I started a spreadsheet for the trading of cuttings (thanks Suzi!!).  It has been a fantastic tool to keep track of who what when.  I have been tweaking it as I go which has been great.  Well, most of the time!  About a week ago I left the computer on overnight (not unusual for us) and the next time I looked at the spreadsheet it has Autosaved in the title also and ALL of the new stuff I add - and forgot to save, was gone!!!  It was so nice and organize so I would know who sent which cuttings and how many and other traits so I could tell who they came from  - all of that was gone :( :(  :(

As a result, I have a few varieties I am not quite sure of.  I put a few different varieties in the same bin to save on space, well you know the rest.  I learned a good lesson - label label label!!!

Time will tell!

Sorry Jo-Ann! 

Not fun!  Computers can be your enemy at times for sure!  That "save" thing has frustrated us all at one time or another!

When I got my first UC Davis order, I put THEIR labels on each cutting outside in ground.  What I didn't know is that their labels are NOT permanent.  They fade in rain and sun, so I've got some mystery wine grapevines now.  I used process of elimination to narrow down what they are, but I still have no clue on a couple.

I now ID every plastic baggie with varietal and donor's name which really helps a lot.

Good luck with your ID's!

Suzi

Jo-Ann,

Was this a Microsoft spreadsheet, like Excel?  You may be able to recover the previous version.  If it's a Microsoft product, let me know and I can help.

Frank is correct. If your PC rebooted while away, the data will be saved in recovery mode. Just open Excel, and you should see the last file opened off to the left, you will have the option to save it. Sounds like Frank is an IT guy like me. Good luck.

Dennis,
What sector of IT?  I've been a PC tech for 13 years.  I'm lucky to have a job I truly enjoy.  A new challenge every day.

So are you saying we can call you FiggyFrank, instead of India, when we fry our computers? ;-)
Suzi

Suzi,

I'll gladly work for cuttings.  ;)

Yes it is Excel!!!  I've been in the baking industry since the early 80"s.  Before we got a PC I could tell the difference between a PC and an oven because I knew what the oven was lol.  I know just enough about this computer to be dangerous - and I'm self taught.

I don't see that "pain" (LOL - pane) come up and don't remember if it did - any other suggestions?

Suzi - thank you!  It's nice to know I am not alone and have good company too!

Tell us what version of Excel you have.  2003, 2007, 2010, etc.

2007

If you have Windows Vista or 7, you might be able to restore a previous version by right-clicking the file, and choosing "restore previous version".  A box will pop up and it will give you previous modified dates you can choose from.  If that doesn't work, there's one more method we can try but it digs a little deeper in the system.  If you REALLY want to recover the file, PM me and I can give you more options.  No guarantee we can find it though, unfortunately.

Thanks Frank - I will let you know what happens!

Frank, I've been a hardware guy for over 20 yrs in the military and 18 yrs on the database side in corporate America...Sql Server 2005, DBASE, Oracle 10, SYBASE 11, MY SQL, DB2, and DB2 UDB. In my main gig, I'm a System Architect. I'm not fond of Microsoft software. I switched to LINUX 10 yrs ago. I switched to Apple and Android about a year ago. I got tired of cleaning spyware, cookie and viruses of every body's computers. I have over 15 machines on my home network. I enjoy it but soon, I will be downsizing to around 4.

I am by far no expert on computers - obviously with my problem.

Microsoft is a great example you don't need a great product to be successful.  I don't recall ever hearing someone say "I love my pc!!!!",  the way you hear that from Apple owners.  I won a kindle fire at work last June and it is great - just haven't gotten used to the web browser and how it works.

I love my PC

Tony, it figures you would lol

YEP!!

Wow, lots of equipment and lots of experience, Dennis!  I know what you mean about Windows.  The vulnerabilities are always needing all kinds of protection.  I look at it as job security for me.  ;)   I never ventured into Macs but I hear they're pretty solid.  I reformat my computers once every 6 months to keep the hard drive clean.

For everyone wanting to keep some type of backup for documents, pictures, etc., check out Dropbox.  All files you place in this folder will be backed up and also allows you to restore deleted files.  It's free, with a decent amount of storage if you only keep documents and spreadsheets in it.  You can also access your files on their site from any computer.  I keep all my fig data there, so I can access it from work, home, or my phone.

Yea, in addition to double tagging your cuttings, rootings and trees back up your important computer info to your preferred storage method......CD, cloud, flash drive.

Thanks Frank, now you do know that pretty soon, Dropbox won't be free! Mark my word! Just like one day Facebook will not be free. Dropbox is good, but I don't use it. I use CF cards, and SD cards to back up all my files.

I wouldn't be surprised.  I'll be the first guy they hunt down.  I have 21.2gb of free space right now.  ;)

talk about mix up. i had about 5 Paradiso Nero and 4 Paradiso Bronze cuttings.. after few pints of Guinness i decided to cup them up. i marked the cup, drill the cup, wet the peat pot.. start filling the cup with soil.. everything went great. then i looked at the ziplock bags to check on the next batch and found out i put the wrong cuttings in wrong cup. tried my best to re-label them. hope they are in right cup. will find out in 2 or 3 years. lol