With a laptop and digital camera in your bag you can go away to an exotic location and come back with digital memories and over flowing inbox to attend to. This of course is presuming that everything about the vacation is disaster free and you are not unfortunate enough to suffer data loss that could spoil a realy good time.
Data Loss at Unexpected Moments
You could be sitting on the beach, a fair distance away from the sea or so you think. Immersed in e-mailing a friend describing the beautiful setting, you fail to notice a rather large wave wash up and ebb away, not before having gently bathed your laptop with fresh sea water. You do your best to soak up the water and switch off your laptop. That is perhaps the last time while on the vacation that you will remain connected or have access to your data. There is a great chance of your data being completely lost. The worst thing about technology is that its is great when things are going fine but like a tempremental diva, it can completely come undone at the smallest provocation.
You could be walking through the woods on your trekking trip, your surroundings calm and peaceful. You stop to capture the moment and trip over a stone and come crashing down on your digital camera. The moment could end up meaning the loss of all your data as the camera is complete jammed.
Data loss during vacation is always unexpected and accidental. You could have shampoo leak through your bag all over your laptop. You could get your laptop all wet when you are on the beach due to unexpected rain. You could dro your camera hard while trying hard while trying to keep away from the bears in the woods. The hotel room you are staying in, over looking the beach, could be flooded and your laptop soaked in water. You could have your camera in your back pack and bang against a tree and hear a not so gentle crack. Your supposedly “water proof” camera wasn’t completely waterproof and didn’t survive the snorkelling well.
Losing data while you are on vacation happens at the unlikliest moments. It may not be the end of the world but it can cause a lot of stress and heartache. If the laptop you were working on at the beach when the wave hit had the only data of the book you are writing, the loss can be devastating. If you decide to work while on vacation and had no backup when disaster struck, the loss can be rather terrible. The digital camera that crashed in the woods could have been the only place you had your honeymoon pictures stored. It does not mean that data loss cannot be retrieved. Most times lost data can be got back but it is a long and expensive process, which if you had a backup you would not have to undertake. Backing up data just before vacationing and during, is a great way to prevent data loss.
Tips to Prevent Data Loss on Vacation
A vacation can remain a happy memory if you take a little time out to ensure data protection. Simple precautionary measures can help prevent disastrous data loss.
When vacationing by the sea during summer, it would help to keep your laptop and camera away from the direct heat, in a relatively cool and dry area.
Check your internal protection devices regularly so your computer’s shut down process is automatic and rapid and forced, unexpected shutdowns don’t result in data loss.
If there has been damage caused, do not worsen it by trying to shake it back into place. Improper handling may make data recovery even more difficult.
If your media is damaged by water, do not try to dry it by exposing it to heat. If something seems irrevocably damaged, leave it be till you can show it to a professional.
If the loss involves mission critical files contact a professional before you try to reinstall or reconfigure.
Data loss can happen anytime, anywhere and the perfect solution is to constantly remain backed up, therefore pre-empting loss. If caught off guard without a backup and disaster strikes, don’t waste time showing your damaged media to a professional to try and retrieve important data.