As someone who has worked in the field of I.T. for 30 years, there is one universal thing that has never changed, and that my dear friends are you, the end users.
Everyone has their PC, Tablet, Phone, Laptop and everyone has their world on their devices, the photographs, the documents, the chats that they have had. Material that to the person is so valuable to them, they just cannot even think about what would happen if they ever lost any of this data... yet, 30 years o.... I am still dealing with people who call me up saying that their computer won't boot up, or their laptop won't start or their tablet or phone won't power up or they seem to have lost vital stuff.... and I say to them... (oh you already KNOW what I'm going to say now don't you?) Have - You - Got - A - Backup - Of - Your - Data? And what is the universal reply? Why of course, it's always the same... NO!
At that point, this is where it gets very interesting, as suddenly the end user realises that being asked that question, it has somehow moved to this being their problem, rather than it being mine! And then we get the high pitched, and usually, slightly enraged voice that states, never ask, but states that I HAVE TO GET THAT DATA BACK AS IT'S IMPORTANT and I HAD BETTER GET IT BACK! I MUST!
Now when I first started out in I.T. all those years ago, I took on the emotions of these people, I worried, and fretted about actually being able to do what they wanted, and when I happened to fail on occasions, I also learnt that the anger I received was all because I had failed them, that I had been unable to recover their valuable data, stuff they could never get back, all because I was hopeless with the task at hand...
As time went by, we saw the influx of software and hardware that would allow users to back up their valuable data, their chance to have something safe and secure... to get back what they so valued... and then they would all ask the same question... How much for that software? How much for that hardware... HOW MUCH???? Oh, that's very expensive...
Yes... the data that is so precious, does have a price attached to it, and it's amazing that through the years this has stuck with me, so much so that like today, I went to collect a computer from a client, who I asked that they drop into their local office and I would collect it from there, to save them money, and me a lot of travelling time. I had received details that it would be there on Monday and I could collect it in the morning.
So, today I drive out, wander in and ask where the computer was, as I would take it away to repair it, only to be told by the person who had brought it in that they might have forgotten it...but we should check the car first... So we walk outside, check the car and nothing is there! I must have left it at home... Not a problem says I, bring it in tomorrow and I'll come back and get it then. Smiles around, I leave sighing... but heck, nothing to worry about...
I get a phone call 10 minutes later to be told... the person might have left the computer outside when they emptied their car over the weekend... and in a slight panic said, I'll go home and see if I can find it...
At that, the alarm bells in my head started to vibrate, but until I heard otherwise I would remain optimistic (that's actually a lie as I'm a born pessimist by nature thank goodness) so I went about dealing with other jobs the rest of the afternoon.
I get a phone call... I get a voice saying, I found the computer but it has been left outside, and it's wet... straight away I advise the person to just cover it up and get it across to me straight away so I can check on things, and more so to make sure I can get the hard drive checked for all that data that would be on it. But as usual, we have to meet half way from where I am and where the other person is, so thats a 25 minutes drive I could do without, but because of what we are dealing with, I venture forth to save the day…
We meet at a car park… the back door opens and I look inside… (the images below were taken after I had got the water out of the case back at base)
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The only way I can describe that moment is how I would feel if I was shown a dismembered body, when I was expecting one that was maybe roughed up just a little… seriously, the computer was in pieces and looked as though someone had left it in the rain for a month to rust, but not only that, they had used it as a football as well!
Everything was smashed, a side panel missing, CPU fan is gone, rods into the motherboard snapped, secondary fans shattered, water pouring out from inside… Memory chips sodden.. the case itself all bent… and I get asked, “Do you think it will be ok?”
I’m sure the laugh I gave was more hysterical than comical, as I just wasn’t expecting this scene of carnage that was before me! More so, the person who’s computer this was… I know what she had on it, and I also know… the chances of her having any sort of backup of any of the data would be…. yeah you got it…. ZERO!
So here I sit, trying to recover the data from the hard drive… listening to the grinding whirring and buzzing sounds of a drive that has met it’s maker and I know that the next stage will be for me to break the news that I am unable to bring the computer back to life, but this time, there is zero emotion, zero worries and only a sense of knowing what way things will now go… which is….
Hi there, I’ve been working for several hours on your computer system, but sadly your computer is beyond saving, and your hard drive is sadly not recoverable by myself. All the data is gone!
Cue the rage, the anger and the statements from above about the valuable data….
I will let that wash over me like a warm stream of air from a vacation…. and then…. I shall say, the next stage will be to take it to a specialist datarecoveryr agent who can examine the drive and they may be able to recover data from the drive…
I know I will be met with YES! Take it there and see if they can get the data back (mentally I am now counting…. 3… 2… 1…) and then it will come…. 30 years in the business, different people, places, cultures, all the same… I will then be asked… HOW MUCH?
Starting price will be £200 - £300 for the data recovery, and usually, £90.00 for them to do some general work on the drive to see if it is even recoverable….. Cue the silence….
And incredibly….. that data suddenly becomes something of no value…. yet again….. and they shrug, and then move on to getting a new computer and the discussion of having a backup in place this time… (I will say nothing…)