Thread: One of those ##$%%*** Days

I do my inspections with a Pocket PC, transfer the SD card to the laptop, input the photos and move on. I always set up my laptop on the kitchen counter.

After I had been in the basement a while, I come up to the kitchen and see the sellers kids in the kitchen, They move quickly to other rooms.

When I get to my laptop, all I see is a blue screen. I usually have a photo of my dogs as a backgound. I check out the laptop, put the dogs back in their place and continue on.

Toward the end, the seller is making noise about gfetting dinner ready, etc, so I decide to wrap it up and finish the report at home. I shut down and pack up.

When I get home and fire up the laptop I get an error message that says BIG SCREW UP!. I restart, and it goes OK for a while, then errors out again. Did this three times and it seems to be OK.

I then realize that the report I used on the PDA was an old inspection that was cancelled. I left it on the PDA to use as a spare. When I go to transfer it, I found I had deleted the old report. So, I create a new one with the same name and go to transfer the report from the card.

It transfers, but when I try to open it, there IS NO DATA. It's now gone from the SD card, and nowhere to be found on the laptop. So I have to reconstruct the entire inspection from memory. I did have a bunch of photos, and my little pocket note pad with m/n's and s/n's of stuff, but the rest was just what was retained in the old noggin.

I think I got it all except I couldn't remember all of the doors that didn't latch properly. I called my client and told him what happened (he was there when we found the laptop) and told him to look over the report and let me know if there was anyting we had discussed during the inspection that wasn't on the report.

I think I got my laptop back to normal, and I guess my SD card is toast (tech support for Inspectvue thinks so anyway). I hope tomorrow is a better day.
JF

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Jack: Seems like you've had a few of these days.

Jack,

At least the little s**ts didn't reformat your hard drive on you.

I personally don't leave my computer in the house. I don't even like to leave any tools there.

Never know what may happen if the seller is there and becomes irate.

Best to leave that stuff locked up in the truck.

IMHO

I buy SD cards in lots of 10 on eBay.

Typical lots:

128Mb

eBay: LOT OF 10 NEW DANE-ELEC 128MB SD CARDS SECURE DIGITAL (item 290111774561 end time May-04-07 20:00:00 PDT)

512Mb

eBay: Lot of (10) 512MB SD Cards 512 MB NEW (item 110122595008 end time May-09-07 18:11:11 PDT)


At these prices I just use one for each inspection and then write protect it and keep it until I'm sure I don't need the data.

Michael
I put mine on DVD, but it takes a long time. I like your way, think I'll try it.

I was going to point out the virtues of NCR reports and how they never crash. But then I remembered my report experiences with another cute trait of kids - drawing on paper.

I used NCR reports for 12 or 13 years. Let me see if I can remember the problems that came up:

1. Rain getting them wet (or splashig from tubs/showers, etc) and drying them out in the oven.
2. Writing down something wrong and having to get another page from the truck.
3. Having a client use my inspection book (set down for a minute) for a clipboard and all the crap they wrote on their papaers come thru on pages 2 - 4. Don't see it until the report is being divided.
5. The biggest problem I had with NCR reports.....the never ending costs each and every year. I know I paid for at least one of Kevin O'Malley's cars over the years.

Add to the down side the trashing of unused reports when the State changes the required format of the report. I wound up with several boxes of forms when the state changed the requirement, one reason I converted to computer.