How's Your Backup?

 Some years ago, I worked for a manager who told me "you will meet two types of IT people.  Those who haven't lost a job because of a backup that couldn't be recovered, and those who have."  About ten years after he told me that, I lost a job because of a broken backup.

It was about 85% my fault.  We dropped and deleted a table which I thought had been backed up.  The consultant asked if he should delete the table and recreate it, because he needed to, I asked if it was safe, and he said it was.  So I said do what you need to do.  And it turned out the table was not safe.

I mean, if I'm the one responsible for having to delete something, I do several things.  First I check to see how big it is, and secondly, I make a copy of it.  Then I document what it is I'm deleting, then I export the data to a file I can import.  Then I move the file to another drive out of the way so I can replace it.  And if it's a table, the name changes to "OLD_tablename" or some other variation.

And that wasn't what I learned from that experience.  That was what I did because I knew it was a hell of a lot easier to recover data you'd saved than recreate it from ... where ever it came from.

But I learned.  I learned that when the current backup system was/is failing, I should have fought a great deal harder to get it replaced.  I learned that backups aren't backups unless you can restore from them.  And I set up a new system using removable hard drives that permitted me to copy the backup, which was done to another computer, to a removable drive.  I maintained 9 drives.  One for Monday, one for Tuesday, one for Wednesday, one for Thursday, and one for Friday1, one for Friday2, one for Friday3, one for Friday4, and one for "Archive".  And I kept some room available on my hard drive for critical data.  And made copies of it there.  Because back then, we did not have inexpensive writable DVD drives that could back up 3 gigs at a time.  

Of course, now we have USB keys that will hold 64 Gigs or more in a card, or chip, the size of my fingernail.  Smallest fingernail.  

Which is all in prelude for what happened to me Friday.  I turned on my monitors, and learned that Windows 10 no longer has the terrifying BSOD - Blue Screen Of Death - that contained some information.  Nope, Windows 10 now contains a "Something went wrong.  Your automatic repair did not start properly.  Here are your options - try again, or ... beat it.  You're dead."  Well, the second option was not that specifically, but it was ... well, the options available to me were not going to bring back my data.  

And in this era of COVID, I don't know what might have happened if I was in the office.  But I will be holding some uncomfortable conversations with our IT folks.  I will go out and buy a 64 Gig chip, or larger if I have to, and use it to back up my data.  I'll set it up to back up as I end my day.  It will let me know when I can restart the computer.  And I will.

And I will agree to any requirements they have regarding bitlocker or whatever else tools they wish to throw at me, but I must have a backup.  Period.  

I think I can help them understand what this disaster cost them.  And it was not my fault - I did everything I was supposed to do.  And I followed procedures.  And when I would call and ask if there was anything they could do about the ... unusual behavior my computer was exhibiting, I was told it was not likely, as the behavior was inconsistent.  IT's worst nightmares - inconsistent problems.  I know.  Been there.  

I just need to know, going forward, another bad day doesn't wipe out two years of work.