I had a series of unfortunate (computer related) events over the past few weeks. One evening, my computer (Macbook Pro) started acting up. My video conversion program stopped working among other things. So I decided to do a reboot. Unfortunately the computer would not reboot. I took my Macbook to the “Genius” bar at my local Apple store. Unfortunately all the genius could come up with was to reformat the hard drive and restore my system from a backup. Reformatting a hard drive should be the last resort. Unfortunately that step is typically much higher on the list of “Genius” bar techs, which is why  I used quotes around that word. They don’t seem to really want to dig into a problem. The prospect of reformatting a hard drive with important files scares me. But I figured I have complete backup on my Apple time capsule. So it should not have been a problem.

So I went home and followed the genius’ instructions (which I later found out to be partially incorrect.) As bad luck would have it, by time capsule failed during the restore process. Fortunately, most of my applications were restored along with some key files before the failure. But lost a bunch.

I’m pretty anal about data security and had backups to my backup. Unfortunately I had been lackadaisical and had not updated those since March 15. So I had a big hole of missing files, which is a real bitch since I run my business with my computer. I found a data recovery business in Baltimore called Mac Medics. I had to send my time capsule to them. It took them several days, but were finally able to restore most of what was lost. They bailed me out.

I wanted to share this with my readers because data security is important. If you have important files on your computer, maintain at least two backups. I learned a few other things I want to share. One is I had a first generation Apple Time Capsule which I learned was a problematic product from the beginning. The combination of the Apple Time Machine software and the Time Capsule hardware is a great concept and has worked for me in the past, but it failed on me this time. This has caused me to change how I operate. I trashed my time capsule as it can no longer be trusted. I still use the Time Machine software, but with a standard external hard drive. I’m also going to update my second backup weekly and my third backup monthly.  This mess has cost me about $800 and dozens of lost hours. I don’t want that to happen again.

I also have some advice for those of you who have Apple computers. If your computer has a hardware failure look for a third party Apple authorized repair shop. Here’s why. Last year the motherboard failed in my Macbook. I took it to the Apple store like most people would. They can’t fix anything in the store. They wanted to take my computer and ship it to a repair facility in Texas and I would be without it for two weeks. I found a shop in my area called Comp Solutions in Northridge. They were able to get a new motherboard in two days and it was repaired the day the new part arrived – all under warranty. The Apple store is fine for configuration problems or if you simply need help with something you don’t understand. But if you need a repair and need your system back up quickly, I found the other method is much better.  Ok, that’s it carry on.

Last week was eventful for me personally. I had a date with one of my favorite tgirls early in the week. I had one with one of my favorite genetic girls later in the week. Had a good photoshoot, saw Transformers 3 in 3D, and had a 4th of July party. It was good to have a little less work and a little more play for a change.:)