Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

What the hell can I do?

32 replies

Swimmingiscancelled · 17/01/2021 17:43

I started a new job last week- it’s been really stressful with home schooling etc and I have been struggling.

On a Sunday evening I need to send a project to my boss for the whole team to work from next week - last week I messed this up and so it’s important I get it right this week. It is about 12 hours work.

I did it on our home computer... and was going to copy it across to the work network this evening.

DH has decided to mess about with the graphics cards and has killed the PC. Angry. He is trying to get it working again but I need to complete the project and send it by 8 ( it’s been left to the last minute as I’ve been doing child care every spare minute.

What the utter fuck can I do?

OP posts:
LaurieFairyCake · 17/01/2021 17:45

Why don't you have a work laptop? Totally unreasonable to be doing this on a home pc

PinkSnowAndStars · 17/01/2021 17:45

Hope your husband fixes it? I always email things to myself just in case (not helpful I know!)

I know nothing about computers so I can’t bring anything useful.

-Apparently limestone can help cover up a murder 😂

Veterinari · 17/01/2021 17:48

No help but why the fuck is your husband ducking around with the graphics card when you're working? Hmm
Why isn't he doing the childcare?

isitsafetocomeoutyet · 17/01/2021 17:49

Do you have a local Facebook group and ask for IT people who could help? Is there a customer service line for the computer? (My Mac had a fit last year but a very helpful woman from Apple sorted it on the phone in minutes)

Put out a call for help on social media from any computer minded friends?

Sorry. Going for practical stuff first.
Then read 'how to get away with murder' later.

Butterymuffin · 17/01/2021 17:50

Good bosses are aware that it's tough right now if you're homeschooling and also working. They must have hired you because you were capable so don't get too down about a run of bad luck at the start. 🤞that the computer is revived.

No help now but always back stuff like this up. I have learned this myself the hard way.

Can you look at a better split of childcare with your DH at least while you find your feet in the new job?

triceratops12 · 17/01/2021 17:53

You do an all nighter?

Original poster
Swimmingiscancelled · 17/01/2021 17:53

DH has been WFH all week with the kids so I take over when I get home...

He is a fucking IT professional ( so the home PC is actually a serious computer which makes working much quicker than the crappy work laptop...) I guess he just has to fix it...

OP posts:
QuarkIsGreat · 17/01/2021 17:54

Graphics card died on me 3 months ago in middle of urgent deadline so can sympathise. Phone or text a colleague and get info from alternative source, then start again on different pc?

Phone boss and explain you'll be late. If it was a critical project your boss is BU to not have backup plan if they know you're wfh with kids in a lockdown. If not a critical project don't stress, these things happen.

In future you need to backup once a day on alternative machine.

Original poster
Swimmingiscancelled · 17/01/2021 17:55

Next time I will plug the work lappy into the bigger screen- but I left the charger at work.

OP posts:
LittleLadyCece · 17/01/2021 17:58

If they gave you a works laptop then maybe time to get that out. Does it need to be in at 8 tonight or tomorrow morning OP?

Original poster
Swimmingiscancelled · 17/01/2021 17:58

Needs sent over this evening

OP posts:
Butterymuffin · 17/01/2021 17:59

Is there anyone you know you could borrow a laptop from? You could ring their bell and they could put it on the step for you for distancing purposes..

KatyaZamolodchikova · 17/01/2021 18:01

Wait, you have a work laptop, but didn’t do your work on it? Or even transfer the completed work to it? Why on earth not? I hope it wasn’t anything sensitive that’s being created and stored outside of the work networks. If you’d done it on the work laptop and something had gone wrong, the route to resolving it is also through work and much more manageable. I can’t think of any practical advise at all, if your IT professional husband can’t resolve it...

LaurieFairyCake · 17/01/2021 18:03

You poor thing Flowers

Your Dh is a bloody idiot

CatherinedeBourgh · 17/01/2021 18:05

If your dh is an IT professional he should be able to connect the hard drive to another computer so you can get your data back, surely.

LittleLadyCece · 17/01/2021 18:06

I'd be pretty annoyed at husband if that was me right now. No practical advice unfortunately other than if it was me I'd be calling the boss to explain the situation and just hope these past two issues are something they can see beyond.

SheldonesqueIsUnwell · 17/01/2021 18:07

I’d be bopping him over the noggin with the work lap top...

I wouldn’t really but I’d feel like it

Once he has retrieved your work.

Theunamedcat · 17/01/2021 18:09

Do you have auto backup on? Is it not saved in the cloud?

Calmandmeasured1 · 17/01/2021 18:14

Agree with @CatherinedeBourgh. He should be able to extract the hard drive from your home computer and plug it into your works computer (as an external hard drive) and copy the files across to it. You can then finish the work and send by 8 p.m.

Original poster
Swimmingiscancelled · 17/01/2021 18:17

Apparently the hard drive is encrypted...

OP posts:
Aquamarine1029 · 17/01/2021 18:18

Always, always back up your work on a flash drive, the cloud, whatever, but always back it up.

partyatthepalace · 17/01/2021 18:20

Hopefully he can fix it.

If he can’t, i guess you will have to redo over night - can you get hold of your work laptop charger to do that??

NoOneOwnsTheRainbow · 17/01/2021 18:21

It's only 6:15. There's still time to bury DH under the patio... Grin

Your DH sounds like he's clueless to be honest and not interested in trying to fix a really important problem for you because it doesn't matter to him. This site suggests you can just decrypt the hard drive (which is what I thought) during recovery, either using the encryption key (which anyone who knows what they are doing when encrypting a hard drive should have) or without it: recoverit.wondershare.com/harddrive-recovery/how-to-recover-data-from-encrypted-hard-drive.html#:~:text=To%20recover%20data%20from%20encrypted%20hard%20drives%2C%20you%20can%20select,on%20the%20%22Start%22%20button.

MessAllOver · 17/01/2021 18:25

Tell your boss it's going to be late due to computer issues but you'll send by 9am tomorrow morning.

I did a fair number of all nighters and almost all nighters (under 2 hours sleep) earlier in the year.

Don't lie down.
If you get tired, drink a large cup of cold (preferably with ice) water and walk up and down the stairs a few times or do some housework. Being active perks you up.
Break your time up into tiny chunks of time (10 minutes) and set yourself a target for that time. It's easy to lose focus when you're feeling tired and hopeless.
Limit the caffeine or you'll start buzzing.

Next weekend, your DH needs to deal with childcare on Saturday so you can get your work done in good time and avoid this stress.

Donotdelete · 17/01/2021 18:33

Be calm. Tell the truth. Apologise. You have done nothing wrong, these things happen.