Writer's tech horror

Last week I saved some files on a new zip disk. I made sure the files were actually transferred to the disk but today, I found in horror that my files are nowhere to be found !

I can't explain what happened but they seem to have dissapeared!

Maybe you forgot to zip it and they fell out??? Sorry, couldn't resist that opening.

Chatty, you're funny !
Although... for me, it's been horrific, go ahead and have some fun. It's OK. Hey, you made me laugh too ! I guess this is one of those issues where it's either laugh or cry and I rather laugh... and learn! Yeap, I better learn something from this one or else... .

I am a perfect blithering nerd when it comes to my own computer and still haven't a clue what you were even talking about let alone could I have done it myself...When I make a joke and laugh, it is WITH YOU not at you please know that....somebody help me!!!

Songbird ,
You say you went back to you zip files and the materal you transfer over where not there. Have you done a search on the computer . Those zip files are so good for keep information on . If you computer shuts down they are you only back up.

My husband is a network cordanator so , I always have my teck man to help me out . Those compture classed help me out a lot . I went and ask my tech husband and he said go down and click on the start button and then right click the mousse and your seach should come up. Let me know if you have more trouble and see if we can help .

Renee

Renee, thanks for jumping in to hlep!

Dotsie,
It it nice having my tech husband her to to help anytime Vie Email . There is no fee only a good dinner . Ha!

Dear Chatty: I'm not upset. I know you're not laughing at me, so relax, ok? I'm Ok. -Just trying to learn from my mistakes and hoping for the best .

Renee: Thanks for the tip. I'll see if it helps. It's been agonizing trying to find the files. Thank God some of them I had in different folders so I managed to not loose them all. But others, I have not found anywhere yet!
Talk about frustration for a writer. Even worse, some of the files I lost were in English. Sad because I don't have as much material in English, and had made one big file to send to copyright .

Last week I bought an external hard drive so I don't have the fear of losing everything. Here it sits.

My son wanted to install it for me and I'm afraid to let him do it.

I told him I'm calling my tech dude.

He said I could pay him to do it if I felt like I had to pay someone.

I'd love to trust him to do it, but I'm afraid if anything happened I would blame him and I'm not ready to do that with my own son.

Computers still scare me.

Any luck song? Sorry, but I'm no help.

Dots, isn't it a matter of just plugging it in and loading the software? I'm sure your son can handle that. LOL

Danita

Dotsie, doesn't the external drive come with instructions? It shouldn't be hard, but then... what do I know? I just proved myself to be the biggest fool .

Sad but true, I lost those files! I've tried different searches with no success . Well, ever heard that your biggest enemy is yourself?

Some things I learned from this:
Copy the file instead of moving it to the disk. That way I'll have it somewhere.


Always print files. (I should've known this one.)
When I set down to make the book, my printed files saved me the heartache of losing it all, due to cpu problems. Even thou I had to re-type all the material at least I had something to work with.

Songbird,
It didn't work for you to search , I will talk to my tech here and find out more . Those files have to be somewhere . You can copy your book on a disk and have all for a backup . Oh, you said that , Humm..

Dotsie , you hard drive I will ask my husband. He said you should have a "USB" cable and it should have directions with it.

[ February 15, 2006, 09:52 PM: Message edited by: Renee ]

Thanks. I'll mention this to my son. I'm sure he knows what he's doing. I think I'll let him go for it.

Song, have you searched for 'cache' and checked out the cached files? I have found a lot of "lost" documents there in the past.

Hoping for the best.

(I'm sending you a PM of a story that is being published which I think means I can't publish it here.")

Onward.
smile

Smile, thanks for the touching story. Your PM box is full; but I want to let you know that although a part of me feels the loss, I trust that God, the fountain of my inspiration, is still flowing and He can give me more than I had before, if it will be for His glory and honor.
Thanks for sharing your inspiring story.

Congratulations for having it published.
It's a great topic for the next edition of Chicken Soup for the Writer's soul also.

Well, I have a dumb question. Just bought a new Dell computer and I can't find my word processor program anywhere. What am I doing wrong? I'm not good on computers either.

Dianne,
Click on the start on the lower left side of your screen and they click on programes and see if microsoft Word is listed there or if microsoft office is listed , if not you might have to go out and buy microsoft word .

If you have anymore trouble let us know .You should have a book with your computer and tell you what came with it . Hope that this helps .
Renee

Thanks Renee. Looks like I'll have to buy it.

