Charlie comes towards me to comfort me as I turn off my pc in despair.
Why? I have a 69,000 word novel that I wrote and abandoned three years before saved on my hard drive.
My main assignments for my writing course is an assessment of the first three chapters of my novel. What an opportunity!
Unfortunately I had password protected it.
Could I think of the password three years later?
Could I unlock the document trying all sorts of fiendish things as found on the internet?
Oh lookee here – here’s the FLOPPY DISK I used as back-up.
I have bits and pieces of the novel scattered around my C:drive but this one document is the whole kit and kaboodle.
Oh well.
Charlie helps out checking all my wiring is ok! He couldn’t find a floppy disk drive either!
43 comments:
don't feel bad == somehow momma can't figure out the password for her wireless router -- charlie we hope you can help your lady remember!
purrs
abby
So were you able to open it? To have a novel of that size finished is an amazing accomplishment. I hope you get back to it! Anyway, this is why I always email my ms. to myself when I'm done revising. So regardless I can retrieve it. Of course, there's a chance I could forget my email password :) But my husband knows it, too. So we'd both have to be stricken with Alzheimers at the same time for that to happen.
I'm glad to know Charlie's such a big help! So were you able to access your novel or not? Sometimes I find such things are better left buried, but that's just me. :)
Best of luck with that; computers can be very frustrating sometimes!...Don't forget to try your password as case sensitive=you may be using the right password but need to use it capitalized or not...Hope something works for you!...Kisses to Charlie!
I wonder if you could go to a computer place and they could find it for you...I hope so!
I do hope you manage to sort it out.
I lost a much shorter story (around 10,000 words) and it was terribly frustrating.
Oh no, but at least Charlie is there to help. My Dad said he thought he had a problem remembering something, but he doesn't know what it was.
p.s. It's so nice to see Charlie wandering around!
Taking it to a computer place might be a good idea, if you really want to access it. Seems a shame not to, because that's a huge accomplishment.
BTW, I'd be lucky to remember a password three weeks later, let alone three months or worse, YEARS!
And I do see Charlie was trying his best to assist!
I can't remember three minutes later, much less three years later. I bet the computer place would be able to help you. I usually print stuff that I don't want to lose. Charlie is looking good and seems to be right at home. Are you having fun with him.
I hope you can get to it too! A computer expert must be able to get around a password! If computer wizards can break into government records, surely they can unlock your novel. Don't give up.
My computer has crashed twice, so besides periodic backing on a hard drive, I e-mail myself drafts as I go.
Good luck!
We missed Charlie's arrival! Hello Charlie! We hope you can help your Mum find that password. You look like you have settled in well :)
Whicky Wuudler
Hope you'll be able to think of that password soon. I'll bet Charlie knows but isn't telling...
Did Charlie help you find it? I love seeing photos of him!
Fingers crossed you cracked the code!
you are not alone. I have forgotten my password so many times :( and i have learned to write it down.
Charlie is such a sweet helper. Hugs and kisses to him :).
Thank you for the prayers. We appreciate it. Our lil old lady Bunny appreciates it too.
I like your Hamster. Too cute.
Believe it or not I take so long to replace laptops that my last but one laptop (which still lives at my parents' house) still has a 3 and a half inch floppy drive!
I'm going to be going back up there at Easter - if all else fails, feel free to post me the disk so it reaches me before the middle of next week and I ought to be able to email the file/s to you, so long as no-one's swiped the laptop power cord or used it as the base for a stack of encyclopedias... (the first isn't very likely but the second is always possible in that house :) ) Can't 100% promise anything but will try to help!
Have you been able to access your story yet. 69,000 words, I hope so. Looks like Charlie is right at home and trying to help you sort this out. I know the emailing advice is putting the horse after the cart, but I do this emailing thing too. I hope you crack that novel open. Fingers crossed for you.
Good luck!
Hi Kit there's an award for you at mine :o)
Awww Abby
Charlie tried, he really did!! Bless him!
Take care
x
Hi KarenG
Oh thank you!!
That is a brilliant idea! I will this time round!!!
I've not been able to open the document but that's ok, I've zen-ned out about it now. I said to myself - maybe it was meant to be - maybe I was meant to start all over cos it was probably not very good to begin with!
Take care
x
Hi Susan Fields
You are right, you are so, so, so right!!! It was meant to happen like this so it'll force me to really try again - you are so right!
Thank you!
