Back Up Those Computers

Saturday night, as I was turning around to scold the puppy for eating the older dog's (Scout's) food, I knocked over my glass of wine.

All over my Mac laptop.

I dried it as much as I could and left it turned off overnight.

I hesitate to tell you that the only copy of my NaNoWriMo novel is on my laptop. Also? Most of the pictures I've taken since Christmas when my husband made it possible for me to make the leap to a Macintosh.

By Sunday, the computer would boot up, but the keyboard was having some issues. Like, it started randomly typing sevens. Here is an actual e-mail I sent to my friend Tiffany:
"777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777777

Sigh.

It's just randomly7 t7y7pin7g7 s77 no7w7777777. Wit7h or with7ou7t7 m7y77 a7pproval.

Gosh, 7is 7th7is 7har7d to7 rea7d??&"


Now the seven key won't work at all but this is far better than when I couldn't type the letter "u." I use the letter "u" a LOT. Also, the battery no longer works--that's kind of a limitation for a laptop.

At any rate, my husband hooked up an external drive and backed everything up and I am on my way to the Apple store to ask for professional help.

PLEASE learn from my mistakes and back up your computers RIGHT NOW. And either keep your wine on a separate table or drink it a lot faster.

Sigh.

Comments

smalltownme said…
Bummer! And you lost the wine, too!
Unknown said…
craaaaaap. I say, in future, let the dogs fight their own battles and pay full attention to your wine.
Stefanie said…
Oh no!! I'm afraid that EXACT thing happened to my laptop last February when I spilled milk all over the keyboard, except that my computer typed 'eeeeeee'. I hate to sound like Debbie Downer, but I don't think your computer will make it! Good that you got everything off of it, though!
Susan said…
The guy at my computer shop said that if anything spills on your laptop to immediately stick it under the faucet and run water over it to rinse it out. Apparently water is not the enemy. Too late for you, I know, but good to know in the future.
kim said…
Oooh, 7 is a mystical number. Maybe the Mac is trying to tell you something. Or maybe I've watched too many episodes of "A Haunting" on Discovery Network. Either way...

I hope everything gets restored.
Anonymous said…
Another way to "close the barn door after the cows get out" is to get a "skin" that covers the keyboard to keep dust, wine, and other anti-laptop invaders out. I don't use one, but I'm sure a good spill will inspire me. :-/

I also love using TimeMachine and TimeCapsule (Apple products) to back up my laptop every hour.
Marion Gropen said…
You are very correct about back ups.

Trust me, people, hard drives die. I have had it happen at least 4 times.

The question is never IF, but WHEN. And the answer is always, "Whenever it will hurt most!"

Personally, I use Time Machine AND Intego's personal Backup. I make a bootable copy of the entire hard drive NO LESS than once a day. And I try to have several of 'em, on different portable hard drives. The little ones are relatively cheap, and the agony you avoid could be your own!
Bullwinkle said…
Message received. Backup completed. Potential crisis averted. (Well, one anyway.)

Sorry for your troubles; thanks for saving me from myself (and probably Ned. Who did, in fact, just knock over my beer. But not on the computer.)
Anonymous said…
Nooooooo. I really need to back up my writing more often. I usually email my stuff to myself. But I need an extra hard drive.

I thought of you when I was writing my puppy posts.

Seriously, like a new baby. Except a perfect new baby unlike any real baby I've ever had.
Hannah said…
Verrry unfortunate. Reminds me of the time my son accidentally sprayed the hose onto my husband's new laptop, which I had been using out on the patio table. Oof.
Bethany said…
MacBook also cannot survive a 1 year old toddler jumping onto it. So says a friend of mine. I hope the fix for yours is not too expensive.
Linda D. said…
There's a great clip making the rounds about this - "Mommys Little Helper". Maybe Jane could help you out next time...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQJWeB1lkh8
Barb Matijevich said…
Linda D!!! That was hilarious. And awful. Thank you!!
Susan said…
It must be going around. I killed our computer for the 4th time and I was just preparing for a back-up session - too late.

I told my husband the universe has decided I should use a Mac. Our PC is just too touchy for me.

Hard to say if it is worse to lose everything or to have to buy a new laptop...
Barb Matijevich said…
I have to say: if I was still on a PC, I would have lost everything. And the wine.

I was slow to convert but oh, I could write a poem to my Mac. I feel very bad that I didn't look out for it better! No more PCs for me. (There goes the checkbook...)