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General discussion

Who's Responsible?

Jan 6, 2011 4:30AM PST

Hello all,
I am new here and i work in a large digital company. I recent was having trouble with my computer, it was bogged down with alot of stuff... anyway i requested help from our IT staff and they offered to reload my computer and that it would take about a work day to get it all nice and clean.

Anyways today comes along and the IT staff finshed it relatively quickly but i found that non of the stuff i kept in the c:\ drive is there? I asked why the IT people didnt back it up and they told me unless it was in the "My documents" or "Desktop" they didnt back it up and were not going to search and assume whats good and whats not...

Is this normal practice for IT people? Or am i the bafoon for thinking they were going to back up that stuff.

Discussion is locked

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In a word, yours.
Jan 6, 2011 4:42AM PST

Sorry but I suspect the general feeling here will be that this is your responsibility.

2 reasons;

1] We only lose what we don't backup. It's a hard lesson to be learnt and we have all had to learn it.

2] Any reinstall is likely to lose files, wherever they are. Some 'Repair Installs' may work and conserve such folders like My Documents, but the risk is too great to leave it to chance. But in any case, anything on the root directory is most likely to be overwritten.

It seems the IT people said they would reload. I would always assume that to mean reinstall, and so I would be forewarned and take all of my files off beforehand.

Sorry. I don't think you will get any different answers here.

Is there any possibility any of these files are backed up on the works' server?

Mark

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In Two Words "Due Diligence"
Jan 6, 2011 5:14AM PST

The IT department is acting "Irresponsible" As Mark pointed out however you would be best advised to do your own backup in light of what you have experienced.

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I doubt if due dilligence applies
Jan 6, 2011 5:30AM PST

And I doubt if the OP could prove that the IT Department were acting irresponsibly.

Mark

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Some forethought required...
Jan 7, 2011 9:49AM PST

Prior to any reblast of a current enduser's PC, or total migration to a new PC, our IT Dept. is required to present the enduser with a document that tells them it is the enduser's responsibility to back up all of their documents. By default, our standard loadset is in "My Documents", however, as stated in several posts, often docs end up elsewhere. Our pre-blast document gives the enduser some tips on how to search for various doc types, and also provides a link to the location we want all doc to be backed up. It is emphasized several times that it is the enduser's responsiblity to back up their documents.

All that said, most of the conscientious IT Techs will still make an effort to look for docs and settings beyond the My Documents folder .... if TIME permits.

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Yep, It's Your Responsibility to BackUp Important Files
Jan 6, 2011 5:08AM PST

Most IT re-installs involve the use of a mirror image of the operating system and all required software. The drive is formatted and the image is placed on the computer. If you have other important files on the machine, only YOU will know about them and where they might have been placed.. If we had to sit with the customer and work through every file on a computer before reloading everything, it would take hours or days for each customer.. Still, in addition to the "My Documents" folder, I have learned to backup a copy of the customer's Outlook email .pst file, if they're using MS Office, because it can contain a lot of important information and the default location for such is NOT in "My Documents".

Although I frequently restore infected computers for customers that want me to save all personal files because they failed to back them up, it's important to note the customers pay a Premium to get it done.. It frequently takes me three or four times as long to get the computer cleaned up and running again.

Hope this helps.

Grif

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IT department . . .
Jan 6, 2011 6:23AM PST

My first question is who owns the PC? If it belongs to the company, any saved documents are always defaulted to the My Documents folder. If you had private stuff elsewhere then it's your loss. If you had company stuff elsewhere, same, same. The IT department is responsible for saving company documents in the default location.

If it was your personal PC then it was your fault. As was mentioned above, paraphrasing, never have one copy of anything important.

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Assumptions Make The Point
Jan 6, 2011 8:36AM PST

Wayne questioned ownership of the computer. I assumed that whereas justanewb said he worked for a large digital company the computer is company owned and as a matter of due diligence all work would be protected. Never assume an IT department will do anything more than what they are technically responsible for. Point to be taken which all seem in agreement on, do your own backup irregardless of the situation. Standing down and deferring to those most knowledgable,

Gerry