Back up your Suunto dive logs!

[Scubaroo]

I was recently whacked by an internet worm, and had to rebuild my laptop from scratch - in the process, forgot to make a backup of my Suunto *.sdl file, which contained all of the downloaded dive information from my last 60 odd dives. Was only able to retrieve the last 30 or so from my Vytec - lost all of the log information as well that I had added, like dive site, buddies, conditions, etc.

BACK UP your *.sdl file! Based on what I could retrieve (last 30 dives), you would want to make a backup at least every 30 dives or less. That was with 10 second sampling rates, and longer dives probably mean you can store less on your computer, so do it regularly. On a typical Windows installation, the file will be located in the C:\Program Files\SDM\Logbooks directory. With only 30 downloaded dives, mine is already over a meg in size, so you would want something larger than a floppy to back it up to - CD-RW or an external drive or something.

Still kicking myself.

 

[ABQdiver]

We just use our computers and never think "that will happen to me"!! Been in that boat a time or two, its always a hard thing to learn. Hell, I'm still not doing as much as needed.

Thanks for the reminder!

 

[Genesis]

on my network file server.

It is backed up to DLT tape nightly, two-tape rotation.

If the disk on that machine fails, I lose at most one day's worth of changes.

A wise precaution irrespective of WHAT it is - if you don't want to risk losing it, make sure you have a readable copy!

 

[pggeek]

I alwas back up to an external drive. These usb external drives are pretty cool. Use windows back up software plug the drive in and press a button I think maxtor makes a all in one solution with software and everything now.

As I tell everyone I work for an IDE drives lasts and avrage of 5 years. If your drive is over 4 years old chanches you will loose everything on it at some point just because of a drive failor and then there is teh viruses. Please do the windows updates!!! Most viruses spread because people don't just love getting hit with a virus that was fixed a year ago and someone didin't update there pc and is still transmitting it all over the internet.

 

[Genesis]

5 years on IDE drives? If you use the computer a couple of hours a day, perhaps.

In continual service? Not a chance in the average home. In an environmentally-controlled computer room, sure, but your house isn't one.

I figure on two to three years. We used to average about 5-7 years MTBF on big SCSI drives at my company, in the computer room. It was for that reason that all data storage (as opposed to operating system volumes, that could be reloaded in about 20 jminutes) volumes were on a hardware RAID box that "hid" failures from customers and made possible "hot swapping" of a failed disk (and rebuilding the volume) without impacting the data on the volume set or access to it.

 

[Diver Kat]

Had the sad experience of losing my log as well recently - my hard drive fried. Most of the main stuff was backed up but hadn't thought about my Suunto log. Luckily hadn't had too many dives on my Mosquito - I think only 30 some dives, so I just lost all the buddy, location & notes stuff. The actual dives were still there.

Live & Learn!!