In reply to HB9ZAP:
If the log files have been lost, can I just reming everyone that obviously I am on 49,998 activator points 
John
In reply to HB9ZAP:
I think the data must still be in there somewhere, when I look at the summit info it correctly lets me know which ones I have chased.
73,
Colin.
In reply to G1STQ:
If the log files have been lost, can I just reming everyone that
obviously I am on 49,998 activator points
Itās your fault then! The server couldnāt handle the the size of your log.
Steve
Rest assured, the data is safe. Probably all of it, but if not (worst case scenario) then most of it. It might be necessary to re-enter data from just before the outage, but we are only talking days here.
Stay cool folks.
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
Stay cool folks.
Good advice Tom, I just turned my heating off it is far to warm here.
I wonder how many people will start backing up their logs on a regular basis, when we are back up and running? The data is safe but the idea that it might not be is a scary prospect. We should all learn from this. Now folks when did you last back-up your PC and do you keep a separate back-up of your station log?
In reply to GW7AAV:
Perhaps itās time to be smug and ask with a cheeky Frankie Boyle type grin:
Donāt you back up your database entries by downloading the CSV file on a frequent and regular basis?
My CSV log download is current to 21/02/2010. The recent paper logs are sat by the PC.
The one thing I have learned about data and computers since I first punched a paper tape BASIC program for a PDP-8E in 1973 is thisā¦
Stuff you wish would disappear (things you said online but now regret) will be retrievable till hell freezes over and things that you really value, like logs and photos etc., will get erased or damaged or just not load anymore. So it makes sense to backup stuff you value and not rely on others and also to think before you hit return.
I do one of those things more than the other! 
Andy
MM0FMF
In reply to MM0FMF:
in other words, computers are intended to solve problems we wouldnāt have without them
73 Bernhard DL4CW
In reply to DL4CW:
Hope they donāt find out that they want to try out new software next time I am flying with Airbus 320. Prefer to have this problem instead. I am one of the very few who did not obtain a backup of my chaser log.
Last backup 20090602.
All activator log is on text files so all ok.
We should use the nice wx to activate and chase. Soon systems will be up and all be fine. ( We all take backup first week but after some weeks all is normal= no backup.In systems I trust)
To all voluntary Sota workers I send my tanks for all they do for us all.
They must have bad time now , so let us not hurry them to much.
73 de LA1KHA Kjell
before you hit return
Andy, you are showing your age! I was teaching a maths lesson in a computer room the other week, and a pupils were asking me why their spreadsheet formulas werenāt responding after entering a value. āJust press returnā came my reply, and they looked at me like I was an alien. āReturn. Press returnā I reiterated. Nothing. Not a clue. I later discovered that they only know the button as āEnterā and you probably have to be 35 or over to have ever known it as āreturnā!
Then there was the time I asked a Year 7 class what was currently top of the hit paradeā¦
Tom M1EYP
In reply to M1EYP:
The database has been down for a long time now and you donāt seem to be making much progress on getting it fixed.
Is there anything we can do to help?
I know it has been a few years since you were saying: āover sexed, over paid and over hereā. but it looks like we are needed again!
Larry W8VKO
In reply to M1EYP:
āReturn. Press returnā I reiterated. Nothing. Not a clue. I later discovered that they only know the buttong as āEnterā and you probably have to be 35 or over to have ever known it as āreturnā! <<<
Haw! Tom, am I gettimg old? I still know that key as ! :-)))
(For the members of the younger generation, who have never seen a typewriter: CrLf = Carriage return, Line feed!)
----*
In reply to G0HJQ, Gary:
Hopefully everything should be back to normal in the next day or two. Sorry for the inconvenience. <<<
Okā¦ But as we have been experiencing this inconvenience some 2 weeks ago, Iād like to know, when does this ānext day or twoā starts??? 
JĆ³ska, HA5CW
In reply to MM0FMF:
Donāt you back up your database entries by downloading the CSV file on a frequent and regular basis?
I have a foolproof plan for backing up the CSV file.