Take care
x
Hi Jacqueline
Awww thank you for your suggestions. I tried all sorts of combinations.. I stopped at 26 types of passwords I could have had.. LOL!!
Charlie says purrrrr-meow for your kisses!
Take care
x
Hi Sharon Mayhew
Oh this is so funny - I rang Dell (my pc is a Dell) people and the poor guy said basically, what's it got to do with Dell?? But I think me about to burst out crying made him try to help me! LOL!
Take care
x
Oh fairyhedgehog
I feel your pain! I do, I do!
Take care
x
Hi Brian
Awwww you dad!!LOL!
Yes, Charlie's been hogging upstairs.. he's abit unsure about "downstairs" tho... I have to be with him for him to venture down the stairs!
Take care
x
Hi Kim
I tried to get the Dell tech guys to come to me! And not for me to hog my pc to a pc place - it's flamin big!!! LOL!
anyway, it's ok now, I've zen-ned out about it all ..!
LOL!!!!! One door shuts a window opens or something!
Take care
x
Hi Marg
Oh Charlie is the best!!! I'm having such fun with him - I hope he's having the same with me though - I worry about things like that!
:-)
Take care
x
Hi Theresa Milstein
Oh I will email to myself from now on!!!
Dell and co were very helpful but couldn't really do much - they said my warranty covered machine and component breakdown not mental ones! LOL!
take care
x
Hi Everycat!
Awwwww Charlie says "purr-moew" to the gorgeous Whicky Wuudler!
Take care
x
Hi SuziQCat
Awwww you're probably right! LOL!! Nevermind, he gave me a nice cuddle for my pains!
Take care
x
Hi Talli Roland
Awww Charlie was a great help in helping me zen out about the whole thing. It was like "don't worry be happy"!
Oooh I got me a digi camera now so lots and lots and lots of Charlie pics on their way! Yay!
:-)
Take care
x
Hi Love Meow
Awww Charlie says "purrrrrr-meow!" to his hugs and kisses! He loves them!!
Take care
x
Hi Melody!!
Awwww the lovely Bunny!! Sending her tons more purrs, she is so lovely!
Oh please do play with the hamster!!
Take care
x
Hi Ann
Gosh, yes I really, really, really must email stuff to myself in the future!
I've given up trying to crack the code. I think it was meant to be lost and I'm meant to try harder this time! LOL!
take care
x
Awww Niki
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You are so sweet, thank you!
Take care
x
Old Kitty, I have a good friend who Knows Computers. I shall ask him if it's possible to get round your password protection--you never know, it might be something we can do.
I'm glad that Charlie is helping you keep things in perspective. He looks very comfortable with you now.
Twitter can be a wonderful thing. I asked about your password protection issue there just now, and have been told that it should be easy for you to get past the password: just Google "Word password tools" and you should find out how to do it.
Let me know if you can't manage to work it, and I'll ask for more detailed instructions.
Here's a link to an online tool you can use to recover your password:
http://www.freewordexcelpassword.com/
Fingers crossed.
Hi Jane!!
Awww thank you so much for trying!!!!
I did try and use these tools - they kind of pretend you can have the option of downloading a systems tool for free. You do and then they open your document - hooozah!! only to open just the first two lines and then a big advert comes up saying pay 29.99 dollars for the complete systems tool.
:-)
But thank you, thank you, thank you for trying you are a STAR for doing so!!!!!!!!!!!
Take care!
x
p.s Charlie is a star!!!!! Thank you for him too! :-)
xx
Hi Jane
Yes they do the same - you get so far and then they say you need to add this other tool (in freeword it's a decryption thingie! No idea - but again $29.99). What is this with $29.99?!
LOL!!!
But at least I know it can be done.
Thank you so so much!
Take care
x
All is not yet lost, Old Kitty.
Try opening your document in WordPad, rather than Word, as apparently this will often ignore the need for a password. You might find some extra odd characters in the file, but all your text will be there too.
If that doesn't work let me know, and tell me which version of Word and Windows you're using, as I have several followers on Twitter (I'm HPRW there) who might well be able to help you retrieve your work. They're all cringing at the misery of losing work, and are happy to help.
Oh, no! Hope you can figure it out.
Hi Jane Smith!
I tried opening it on WordPad but it just opened it as RTF. So I thought I'd then save it as word doc - maybe the RTF will be converted into a word doc. The icon has changed - e.g. from W (word) to Wordpad to W again but the text is still RTF!
The document was saved in Word 97.
Thanks for all your help!
x
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