Comments on: Every Writer’s Nightmare: FILE NOT FOUND

By: Getting the Words Right

Getting the Words Right — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:34:25 +0000

[...] I’m editing my manuscript hard and heavy now. Now that I’ve got my files salvaged from previous computer mishaps, I’m really excited about barreling through to the end and getting this thing [...]

By: GETTING THE WORDS RIGHT « Mizwrite’s Blog

GETTING THE WORDS RIGHT « Mizwrite’s Blog — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 04:45:52 +0000

[...] editing my manuscript hard and heavy now. Now that I’ve got my files salvaged from previous computer mishaps, I’m really excited about barreling through to the end and getting this thing [...]

By: Jennifer Roland

Jennifer Roland — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:58:44 +0000

It was last year, so I’m over it. It made me so mad because I was being so good by saving every few minutes. Lord only knows where it was actually saving! But I got everything turned in to the publisher, and the book comes out in this summer. And I have learned my lesson about the backups. I use drop.io and an external drive, just in case.

By: mizwrite

mizwrite — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:11:46 +0000

Jennifer — Hi! Oh my gosh, I feel your pain on this. That re-creating thing can sometimes be liberating (when you’re inspired to do a re-write), but gosh, to suffer an additional crash??? I’d have to throw the keyboard across the room! I hope things pick up for you …

By: Jennifer Roland

Jennifer Roland — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 22:30:11 +0000

I tweeted at you about my experience losing my entire nonfiction ms in a hard drive crash. As I was re-creating the manuscript, I completely rewrote one of the chapters, staying up much past my usual 10 pm bedtime because I was on a roll. I saved the file constantly as I was going, only to get the evil file not found error when trying to re-open it. I hadn’t even quit my word processing program, so it should have been in a recovery file. Nope. Nothing. It was if it had never existed.

By: mizwrite

mizwrite — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:39:50 +0000

Thank you all so much for your empathy! Those of you on a keyboard for any length of time all seem to know what I’m talking about. …

I thought, later, though, about my friend Grace who had a similar thing happen, and she and I chatted about the choking feeling of realizing you have PHOTOS on the computer nowadays. (Luckily she had backed up all her photos of her adorable kids with an outside service.)

So … while you’re backing up those important word files, consider doing your photos, too! : )

(this is a public service announcement …)

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:36:05 +0000

Holy cow I was sweating bullets through that story. You had the ultimate “ohcrapohcrapohcrap” moment and I felt like I went through it with you. I’m so glad you were at least able to salvage part of your work, because at least when your moment had come and gone you had something mostly positive to be thankful for.

I’m off to back up my computer…

By: Kwana

Kwana — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 18:19:09 +0000

Oh no. That’s the saddest story ever. I’m about in tears. I think I need a drink. Lesson learned. I feel your pain.

By: Kat

Kat — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:22:06 +0000

Jiminy, I broke out into a cold sweat reading this. Because I do medical transcription for a living, if my fingers leave the keyboard for ANY reason, I do a quick control save, but you are right, if somehow I have done something weird in my original save, too bad, all gone. But to have a hard drive crash. Yikes. Maybe Leo Laporte is right, time for regular back ups~!

By: verbivore

verbivore — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:37:27 +0000

Oh, this is awful. I’m sorry you lost all your most recent changes, but very glad you atleast got a semi-recent file printed out. Yes, this is a writer’s nightmare. And I’m about to do a full back-up right this second.