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nearby lightning skrike kills neighbours computers (and mine)
zridling:
Had this happen to me about two weeks after I got my first Pentium (c. 1992-93). Had a special insurance rider on the computer for just such a disaster. Took the box, receipts, and the electric company's report to the insurance company and they spent a year denying the claim.
I've never spent a single dime on insurance since that day that the government didn't force me to buy.
cranioscopical:
only one machine is ever allowed to be plugged in at any one time, i.e. there will always be a machine safe from a power spike. Therefore data transfer between the two machines will have to done via a third storage device, which could just be a hard drive.
-nudone (June 30, 2011, 11:45 PM)
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Actually this is what I do with my laptop - I keep all important data synced with my desktop.
-Carol Haynes (July 01, 2011, 02:46 AM)
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Obviously, this depends on how you work and at what but don't forget to keep the software itself as much in sync as possible — not just the data.
One continually develops habits and ways of working that improve productivity — a macro here, a little bit of code there, some software that's improved by a useful update, which in turn further changes work habits in small ways. Suddenly swapping to a machine that hasn't your own current conveniences and enhancements can add a layer of frustration that'll have you gnashing your teeth and ripping out hair. That's especially true in a small shop when attempting to service a deadline that's already been threatened by the principal machine going down. Just a few tiny examples: were your favourite file manger suddenly to revert to its out-of-the-box state, just how annoyed might you be? Step down from CS5 to CS4 in mid project — okay by you? Wrong graphics tablet driver?
For me, at home, this means a short session on each machine every couple of weeks or so.
Having just been through this, I realize that I should keep a log of the changes made to my main machine — I missed some. It all sounds very tedious but if one makes it a routine it's no worse than doing the dishes. When the crunch comes, you'll thank that previous you for spending an hour, then, to save you five minutes now.
40hz:
Having just been through this, I realize that I should keep a log of the changes made to my main machine — I missed some. It all sounds very tedious but if one makes it a routine it's no worse than doing the dishes. When the crunch comes, you'll thank that previous you for spending an hour, then, to save you five minutes now.
-cranioscopical (July 01, 2011, 07:03 AM)
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+1!
I've learned (through bitter experience) to keep a log on every machine and router I use or am responsible for. A small text file kept in the root directory can be a lifesaver. Especially for a heavily customized and tweaked server.
You can encrypt it if you decide to store passwords or other sensitive information in it. Something like f0dder's fsekrit app is perfect for that since it runs as a standalone. Keynote or something similar can also be used. I keep copies of all my logfiles on a heavily encrypted USB key which I always keep with me. This gives me immediate access to the data whenever I need it besides acting as an offsite backup.
I learned the wisdom of doing this the first time I had to rebuild my main machine and realized I couldn't remember half the clever and nice things I had done to it...
:)
eleman:
Having just been through this, I realize that I should keep a log of the changes made to my main machine — I missed some. It all sounds very tedious but if one makes it a routine it's no worse than doing the dishes. When the crunch comes, you'll thank that previous you for spending an hour, then, to save you five minutes now.
-cranioscopical (July 01, 2011, 07:03 AM)
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If we are really insistent on complete redundancy, why not buy two of the same machine, make them identical on, say, a weekly basis through an imaging program like clonezilla or ghost if you are feeling particularly and ridiculously rich?
40hz:
Having just been through this, I realize that I should keep a log of the changes made to my main machine — I missed some. It all sounds very tedious but if one makes it a routine it's no worse than doing the dishes. When the crunch comes, you'll thank that previous you for spending an hour, then, to save you five minutes now.
-cranioscopical (July 01, 2011, 07:03 AM)
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If we are really insistent on complete redundancy, why not buy two of the same machine, make them identical on, say, a weekly basis through an imaging program like clonezilla or ghost if you are feeling particularly and ridiculously rich?
-eleman (July 01, 2011, 09:09 AM)
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I know a business exec that does just that.
Actually, she has three identical laptops.
And she has someone do the imaging for her.
But she's unusually nervous about "being down."
And quite wealthy. ;D
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