one of those programs that will fail to behave if you have done a lot of typing and have not saved. It has a temperamental temporary memory buffer and will get even with you. To say Word is psychotic is an understatement.
     
      Break your work into reasonable chapters.
      An "all the book in one file" could exceed Word's capability to handle the given file size depending on the amount of RAM you have.
      The software fails at 8-10MB file sizes on a 1GIG or higher system.
      Adding RAM makes no difference at that point.
      Depends on op sys, software version, space on hard drive, RAM (secondary), etc.

      If it takes a while for the file to load, or open, or edit, then it is too large. You should not have to wait for a file. That is unproductive time.
     
      CD/DVD back-up is lovely - Dump everything as often as you feel necessary given your past experiences - use read/write media - keep versions.
      Take a disk to work and shove it in a drawer on occasion - this is called "off-site storage".
      If your system is stolen, burns up, your hard drive fails, whatever, you have important things "off-site" and can rebuild.
      Or use a near-by relative to hold stuff for you.
      Trust me in this one.
      Do this every time you have a major piece of work.
      Companies use servers and remote drives for this reason. They have automatic back-up. Intelligent companies store stuff in a cave somewhere.
      Home businesses have to do the same.
      Back-up off-site as often as you do laundry --- or once a week.
      Even carrying a disk in your purse counts to a point. I am often found with a zip disk in my purse.
     
      There are power units that you can get that give you 5 minutes before a power shut down claims your computer if this thing happens often in your house.
      (I would find out why the circuit breaker failed) - these units have a battery that can hold you up long enough for a save and graceful shut-down.
      You should also have a decent power-surge protector on your power cord ALWAYS.
      If your house is over 5 years old --- I would do both or call an electrician.
     
      Power fail is not nice to your hard drive - expect problems eventually - newer systems are better and more tolerant of "hard shut downs".
      (A soft shut down is when you tell it to turn off.)
     
      BTW - a failed (tripped) circuit breaker is a bad circuit breaker - it must be replaced ASAP or you could have a fire.
      They have about 2-3 trips in them and then they are dangerous. Their function is to keep you from having a house fire.

      And remember this. CDs and DVDs can be damaged. Zip disks can suddenly fail. (I lost one recently.) Tape has a life limit. Unused tapes die. Consider fading VHS tapes. Same thing. Memory bugs - can be easily lost or stolen. Johnathan always was losing his. Mine was stolen. Hard drives can crash. Sometimes they can have their data recovered - sometimes not. Nothing is permanent.

      So, the psychotic among us, myself included, print a hardcopy on occasion. And put copies on one or more of our other computers. At work, I dump to a remote (Boise, Idaho) server.
     
      Gee - guess what my PhD is in -------- .