07.02.06
What I Did On My Bummer Vacation
Happy 4th of July!
(A day early)
As I was closing in on some final steps for a promotion I’m working on, the inevitable happened. I ran smack into the universal law that says that right when you’re ready to take a big step, something is just itching to trip you up.
My stumbling block?
My computer told me it was time to put it out to pasture. (I think it threw a rod, or something;-/
So, with a few days off for the 4th, instead of playing around in the sun, or even working on my promo, I was inspired to deal with the following:
What I Did On My Bummer Vacation
As if I didn’t have enough going on, gearing up for a new product promotion, now I’m ready to begin the process of migrating files and settings from my old jalopy (computer) to my shiny new one.
Quite an undertaking for someone who’s never done it.
Even moreso when the kids at Radio Shack unconvincingly shuffle through the various lengths of cable hanging on the wall saying, “I think it’s this, no, this one. Maybe this one?”
I really didn’t start out to become a Renaissance man.
(Description: Renaissance Wo/Man: A creative, multi-talented individual, capable of doing everything, and trapped into doing just that.)
Instead of doing what I do best, I’m stuck doing maintenance and concerning myself with upgrade issues.
Drat!
I’m a a writer, or at least that’s what I enjoy doing most. I understand the importance of the “technical” stuff, like new confusers, anti-virus, and backups (just to identify the tip of the iceburg), and I can do most of it, given enough time to study it out.
But I’m a writer. I don’t want to do the other stuff!
It was more out of necessity than out of a burning desire to see just how many handfulls of hair my head actually held.
“So Dave. Why didn’t you just hire somebody else to do it”?
Great question!
A number of years ago, my wife and I went the route of using a “computer technician” to back up our important info, upgrade the memory on our computer, and restore our info. He even burned us a copy of the backup.
That was awfully nice of him.
The problem was, all the folders on the backup were empty, and there was no other backup made!
He was the owner of the business, so he offered our money back, but the data was gone!
Because of that one blunder, I can without any reservation, teach *anyone* to time travel.
All you have to do is lose all of your data. That can instantly put you back *years* 8^/
Once burned by the “professional,” my trust-factor took a nosedive, so here I am once again forced to learn it all, do it all, and take responsibility for it all.
Rennaisence-man resurrected!
And the Gates empire hasn’t been much help. My old box runs Windows 98 (not even 2nd Edition), and now I’m looking at having to install stuff on the old box just to be able to move data to the new one.
The new box has XP Pro installed as a package, so I don’t even have the luxury of the operating system CD.
Live and learn.
Now the only problem I see is by the time I learn, will I still be living?
Well. I’m a pretty patient fella.
I should have my ice skates tied on about the time Hell freezes over, which could also be the time all these files will be transferred.
Dave
ps - One more thing: In case you’re tempted to think I’m not really changing out computers, that I’m actually taking it easy out by the pool, think again.
Do you remember all the rumors surrounding Apollo 13?
If you were around back then you probably heard things like: they didn’t really go to the moon. They just video-taped a session in an elaborately-decorated anti-gravitation chamber.
Well. I don’t believe that’s what happened, but if you’re a conspiratorialist, and simply must think that I’m doing something other than swapping out computers, let me at least start the rumor myself by saying that I’m really on the moon video-taping myself swapping out computers.
OK. I’m going in! If I’m not out in 48 hours, call the Roto-Rooter Search and Rescue Squad.
Just don’t call Radio Shack!
“I’ll see you on the dark side of the moon.” Pink Floyd ~ 1973
pps - When I’m done, I’ll let you know some of the dilemmas I faced, and how I solved them. In the meantime, if you haven’t checked it out, go grab your free excerpt from the project I’ll continue with once all of this digital dust settles.
(Shameless plug and a clue as to what’s ahead:)
What a Kid an a Cookie Can Teach You About Sales
Dave Franzwa