Thursday, March 02, 2006

3-2-06 "Organize" used as an oxymoron


AOL Tech support suggests that I back up the "organize" folder in my AOL files.
AOL Tech support is obviously not talking about my pc.

I have had AOL for 6 years. I have e-mails from 2000 in my "filing cabinet". I wish to keep these e-mails. Sentimental value and all.


In the past 6 years I have had to upgrade or reload AOL at least 8 times.
I know this because each upgrade/reload creates a new AOL instead of replacing the old. It looks like this:

AOL 8.0
AOL 8.0a
AOL 9.0
AOL 9.0a (security Edition)
etc

The problem is that there are now 16 instances of the "organize" folder on my PC. Some are where they should be. Others are in bizarre places. Some "organize" folders are inside of other "organize" folders. Sometimes, when you enter an "organize" folder there is a link to an "organize" folder inside of another "organize" folder. (click the pic to see the full version. It will make yor head explode.)

AOSMELL does not have the ability to tell me WHICH of the 16 folders it is using.
Brilliant, huh?
I can hit the "backup" button all day long but I have no idea where it backed up to.

There is only one way to know. I must copy/paste each instance of "organize" into one file (hoping it's the one being used) and then log on to AOhHell and SEE IF IT CHANGED.
IF I pick the right folder and the right location to copy into, I will write over whatever file it is using now.
Again with the brilliantness.

(yes...backup all organize folders before testing the theory)

So, in effect, the "organize" folder is not at all organized. It is, in fact, the antithesis of organization.

10 comments:

Christa said...

The problem with AOL is that it's taking over the computer. That's why you have such a problem with your folders. If you've used it for a long time without cleaning off the computer, it will slowly take over and crash other things.

We had AOL during the first 6 months I was here in the UK and it was a horror. I had to format this laptop entirely to get rid of it before I hooked up to the broadband we have today.

When you've sorted out those backups, get rid of AOL and sign up with someone else, Agnes. Unless you are hooked to it for any other reason.
Their whole system is a mess and it's a nightmare that I know you're already aware of.

Hope the rest of your day is a good one :D

Agnes said...

Good morning Christa. Yes! Yes it is.
I'm not hooked on AOL personally. I could do without it. I keep it for a few good reasons. First, it has old e-mails between me and Dad. I'll print those off if I can get them back.
Second, AOL is the safest thing my husband can use. I have a router and a firewall and McAfee from hell but my hubby will still find a way to download a virus if it's out there. AOL has parental controls and it scans better than any other for bugs. Which sucks because it actually is a bug. hah

I'm going to format (eventually...soon...) and reload once I know which organize folder is the real backup. Sigh.
Then I'll have only one version. Yay!!
The rest of the day will surely be better?

Couldn't get to your site though. Insto-reboot. ARGH! Better luck next time.
Hope you're well. (((((HUGS)))))

tsduff said...

My brother thinks that AOL is a virus.

Trée said...

Aggie, FWIW, all my files are backed up in two ways on two different external harddrives. Once every couple of days I press one button on my Seagate external harddrive and the bounceback software backs up all data changed since the last backup. Takes about 5 minutes and all I do is press one button and then walk away.

I have a second external harddrive that I use to store a complete "image" of my drive, which I keep a couple versions. I have an image of my drive when it was brand new so if I ever want to return to the state my system was in when I bought the computer I can. Second, I keep an image of my drive up to date with each new program installation. Unlike the data backup on my Seagate, the image is a complete copy of the drive.

Several years ago I lost some valuable data when my computer died and I had no backup of any type. I learned the hard way. Back up and back up on a regular basis.

If you have any questions about backup options, don't hesitate to drop me an email.

Autumn Storm said...

Urgh, got confused just reading that!
:-)

Christa said...

Agnes...dump McAfee, and if necessary, kick that hubby of yours off the computer :p Just kidding.
But get rid of McAfee and install something called AVG Anti-Virus instead. You can download here here: http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/setup/avg71free_375a716.exe

It's for free and I've used it for a long time. Works perfect (as long as you don't shut it down of course) and it keep itself upto date.
If that URL won't show up, mail me and I'll send it to you. It's a direct link to the download for Windows. Easy to install and everything. Just uninstall McAfee first.

I've got backups on both DVD's and a local machine that we're using as a local server. Got about 80gig of backups by now.

And when you're done recovering the emails, done backups or done the prints, get rid of AOL. Coz it's even worse than a virus ever will be.

And yawp, I'm doing okiday thank you :D Hope your day was a good one :)

Autumn Storm said...

Morning Agnes, hope you have a wonderful day, x

Recommend AVG too, does a great job.

Agnes said...

Well that sure got people talking. LOL
The techy brother-in-law is working on getting me a laptop. I'll move to that, then format the old pc and put back only what I need.
I will, unfortunately, put AOL back for the hubby who is just not good with change. ;)
I agree wholly that AOL is a virus AND spyware from hell.

Christa, I'll try AVG on the laptop...which I might get sometime before June. I hope.

I know everyone has neat ways to backup the ol' hard drive but those things are not free. To back up or ghost a hard drive one must have another hard drive of equal or greater value. The only other hard drive I have came from the last pc which only had Windows 3.1 and would just freak out at the thought of a GIG. (remember when "Hey, I just got my new harddrive. It's 100 meg!" bwahahaha)
Come to think of it, I ran AOL on that thing too. Why the heck is AOL taking up 4 gig now??? Egad.

Anyway, thanks all for your patience and I do hope you find a bit of humor at my expense. We've got nothing if we can't laugh at ourselves. :)

Hugs and love to all of you.

Christa said...

Why the heck is AOL taking up 4 gig now??? Egad.
Coz it's installing things quietly in the background while you're doing other doodles, missy ;)

Good luck with the laptop :D

illusions said...

Painful