While there might not be a great time for your computer to give up the ghost, there are a few occasions when it can spell disaster especially when you have forgotten to back-up your important files.

You might argue that there is never a good time for your computer to give up and die and I think most of us would wholeheartedly agree, but I have heard of a number of stories that have taken the cake – for me anyway.

Situation # 1: Submitting an assignment

Sally was in her final year of university. She was one assignment (and one pass mark coincidentally) from graduating with a Bachelor of Communications. Because she was completing the degree by correspondence, Sally was required to load her assessments on to the university’s online student portal before a nominated deadline. She didn’t usually leave it to the last fifteen minutes to send her assessments, but on this occasion she wanted to take her time to make sure her final assignment was perfect. As she tidied up the formatting and proof-read the essay one last time, her screen unexpectedly flickered once and then shutdown. She tried re-starting and unplugging the power source and plugging it into a different power point, but nothing seemed to work. She came up with the great idea of running down to the nearest internet café and sending it from there, but had realised it had been a long time since she backed-up her files. Unsure what to do she called her University, but unfortunately they advised her that they were powerless to help – Universities do not make exceptions for computer mishaps. Sally re-did the assignment, but to no avail as she didn’t meet the grade required. She was ineligible for graduation and she had to do the class again the following year.

Situation # 2: Working away from the office interstate

Michael was being sent on an assignment by his corporation to the Northern Territory. While they had wanted him to fly directly back home after the assignment was completed, Michael convinced them to approve an extended stay so that he could spend some time with his kids in the outback. The corporation reluctantly agreed but said that he would need to complete work during his extended stay. Michael agreed, but on the first day of his holiday he went to turn on his computer, but it wouldn’t boot up. Michael tried again and again until the computer screen flickered some bright colours and then went black. Michael tried to recharge the laptop… and still nothing. The computer died in the middle of the outback. Michael’s phone didn’t have any reception for the next couple of days so all he could do was phone his Boss and tell him belatedly that the work wouldn’t be done.

Situation # 3: As you are about to give a presentation

This is a rather funny story and it happened while I was at Uni. My teacher had idolised an overseas professor for her entire working life and he had finally agreed to speak to us on his next trip to Sydney. When it came time to take to the lecturn, the Professor brought up his laptop to facilitate his presentation slides. Unfortunately his computer wouldn’t turn on. So shocked and worried about all the files he may have lost, the Professor picked up his laptop and made for the nearest exit refusing to present without it. My teacher was dumb-founded and beyond disappointment.

Situation # 4: Preparing the final documents to apply for a tender

An engineering firm had been invited to tender for a multi-million dollar project. As they were preparing the final documents to submit for tender, their whole system crashed. They contacted the company to advise them of their situation and the company graciously extended the deadline for the tender by one day. Unfortunately, because they hadn’t backed-up their work in the last fortnight, the corporation switched on their computers to find that the key documents were missing. Unable to re-create the documents in the given timeframe, they missed out on the tender and soon after they suffered a huge financial blow in the global financial crisis. Needless to say, they never quite got over that missed opportunity.

All of these situations articulate how important it is to have good secure systems in place and to a higher degree, a good offsite back-up service and disaster recovery storage.

Author Bio: Tom Mallet is an Australian freelance writer and journalist. He writes extensively in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the US. He’s published more than 500 articles about various topics, including offsite back-up service.