While this could be about our security in general, a topic I’ve thought on seriously since this report, this instead this is an IT post.
You see, I got bit by one of the oldest bugs in the IT book – not having a GOOD backup, despite my best efforts and a direct result of being impatient.. and having sucky graphics drivers and backup software (and gas prices, while I’m at it).
I’m a believer that tape is dead, except for the occasional “romp in the casket,” so to speak (cold, I know). Hard drives are just cheap now in the general direction $.25-$.30 per GIGAbyte. Tape wears out and it’s expensive and kids can put it apart. So, I have an external backup drive, 250GB that I bought to back up my 5-year old work lappy (who makes the “I’m not sure I want the hard drive to work” sound about 2x a day) and my main PC… with 3 drives of its own. Those wondered what i’m doing with most of the 3 drive of space… I got tired of having to weed through backup files when the kids wanted to watch a movie that we OWN that I need DISK space to enact… letting kids or really large adults handle original media is a $15 mistake in itself – for <$1, I have a copy the and when they destroy it, they drink water for a day ;). It’s a tough life, i know. And, I NEVER break the DMCA. Honest.
So, with the Western Dump-it-all drive came backup software that breaks backup files in to small chucks so that the drive can stay with FAT32 (old Windows95 format for those less acronymly or non-PC) – allow it to be used by ANY computer (linux/mac/pc). You just never know when I might need to use it and you’re near a MAC, right?
So there was was Friday night, kids and wife asleep, and the screen looks like a CGA rendering – a fact that my video drivers don’t really like Remote Desktop (which I use frequently). So, the fix – reboot. Welllll, the backup for the main drive was running (I had rescheduled it eariler). And it was in a recycle mode, so it deleted all the old backup files and started anew. And I stopped it 1/16th of the way in. And the system HUNG. yeah.
So, I reboot and lo and behold, it can’t boot becuase the C drive is completely hosed. The fact that doing ANYTHING during a backup, without stopping it properly, is like holding up a work light on a typical Houston summer night. You get bit. BAD. And it stings for some time.
So, I look at the backup… 3 files, small files. I can’t even fit my address book in those. There’s that sinking feeling as I go thru what I had on them. My password list (not deterimental, but a pain to remember all those) and my email archive. The archive of 7 years worth of email in any of my personal email addresses. Ouch. Can I give a leg to get those back? How about a small child? I’m waiting for the call to take some animal to the altar (like one of the neighbor’s dogs – they deserve it)… with no avail.
No data. No sacrifice. I could have even burned it in the barbeque grill. Word has it that it’s sure “fire” way to not have evidence and a reduced sentence, as long as I keep my mouth shut.
So, after a full reinstall, and restore of my email archive from 2/22 – from a alternate backup I found on one of those 3 drives – I’m back up and running with a reminder from the same vane of the wisdom of Ricky Bobby:
If you think you’re covered, you’re not.