Lessons Learned & They Don't Come Cheap


RazorKat83

RazorKat83

Arklahoma Storm Spotter
Power User
VIP
Local time
7:51 AM
Posts
1,800
Location
Mulberry, Arkansas
OS
Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26200.5074
I WISH i would have listened to MANY of you over the past several years about "BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP". . . I was doing a fresh install of windows. I wasn't paying attention and accidentally deleted the partition that had all of my saved software/serial numbers, documents, pictures on it. I will NOW join the rest of you and HIGHLY encourage people to BACKUP
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26200.5074AMD Ryzen 9 3600X 12-Core @ 3.80GHzCorsair 32GB DDR4EVGA GeForce gtx 1660 Super
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26200.5074
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built Myself in 2025
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3600X 12-Core @ 3.80GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI X570 Gaming Plus
    Memory
    Corsair 32GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce gtx 1660 Super
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 X AOC 27" , Dell 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~ P34A60 512GB NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 M.2
    ~ 6TB Toshiba HDD
    ~ 6TB HDD (Backup)
    ~ SanDisk 250GB SSD
    ~ 2 X 1TB HDD
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    PSU
    eVGA 750w G+
    Case
    GAMDIAS White ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer PC Case w/Tempered Glass
    Cooling
    AMD Wraith Prism
    Keyboard
    Nulea RT05 Wireless Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Nulea MD280 Wireless Vertical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    761Mbps (Download) / 692Mbps (Upload)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    *This is my Main Computer That I use*

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26100.2894AMD Ryzen 7 1800X @ 3.60Ghz16GBAMD RX580
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26100.2894
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 1800X @ 3.60Ghz
    Motherboard
    Asus Crosshair VI Hero
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD RX580
    Sound Card
    onBoard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27UK650-W 27", eMachine 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    250GB SSD
    PSU
    CORSAIR RM850
    Case
    GAMDIAS Black ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer PC Case w/Tempered Glass
    Cooling
    Liquid
    Keyboard
    Nulea RT05 Wireless Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Nulea MD280 Wireless Vertical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    752Mbps (Download) / 537Mbps (Upload)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    I use this computer for photo/video editing and to track severe weather
That’s terrible mate. Did you try to recover the partition/files? There are ways you can try. But not if you try using the drive, every thing you do to the drive could make it harder. Don’t touch it and start a thread, maybe in Devices and Drivers
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 Build 26200.8655Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 Build 26200.8655
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Sin-built 2013
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770K CPU @ 3.50GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus VI Formula
    Memory
    32.0 GB of I forget and the box is in storage.
    Graphics Card(s)
    Gigabyte nVidia GeForce GTX 1660 Super OC 6GB
    Sound Card
    ROG SupremeFX Formula 8-Channel High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    5 x LG 25MS500-B - 1 x 24MK430H-B - 1 x Wacom Pro 22" Touch Screen Tablet
    Screen Resolution
    All over the place
    Hard Drives
    Too many to list. OS on Samsung 1TB 870 QVO SATA
    PSU
    Silverstone 1500
    Case
    NZXT Phantom 820 Full-Tower Case
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 Elite Class Dual Tower CPU Cooler / 6 x EziDIY 120mm / 2 x Corsair 140mm somethings / 1 x 140mm Thermaltake something / 2 x 200mm Corsair.
    Keyboard
    Corsair K95 / Logitech diNovo Edge Wireless
    Mouse
    Logitech: G402 / G502 / Mx Masters / Mx Air Cordless
    Internet Speed
    2000/500Mbps
    Browser
    All sorts
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky Premium
    Other Info
    ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
    TP-Link BE9300 WiFi 7 Bluetooth 5.4 (Archer TBE550E)
    TP-Link TX201 V1 2.5GB Lan

    Grandstream HT812 - VoIP
    ASUS DSL-AX82U - Mesh
    ASUS RT-AC68U - Mesh
    ASUS RT-BE88U Router

    Brother MFC-L2880DW Printer

    I’m on a horse.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 Build 26200.8655 (Wifes)13th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-1340P Process...16GB LPDDR5-52001x Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 25H2 Build 26200.8655 (Wifes)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    LENOVO Yoga 7 14IRL8 - Type 82YL
    CPU
    13th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-1340P Processor(Core™ i5-1340P)
    Memory
    16GB LPDDR5-5200
    Graphics card(s)
    1x Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Optimized with Dolby Atmos®
    Screen Resolution
    QHD 2880 x 1800 OLED
    Hard Drives
    M.2 512 GB SSD PCIe
    Mouse
    Logiteck MX Master 3S
    Internet Speed
    2000/500
    Antivirus
    Defender / Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    …still on a horse.


