Computer crash
As some of you may already know from reading the note on our home page, we experienced the sudden death of our main computer recently. It’s the one that held all of our accounting software, as well as many other important things like our web design program. Luckily, we’re sticklers for doing backups, and the system had a RAID 1 array that saved everything to TWO hard drives (so there’s always a good one with all of the data!).
Parts are hard to come by for computers once their warranty runs out, so we were advised to simply get a new one. The good hard drive from the old computer is being made into an external USB drive, so we can connect it and copy all of our data files and records to the new machine. We built a system to order with Dell yesterday, and it’s supposed to be here on or before March 1st. We’ve been so spoiled during its extended warranty period, because when any problems have happened, Dell is out the next business day to take care of it and we’re back in action within a day or so. This wait already feels like an eternity!
A person really doesn’t realize how much they rely on a computer until it isn’t working, I guess. I’m posting this from a laptop, normally only used to check e-mails when I travel, but now it’s trying valiantly to function as my main computer, which is a HUGE task. I must just have big fingers, because I keep hitting the wrong keys, and I’m usually a very accurate typist. The keyboard is smaller and the keys are closer together – and the backspace and delete keys are in a different place due to the space restrictions. What was automatic before, I now have to think about! And I realllllly miss my big 24″ flat panel monitor – I’m scrolling constantly on this little bitty screen.
We appreciate your patience in bearing with us while we wait eagerly for the new computer to be delivered….. if you call, it may take me longer to look up pricing/inventory for you, and e-mails are being answered via webmail now instead of downloading them to the computer and having the filters sort them for me and weed out the junk mail. We also can’t put invoice copies in outbound packages as usual – we’ll be including a printed copy of the order, and e-mailing the actual invoice once we’re back up and running. I figure it’ll be about a 2 to 3 day project just to get all of the software re-installed (not counting the time spent to locate all of the right discs and installation instructions!), then we’ll get all of the invoices input and e-mailed.
If your computer is working properly as you read this, be sure to thank it and let it know how much you appreciate that! 
