Backup your computer -- NOW!

[CycleRob]

Getting back to the original post's hardrive failures topic. . . .
My Sony VAIO's hardrive failed s-l-o-w-l-y. One day, and every boot after that, I was alerted by S.M.A.R.T. (scroll down for description) which gave a white text on full black screen error that said ( I wrote it down):
"Immediately back up your data and replace your hard disk drive.A failure may be imminent.
Press F1 to continue"
Well, I did. The backup that is. Using a good 20GB 3.5" hardrive salvaged from my neighbor's discarded and dead motherboard desktop PC with an $18 IDE-to-USB cable and power supply kit, to back up many hundereds of pics and other stuff worth saving. Any programs loaded from CDR's were not saved as reloading them over my 1.1 USB motherboard sockets is too slow.
Then, selective procrastinator that I can be, I kept on using the ailing drive for another 2+ weeks, seeing the warning screen at every boot-up, waiting until it really failed. It didn't. It just took longer to boot and longer to copy files. Noticeably longer like 4x the wait. In the meantime, I saw a new notebook replacement hardrive, twice the original's 30GB capacity and it was ON SALE at Fry's! It's 60GB size made by Western Digital, the good stuff. It's time for replacement.

Replacing the drive had me cautiously, nervously, hanging on to the metal chassis because of the woodstove generated 34% relative humidity. The swap went well and the new drive worked perfectly installing XP Home from the Sony OEM XP install CDRs. It was screwed to a cradle and then screwed to the motherboard. Seven small screws, very tight places and 15 cautious minutes (because of the static prone very low RH).

Besides the external hardrive, I have about 13GB in FlashDrives, two of them at 4GB each.. I love those things. Permanent memory storage, no batteries, no waiting, plug into any PC's USB port and they show up as a drive in My Computer. The perfect way to synch your files on two PC's in different locations. In my case it's a NoteBook and DeskTop PC. The SD chips used by my camera and GPS unit also become flashdrives when inserted in the very portable one piece USB readers. SD memory compatibility narrowed down my choices for which GPS was considered. You gotta keep it in the family.

Speaking of family (R1150R) . . . . . Thanks again to mcooperstein and jb44 that both, at different times, very generously helped me, more than once, with expert advice and flawless, hand delivered or mailed to me CDR's.

BTW, my signature below certainly can apply to the 2 Super Geeks here with their years of career experience and PC knowledge.

[mcooperstein]

Ah shucks Uncle Robby!! Thanks for the kind words!

Hey, not to hijack the thread...but I just ordered my third Daytona Temperature gauge from your ex-partner in NJ. The first one got chewed up when my alternator belt broke, the 2nd one mysteriously started functioning randomly (tests show the fault to be in the display unit and not the sender). I've really come to rely on this little bugger. Our bikes can get hot real quick, and it gives me peace of mind being able to monitor engine temp. I still have the detailed installation instructions with pictures that you provided...4+ years ago?

Mark

[CycleRob]

Still on my 4+ year old original unit. It's gone blank a few times after getting wet, but came back after removing the screwed-on back and drying it out in the Sun. I minimized that by laying a 2" wide clear cellophane packing tape strip over the top face, trimming to fit , completely covering it. I'm on my 3rd internal battery. When I (rarely) wash the bike I take it off it's velcro mount and slip it into a plastic bag with a rubber band around the neck opening. Stuff the bag near/under the headlite with the opening on the bottom. When the internal battery goes dead on my old original model unit, it still works but you get degrees C on startup and have to press the "set" button once to get F degrees.

You're right, this motor gets hot, especially here in the South. Knowing what's going on with the engine, especially in a traffic jam, is priceless. I've seen 262F once but kept going because there is synthetic oil in the crankcase, and the creeping jam's end is now behind me and I'm shifting into 6th gear.

[mcooperstein]

hmmmmm.....now that I think of it, the newer Daytona temp gauge was sealed and claimed to have better water proofing then the original. I can attest to the fact that it did, it never fogged up, not even after a heavy downpour...but there are no screws on the back, no way to take it apart. So...the question I have...is the internal battery on mine shot, and since you can't take it apart, the reason its not working any more? Pretty piss poor tradeoff, since the battery is only good for a year or so.

Mark