    Wireless Network: Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 AX; Bluetooth® 5.1 or above
    Ports: 1x 1 Novo button; 2 in 1 Audio Combo jack; Micro SD Card Reader; HDMI 1.4b; 2 x USB Type-C (TBT4)
    USB 3.2 Gen 2 DP 1.4a
    PD 3.0); 1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type A
    Camera
    1x 1080P FHD IR/RGB Hybrid with Privacy Shutter and Dual Array Microphone
    Graphics
    1x Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics
    Monitor
    14" WUXGA
    Form Factor
    Convertible Notebook
  • Windows 11 Pro 25H2 Build 26200.8655 (Wifes)

    Yoga 7 2-in-1 14IML9 - Type 83DJ

    Processor: Intel® Core™ Ultra 7 155H Processor(Core™ Ultra 7 155H)

    Memory: 32GB LPD5X-7467

    Hard Drive: 1 TB SSD PCIe

    Wireless Network: 1x Wi-Fi 6E 2x2 AX; Bluetooth® 5.1 or above

    Ports: 1 x HDMI 2.1 TMDS; 1 x Novo Button; 1 x Combo Audio Jack
    2 x USB-C (USB 4.0)
    1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1

    Camera: 1080P FHD IR Hybrid with Dual Microphone

    Graphics: Intel® Arc™ Graphics

    Monitor: 14" 2.8K

    ...Where's my horse?
JAM83 said:
I WISH i would have listened to MANY of you over the past several years about "BACKUP, BACKUP, BACKUP". . . I was doing a fresh install of windows. I wasn't paying attention and accidentally deleted the partition that had all of my saved software/serial numbers, documents, pictures on it. I will NOW join the rest of you and HIGHLY encourage people to BACKUP
Click to expand...

Ouch! So sorry to hear that. That's a tough pill to swallow. For me, my paranoia set in many years ago in my previous life as an Enterprise Tech Support Engineer. I was working with a huge customer (a major bank!) who had backups but they never tested the backup scheme. They lost some critical customer data. So I learned the hard lesson then that one needs to not only make sure that a backup plan is in place, but to check that plan and make sure it is actually working.

In the customer's case, they got lucky - they were able to send drives out to a data recovery service but it ended up costing them many tens of thousands to recover. That is called having a really bad day.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)Intel i7-14650HX32 GBNo GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    OS
    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acemagic
    CPU
    Intel i7-14650HX
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Varies as machine will often be moved to locations with different monitors
    Screen Resolution
    Varies
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB Gen 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    120W Power Brick
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender

  • At a glance

    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)Intel i7-1255U16 GBIntel Iris Xe Graphics
    Operating System
    Win11 Pro 25H2 (RTM+)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
antspants said:
That’s terrible mate. Did you try to recover the partition/files? There are ways you can try. But not if you try using the drive, every thing you do to the drive could make it harder. Don’t touch it and start a thread, maybe in Devices and Drivers
Click to expand...
I've already reinstalled Windows on it. I've accepted that everything is gone
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26200.5074AMD Ryzen 9 3600X 12-Core @ 3.80GHzCorsair 32GB DDR4EVGA GeForce gtx 1660 Super
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26200.5074
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built Myself in 2025
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3600X 12-Core @ 3.80GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI X570 Gaming Plus
    Memory
    Corsair 32GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce gtx 1660 Super
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 X AOC 27" , Dell 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~ P34A60 512GB NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 M.2
    ~ 6TB Toshiba HDD
    ~ 6TB HDD (Backup)
    ~ SanDisk 250GB SSD
    ~ 2 X 1TB HDD
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    PSU
    eVGA 750w G+
    Case
    GAMDIAS White ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer PC Case w/Tempered Glass
    Cooling
    AMD Wraith Prism
    Keyboard
    Nulea RT05 Wireless Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Nulea MD280 Wireless Vertical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    761Mbps (Download) / 692Mbps (Upload)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    *This is my Main Computer That I use*

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26100.2894AMD Ryzen 7 1800X @ 3.60Ghz16GBAMD RX580
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26100.2894
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 1800X @ 3.60Ghz
    Motherboard
    Asus Crosshair VI Hero
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD RX580
    Sound Card
    onBoard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27UK650-W 27", eMachine 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    250GB SSD
    PSU
    CORSAIR RM850
    Case
    GAMDIAS Black ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer PC Case w/Tempered Glass
    Cooling
    Liquid
    Keyboard
    Nulea RT05 Wireless Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Nulea MD280 Wireless Vertical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    752Mbps (Download) / 537Mbps (Upload)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    I use this computer for photo/video editing and to track severe weather
Sorry to hear of your disaster. This is a reminder to embrace the 2 Golden Rules of Computing.

1) Backup important data frequently.

2) If any doubt, refer back to Rule 1.

Most importantly is developing a backup strategy.

Really important data should be backed up to two separate places (e.g. separate drives (external is good plan for one of them).

Really critical data could be backed up to three places even. Use of onedrive, google drive etc. is a good option but may require a message monthly fee (ignore the tedious naysayers who consider cloud services as a tool of satan).

If you categorise your data into say 3 categories e.g.

Critical - disaster to lose

Important - pain to lose but not a disaster,

Routine - annoying to losing but not a big deal (videos typically come in this category).