Another problem. Since this is a new computer I have to set up programs, etc. If I try to email someone from their website, it asks me what server. Pop or whatever. What in the world am I supposed to put in the fields. We're wireless. Are you high tech girls tired of my questions yet?

Dianne,
Does it ask for "Outlook" what does you PC ask when you email someone ? Or does it just ask for POP . Not sure what to tell you on this one .

Never tired of your question

It says:

Incoming Mail POP3-IMAP Or HTTP Server

then:

Outgoing (SMTP)

I clueless on this stuff.

Dianne, I think that has something to do with the Internet Outlook email program. I hate it and I have read that is is a major source of viruses as well.
This is my solution. Apparently you can get to the boomer site so when you go there, click on the address line and type yahoo.com. Then enter. When you get to Yahoo, sign up for the far left option which is free email and establish yourself a yahoo email account. I believe there is a way to import your addresses though I don't know it.
That way you can always get your email. No matter what computer you are on, you can just go to yahoo.com and sign in. You can also personalize the personal page to whatever news source you want and to movies, maps, horoscope, etc. You can also search, develop a free website and store photos.

I love Yahoo.

smile

Dianne, call your ISP provider. ie Cox/peoplepc, etc. or whomever you're with. They will tell you what you need to know. usually 24 hr help.
I don't use outlook either. I use the cox website for e-mails....no viruses that way.
hope this also helps
chick

Thanks girls. You're always such a help.

Chick,
I can't stand outlook ! Yahoo is easy to get onto. Chick you are corrent Dianne will have to call her provider to see how to get hocked up with .

A call to the provider sure wouldn't hurt, but if Dianne can get on boomer, she can get on yahoo. And no matter where she travels or moves in the entire world, if she has a yahoo account, she can get her email.

And we all know how important that is.

smile

I can get my email, I just can't email anyone from their website. Like, if I went to Smile's website and clicked the contact link, I can write her an email but I can't send it. It wants to be programmed.

I tried to email a woman on my site, from my site and the same thing happened.

Renee, we need your hubby!

Dianne,
I have no actual computer knowledge at all, but I have learned a few tricks.

When you want to email someone from their site, it will come up with an outlook window, but you can skip that by highlighting the email address that is on the outlook TO line and pressing cntrl c then going to your own email program and putting the cursor in the TO line and pressing cntrl v. You have just copied the email address into your own email program and you can write and send the email. It might be easier to program the outlook program, but I tried and it was a pain so I just decided to trick it.

I love to trick the computer. Darned thing thinks it's smarter than me and it really ticks me off that it IS!!!

smile

How in the world did you figure that out? I'm always afraid I'll blow up the computer. I've been known to crash a few.

Thanks so much!

Dotsie,
YOu need my hubby !

Oh, I have done that . YOu can just click on highlight a link and copy that off . I done that a lot of times.

Renee

It's kinda funny when most of us boomers have little or no knowledge of computers, etc. Our children, on the other hand, grew up in the age of technology and are way ahead of us on this one!

I remember one time, my first born was maybe three years old or so. My husband bought a new stereo system and I couldn't figure it out. He just said: Ask J to help you out. I felt like the biggest fool, but he got it working .

Songbird,
How true that is about our kids knowing more what to do with these computers.Even computer classes I still don't know everything about computers , but my daughter sure does know more then me.

Some of the girls I went to school with still don't have a computer and don't care to get one. I ofthen wonder how we got along without them.

Do you remember or anyone remember the old NCR's I worked in the Bank when we first went on line with the new NCR's . Wow, were they big computers . I did my first training on them . I posted new mortages accounts to them . We have come a long way ...

I took comp101 with a dear friend. The majority of the kids were fresh out of high school.

We struggled through those homework assignments putting hours in the lab like you wouldn't believe.

For the kids - it was their easiest class and the one they spent the least amount of time with.

Dotsie,
Those comp programs where so hard then . My friend calls herself a compholic for some reason. I think she hangs in the CompUSA store here . Ha!

Has anyone see the new virtual computer keyboard ? We saw one in the computer ad . It has a bean of light that just displays on your disk and you can type . I would love to try it.

How exciting is that?

Renee

Virtual keyboard? Interesting!

I responded to this but it disappeared into the BWS ozone layer I guess.

Yes, a friend sent me an email about this virtual keyboard. I was amazed. Very portable too and so small. What will they think of next?

Dianne,
I did not see a mouse with it vitual keyborad did you ? Can't live without the mouse . I think!
Oh, Dianne I started a new topic with this and I left it in this thread also. My doing .

[ March 01, 2006, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: Renee ]