1/ Enter the activations/chases into the database
2/ Read what I just typed
3/ Shout āOh bother!ā or some other expletive
4/ Download the CSV
5/ Correct my mistakes
6/ Upload the corrected CSV
7/ Rinse and repeat as necessary
I use Winlog32 for my logs and it is automatically backed up over the network
to the HDD on Helenās PC when I shut it down. Everything is backed up to a 2TB portable drive from time to time. Most of my photographs are also uploaded to Flickr and important documents usually end up on various thumb drives so I can use them with the laptop or netbook when away from home. I do not keep a paper log as such but I think I am pretty much covered. I use a notebook to write down details of contacts both in the shack and on the hills, inputting data as soon as I can after the contact.
I sometimes think before hitting return but it makes life so much more interesting if you donāt. It is usually nice and pleasant on here but I do miss the odd flame war on the old newsgroups of old. They were fun if you had a thick skin. I guess that stuff will still be around when hell freezes over and I might have to pay the price come judgement day.
Steve
In reply to HA5CW:
Okā¦ But as we have been experiencing this inconvenience some 2 weeks
ago, Iād like to know, when does this ānext day or twoā
starts???JĆ³ska, HA5CW
If this question could be answered, Joska, it would have been posted here before you asked it. I am no expert, but the difficulty of getting everything working again can be judged by the fact that Gary reports that he spent 8 hours on it yesterday after getting home from a full days work on his regular job.
Iām afraid that undoing the damage and getting things working again is a difficult and time-consuming job, and until the last problem is discovered and sorted all we can say is that it will be done when it is done. The MT are active in SOTA, too, and are suffering the same inconvenience, it is in everybodies interest that the problem be sorted, and it WILL be sorted. We just have to be patient and not add to the difficulty of the job by jogging Garyās elbow and asking for frequent progress reports.
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to GW7AAV:
I use Winlog32 for my logs and it is automatically backed up over the
network
to the HDD on Helenās PC when I shut it down. Everything is backed up
to a 2TB portable drive from time to time.
Iām sure thatās a lot better than average but thereās still a residual risk if all of these devices are in the same building. For data you care about thereās nothing to beat offsite backup, and to be effective it really needs to work entirely automatically. Fortunately if you have a half decent broadband connection it is now easy and cheap.
For information, Iām using two schemes:
-
Microsoft Live Mesh (https://www.mesh.com/). This is really intended for synchronising multiple machines, but as a side effect, a copy of your data is held remotely. You can have 5GB free of charge, and it all works very smoothly; once installed the synchronisations just happen.
-
Carbonite online backup (http://www.carbonite.com/). This isnāt free, but if you have a lot of data I think it is excellent value for money as you get unlimited storage for your subscription (and as far as I can tell they really mean it). Again it all just works; once it is set up the backups happen all by themselves. A huge advantage over some schemes is that if you corrupt a file, you can go back to an earlier version - there is nothing worse than finding that all of your backups contain the same badness! You can have a free trial but there are mutual benefits if you are recommended by an existing user, so feel free to drop me a note if you would like a referral. Iām on qrz.com.
Iām sure there are many other similar services but these are just the ones Iāve tried and found to work well. I also tried the scheme that comes for free with my VirginMedia connection, but it seems very slow and a bit of a resource hog, so I gave up on it.
Martyn M1MAJ
Hey Web Dudes
What are the chances Iām gonna have a working link to sign up all the new chasers weāre gonna get this weekend? Maybe? Percentage or fractional odds acceptable.
In reply to KI6J:
Looks like its back on line here.
In reply to G1INK:
Here too. Sean M0GIA
In reply to M0GIA:
And faster, too!
73
Brian G8ADD
In reply to M0GIA:
Ah, an old friend is back.
I know itās taken a while but Iād like to thank Gary and everyone else who has been working in the background.
Considering thereās probably a few people hammering on the server now downloading their logs, entering new data etc. then the new server appears to be substantially faster than the previous one.
And all my data is still there, just as I expected it would be.
Andy
MM0FMF
Yes we all owe him a beer (or three) and yes the database on the new host (it got fixed and moved) does seem faster here too.
Details to follow but there is still work to be done and uploads of new Associations for the 1st May.
73 Marc G0AZS