It happened again. My computer crashed (at less than 1-year-old), but I never felt the need to backup my data.

If you’ve been reading Crayon Writer for a while, you know that my last laptop’s hard drive crashed earlier this year.

So what am I going to do to avoid this in the future?

Hopefully my ideas will help any other lazy backer-uppers too.

I will cc myself on any important emails I send. Perhaps I’ll cc them to my “free” email account. This way I won’t lose important emails.

I will also email myself important documents I’m working on (or have finished), like my resume or a client’s project.

I will turn off my laptop or computer more often, or at least put it in “standby” mode. I think my hard drives burned out from overheating.

Finally, though I’m a bit lazy, I will backup my files at least every two months. I found a computer store in town that charges just $40 for this service.

And while we’re working on prevention, buy renter’s or homeowner’s insurance. If you get burglarized or your neighbors aren’t handy with an oven, you may not lose everything you own (monetarily speaking). I just signed up a month ago.

I sure wish insurance could magically recover my documents. Here’s hoping the computer fixers can get something from my fried hard-drive.

 Any other advice for avoiding computer catastrophes?

The computer doctor saved the day! Sorta.

I got most of my files retrieved, but the computer itself isn’t up and running yet. No matter for now. I got what I needed. Unfortunately, my daughter won’t have her own laptop yet, but she’s content (for now) to play with it even though it doesn’t do anything.

This past week has been a busy one. Besides working on writing projects, I’ve had to clean up my backed up material. I had thousands of old email messages to wade through. I’m a bit of a packrat when it comes to the computer. I had to actually delete a lot!

Couple all of this computer work with dealing with a very spirited 20-month-old, and things are very hectic. But that’s the life I’ve chosen.

And I’m loving it!

Lately I’ve been working into the wee hours of the night, because that’s when my daughter is sleeping. But I’m exhausted! Going to bed at 2 or 3 in the morning and getting awakened around 8 just isn’t cutting it anymore.

Everyday I plan to put my daughter in bed by 9, so I can get just 2 or 3 hours of work done before going to sleep at a reasonable time. Tonight I’ve been successful (at the price of her not getting a nap all day). It’s almost midnight and I am going to bed!

Today I worked on learning about the Microsoft Outlook Business Contact Manager program. This will hopefully keep my business on track.

Tomorrow is computer doctor time, along with a Mommy-Daughter field trip. I have another project to complete as well, and I’ve set aside nap-time for this task. And of course, as I said yesterday, I must get another email campaign underway. And a press release.

So much to do! Not enough hours in the week.

Housework? I’ll get to it. One of the perks of being the sole adult is that no one expects dinner at 6 or a spic and span house.

Getting a new computer and a new operating system is quite a chore!

I actually like Vista so far, though it had some compatibility issues with my printer. Here’s the story.

I plugged in the USB cable for my Minolta printer, and things seemed fine. I tried to print, but it wanted to print to file! No problem. I just changed the port to USB.

It didn’t work.

So I went to the Minolta website, read their instructions for working with Vista, and tried their first ‘fix.’ No luck. I took a nap.

Waking up a little more clear headed, I re-read the Minolta website’s instructions, tried their first and second fixes, and maybe a third. I had a big project, so I really needed to print!

Still no luck.

Finally, at the end of the instructions, it said something like, “If nothing has worked and your printer still won’t print, uncheck the UAC box in the Users Panel.” Something like that. Something that simple.

And it worked.

I was livid! I had spent hours trying their long, drawn out ‘fixes.’ I uninstalled and reinstalled drivers and USB hubs. I restarted the computer and printer numerous times. I even shed a tear or two. All of this between the hours of midnight and 5 a.m. (when my toddler was asleep).

And all I had to do was uncheck a simple little box???!! They really should have put that ‘fix’ at the top of the list.