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Could any kind soul help please? I have lost the past 8 months research due to a hard drive crash which occured very unreasonably whilst backing up to disk! 1 nightmare is always followed by another in my house and I had run out of printer ink too so hadn't been able to print off much either........ and yes I have learned a VERY valuable lesson at a great cost! Does anyone have the 1851 London census who wouldn't mind looking for any Danaher's in the St George's East area please? Sadly no address. Luckily I do have a fair bit of my tree here on Genes but all the rest has gone so will have to start again and I admit I don't feel much like to doing that at the moment! Don't let this happen to you BACK UP NOW!!!! Best wishes Sally

Hi Sally, How awful!! Can you tell me how to back up on my PC. I have written records of everything so all would not be lost but dont really know how to backup. Unless you mean on a package such as Family Tree Maker etc.

oh sally , i am so sorry. i do not know how to back up info. but like pauline [i still dont trust computers- lol ] i have everything on paper . hope you get all the info back that you need. they are an helpfull lot on here, i am sure you will soon get sorted. sue.

Im putting my CDRW in right now.

Hi and thanks for your sympathy, I have stopped sobbing now and am only grizzling!! Copy/send all your files onto cd or floppy whichever you use and do it NOW!!! Best wishes Sally sniveling now lol

You need to back up info on a disk/Cd which you remove from the computer and preferably keep in a safe, separate place - mine are in a fireproof box. You have to remember to update it regularly - and label it of course! Husband tells me you can also back up on webspace which you get with your e-mail /internet account. nell

Hello Sally My sons laptop computers hard drive failed last week. I have had it repaired under warrenty and have been loaned the old hard disk. I borrowed but you can buy a USB HDD Box. Simply put the old drive in the box install the drivers supplied on disk connect to a USB socket & in My Computer you should have 2 hard drives. Simply transfer the data ( takes a while ) but worth it if it works. Good luck Brian in a WET Bucks.

Many thanks for ALL the replies on and off list, I am overwhelmed by the ammount of well wishers that have contacted me. I suppose I forget how many people I have done look ups for in the past but you all remembered me. Thanks, [very] slowly rebuilding my branches now, best wishes Sally

Sally Someone had the surname index for St Georges in the East 1851 - it was a while ago but they mihgt still be about David

Happened to me last week - lost everything -family photos,everything. DO NOT rely on backing up in any form that still leaves your stuff on the hard drive. I had started transferring everything on to a flash drive but the gremlins got to me first. It's heartbreaking.

You have my sympathy. Get Santa to buy you a USB memory key - they're about £35 right now on amazon for 512mb of data (that's about 340 floppy disks). It's the best present you'll ever get.

I know how you feel Sally, it happened to me some months back and I was gutted to say the least, but my local computer shop not only picked up my computer managed to restore 35% of my hard drive (enough to rescue my precious photos)and stored them to disc for me, put a new hard drive in and bought the computer back for me, wow what a service, but I do put all my information on GC and Tribalpages, so didn't lose any of my tree at all. Belle.

Belle of South London makes a good point your local small computer shop may be able to recover some if not all. May be worth try. Secondly did you not build your tree on this site? Because if you did, it is still available to you.

Also on Genes, in the notes put in census date and the addresses then at least you can look them up Anne

I am doing a back up to CD_RW as I write. You managed to scare me enough to realise that I have not done a backup recently I really hope you manage to recover your lost files.

Another word of warning, CD's are not the indestructable media format that we have been led to believe. I recently tried to back up my family tree onto a disc that I have been using for some time - it was corrupted and wouldn't read. I suppose the message is to back up to more than one place and preferably in more than 1 format! Craig.

Wow you are all FANTASTIC! Thanks for all the replies, the help offered and the ideas for restoring my hard drive I shall be off to the local pc shop first thing Monday. Fingers crossed! My son aged 30 made a quaint remark that I would like to share with you, "Mum, what else do you expect from the dead they are getting their own back as I did say to you that Great grandma would hate you for publising the fact she was a bastardy case" Well friends I rest my case lol! Thanks again to you all and far too many to name individualy. Sally x