A few days ago, I accidentally spilled water on my laptop.
It restarted a few times and turned off entirely.
I did everything the internet told me to. Dried it out and didn't touch the power button.
Every repair shop was already closed. So I waited overnight, not knowing if anything on that laptop was still alive.
The next morning, the guy at the shop checked it and said: "The chances of recovery are small. Do you want us to try?"
Until that moment, I had hope. It was just water, not coffee, not something sticky.
But now, all I could focus on was what hadn't been backed up:
- My photos
- The fixes for the next release of my book
- The code for one of my personal projects
Gone. Maybe forever.
Now let me ask you something.
If your laptop died right now, without any warning, what would you lose?
Do you actually back up the things you can't replace?
If you just pictured something you wouldn't want to lose, you’re exactly where I was a week ago. Here’s the simple system I wish I’d had back then:
- Start with what you can't replace.
- Automate a backup process. A backup you have to remember is a backup you'll forget.
- Follow the 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies of your data (the original included) on 2 different types of storage with 1 copy somewhere remote.
If I'd followed step 2, the changes that I made last week for my book would be safe right now.
So here's what I'd suggest.
Tonight, before you close your laptop, pick the one folder you wouldn't want to lose, and copy it somewhere else: cloud, USB drive, anywhere.
That's it. Five minutes. You can build the full 3-2-1 setup this weekend. But tonight, get your irreplaceable stuff to two places instead of one.
Take care of your data (and your drinks near your laptop),
Alex
P.S. I'm writing this from a new laptop.
The repair shop called me back a few days later. They gave me the old one and said there was nothing they could do.
I'm telling you this because "I'll back it up later" was working fine for me too, right until the moment it wasn't.
