Sunday, February 26, 2006 (repost)

Update on yesterday

First off, I realized that the possibility of my HD crapping out on me was really upsetting for two main reasons. First, my Powerbook has become more of a communications tool to me than anything else. Second? I just wiped and re-did a clean system install a week-and-a-half ago. It took me all day to get everything just right. I am not looking forward to repeating the process if Apple replaces my HD with an empty new one.

It seems that if things go for the worst, there are several options. The cheapest is to back my shit up onto my external HD, send the 'book back to Apple and let them do their thing. Then either hand-reinstall everything again [shudder], or find a way to do an iso image onto the external and clone that image back onto the new drive. A common process in the Windows world - not sure how doable it is for me. And yes, I still love my Mac and it's operating environment. HD's can die on any brand of 'puter.

Another option still would be to preemptively upgrade my HD. Sixty gigs seemed like a lot for a laptop 18 months ago - funny! I could have a 5400 rpm 120 gb thrown in by a 3rd party company. They advertise 24hr turnaround and have a package price including the new HD, shipping both ways, labor, and data transfer from the old drive (bonus!!) for a bit over three hundred bucks. Which, BTW, I do not have (read more credit card debt).

So for now, the Apple tech support guy gave me some advice. Check the HD's status daily through built-in diagnostics. If I get a dreaded error message - call for warranty pickup. In the mean time, try not to move the laptop much while it's running. And do backups at least weekly.

I hate having this hang over my head. I do draw comfort that shit like this seems to be the biggest worry in my little life. (this being aside from my current concern over problems with various friends and family members...)

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And...

Since this blog entry is entitled 'update on yesterday,' I might as well fill you in on the rest. My wife is also having HD problems. But with her external backup drive. We've had this particular Maxtor 120 for a few years, and it definitely now has a squealing noise that says 'bearings are going!' Again, any drive can fail. But if I were to bet on the cause of the problem, the best guess would be the generic CompUSA enclosure it's been living in for the most recent half of it's life. This case is a tight fit and has no fan. Instead it's supposed to rely on it's aluminum sides' ability to dissipate heat. Right! And it's doing a great fucking job.

So yesterday went like this. We woke up and had coffee. Listened to some teen drama - always fun, first thing in the day. Next played taxi service for said teen. And then spend the rest of the day driving with Jul in zero/zero visibility through a blizzard. Hopping from one big-box store to another with a few smaller stops between for coffee and food. Then more 'dad's taxi service' and a bit more drama.

And in a nice end to the story. Jul must have gotten sick of my whining about my lost digital camera. She made an impulse buy at Costco and gave me a nice quality PHD (push here, dummy) digi to tide me over until I can save for the DSLR. Truth is that I also wanted a pocket point and shoot even when I get the SLR. This little jem is weatherproof too! Many photos to follow...

Oh! And if you're not drooling with boredom yet, there's one more thing! In my catastrophe planning about the laptop drive, I learned that Apple's online subscription service, .Mac (read as dot-mac), comes with a backup program that can either do routine backups to CD/DVDs, and external HD, or my own online storage space provided by .Mac. So I signed up for a free 60 day trial yesterday and am checking it out. So far, pretty cool - but yikes! - a hundred bucks a year for the service. As luck would have it, my trial period ends on my birthday. Hmmmm.