You will probably find, only a small portion comes in the critical category, more in the important category but usually most data comes in routine category.

So if you put data in subfolders (say) according to category, you can optimise backup strategies, optimising backup storage.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I store my critical data in 3 places (separate hard drive, external usb drive and Onedrive.

Important data on separate hard drive/partition and external hard drive.

Routine data on separate hard drive only (pragmatically accepting if laptop was stolen, or failure of both hard drive/partitions such data would be lost (risk is higher if only one hard drive).

The above is my strategy but each user has to work out their own stategy.

Some may choose to backup to two separate external drives. Otherd msy use cloud backup.

The key point is there is no "one size fits all" solution. However one decides to backup data though, redundancy is the most important aspect.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
OS
Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS Zenbook 14
CPU
I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
Motherboard
Yep, Laptop has one.
Memory
16 GB soldered
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel Iris XE
Sound Card
Realtek built in
Monitor(s) Displays
laptop OLED screen
Screen Resolution
2880x1800 touchscreen
Hard Drives
1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
PSU
Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
Case
Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
Keyboard
Built in UK keybd
Mouse
Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
Internet Speed
900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

Macrium Reflect Home V8
Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
cereberus said:
Sorry to hear of your disaster. This is a reminder to embrace the 2 Golden Rules of Computing.

1) Backup important data frequently.

2) If any doubt, refer back to Rule 1.

Most importantly is developing a backup strategy.

Really important data should be backed up to two separate places (e.g. separate drives (external is good plan for one of them).

Really critical data could be backed up to three places even. Use of onedrive, google drive etc. is a good option but may require a message monthly fee (ignore the tedious naysayers who consider cloud services as a tool of satan).

If you categorise your data into say 3 categories e.g.

Critical - disaster to lose

Important - pain to lose but not a disaster,

Routine - annoying to losing but not a big deal (videos typically come in this category).

You will probably find, only a small portion comes in the critical category, more in the important category but usually most data comes in routine category.

So if you put data in subfolders (say) according to category, you can optimise backup strategies, optimising backup storage.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I store my critical data in 3 places (separate hard drive, external usb drive and Onedrive.

Important data on separate hard drive/partition and external hard drive.

Routine data on separate hard drive only (pragmatically accepting if laptop was stolen, or failure of both hard drive/partitions such data would be lost (risk is higher if only one hard drive).

The above is my strategy but each user has to work out their own stategy.

Some may choose to backup to two separate external drives. Otherd msy use cloud backup.

The key point is there is no "one size fits all" solution. However one decides to backup data though, redundancy is the most important aspect.
Click to expand...
yeah i'm still kicking myself in the butt right now for not paying attention for one, and for not having a backup. I'm having to set here and try and remember all of the software that I had saved. (I am THANKFUL that I had all of my weather radar software on my other computers hard drive. So I didn't lose those serial numbers or anything. I decided not to split the partitions again. I'm just going to use the entire 512GB M.2 drive for my OS and software, etc. . . I'll be using a regular SSD for my software and such. I'm also considering using Terabox for cloud storage, since they give you 1TB for free.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26200.5074AMD Ryzen 9 3600X 12-Core @ 3.80GHzCorsair 32GB DDR4EVGA GeForce gtx 1660 Super
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26200.5074
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Built Myself in 2025
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3600X 12-Core @ 3.80GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI X570 Gaming Plus
    Memory
    Corsair 32GB DDR4
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce gtx 1660 Super
    Sound Card
    On Board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 X AOC 27" , Dell 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    ~ P34A60 512GB NVMe PCIe Gen3x4 M.2
    ~ 6TB Toshiba HDD
    ~ 6TB HDD (Backup)
    ~ SanDisk 250GB SSD
    ~ 2 X 1TB HDD
    ~~~~~~~~~~
    PSU
    eVGA 750w G+
    Case
    GAMDIAS White ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer PC Case w/Tempered Glass
    Cooling
    AMD Wraith Prism
    Keyboard
    Nulea RT05 Wireless Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Nulea MD280 Wireless Vertical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    761Mbps (Download) / 692Mbps (Upload)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    *This is my Main Computer That I use*

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26100.2894AMD Ryzen 7 1800X @ 3.60Ghz16GBAMD RX580
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro x64 24H2 v26100.2894
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 1800X @ 3.60Ghz
    Motherboard
    Asus Crosshair VI Hero
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD RX580
    Sound Card
    onBoard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27UK650-W 27", eMachine 22"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    250GB SSD
    PSU
    CORSAIR RM850
    Case
    GAMDIAS Black ATX Mid Tower Gaming Computer PC Case w/Tempered Glass
    Cooling
    Liquid
    Keyboard
    Nulea RT05 Wireless Ergonomic
    Mouse
    Nulea MD280 Wireless Vertical Mouse
    Internet Speed
    752Mbps (Download) / 537Mbps (Upload)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    I use this computer for photo/video editing and to track severe weather
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