So I started. I created a backup folder for the desktop items, and I then saved the email folders. I had done this a hundred times before. Navigate to the appropriate spot and take the entire folder with all the files inside.

Finishing off the mental checklist – favourites, printer settings, email settings, network resources etc. etc. OK. 20 minutes. I’m going to be ahead of schedule on this one. Hmmm……what will I have for lunch today…….

I see that the hard drive is only a few years old, so we will reuse it and save a few bucks. I did a slow format on the hard drive to wipe all the data and started the new installation. This was going nicely until about three quarters of the way through – where it promptly stopped. “ By jingoes ! “ I thought to myself – or did I say it out aloud?

I started again. Another format, another reinstallation of the OS ( operating system ). This time it took. I loaded antivirus software, Office software, printer drivers etc. etc. Started testing and it popped up a shutdown error that I know is nothing – but this is the Boss’s PC, so it has to work perfectly.

I went and purchased a new hard drive, went through all the motions again and got back to installing fresh programs back onto the “new” PC.

A little behind now, but I can still have an easy couple of hours this arvo if I get a move on……………..

I had just finished copying the backed up email folders and had opened the email program. But where were the emails? I looked at my checklist. I backed up the correct folders. But where where on earth ( or cyberspace ) were they?

Then it happened.

You know that feeling – that awful sudden stomach churning you get as the realisation of what has just happened washes over you and your mind quickly goes into overdrive trying desperately to comprehend just how deep you really are in it – right now!

I had backed up the correct files from the default email folder location, but sometime, somewhere, someone had changed the settings so that the email program used files from a different location. Not only had I not backed up the correct files, but I had formatted the original hard drive multiple times and reinstalled a new operating system over the top.

So, when my heart rate returned to normal, I did what any person should do in this situation – I told the Boss .

“These things happen” was the calm, response. Being in business for many years hardens one to disappointments, I suppose. “ It’s a pity”, he added. “ There was some stuff on there from Dad.”. You see, the Boss’s father passed away a little while ago, and I greatly admired  and respected him just as I do his son. So, after he left the room, I went to work.

The internet is an amazing tool. You can find almost anything if you know where to look. I learnt that  wiping and formatting a hard drive rarely removes all of the information at all. I learnt that there are “footprints” left to follow. So, follow them I did – in a way. A week or so later, I was able to provide a folder with a swag of images, Word documents, PDF’s and emails – all recovered from the original hard drive.

It shouldn’t really have happened, but in a way I’m glad it did.

I now know a little bit more about the humble PC we all use every day, I know that information deleted from your computer is not necessarily always deleted, I know to be more careful when backing up data in the future and to actually test that data to make sure the correct information is actually backed up.

I also know that no matter how experienced you are and how many times you’ve done something, you shouldn’t become complacent - there could always be a snake in the grass around the next bend just waiting for the opportunity to excite your day!