One day last week, I logged on to my computer as usual, at 5 a.m. (“06880” gets up early.)
Instead of the familiar image I’d seen every day for several years, I was greeted with something quite different.
It wasn’t the Blue Screen of Death. But it might as well have been.
Chrome had disappeared. I was prompted to install Microsoft Edge as my default browser.
I could log on. But everything was gone: All my emails. All my documents. All my photos.
My entire online life — which, sadly, is about the same as my real life — had vanished into some (I feared) irretrievable corner of cyberspace.
The more I tried to make sense of it all, the more my computer threw me indecipherable curveballs.
Why would I want to open, randomly, Dropbox? Or Skype, which I haven’t used since Zoom became a thing?
I searched for “restore computer to earlier date.” The instructions worked fine — until they didn’t.
“No restore date available,” the box reported matter-of-factly. Sure enough, the only date it listed was that same day.
Normally, I would contact my go-to tech guru/genius/psychiatrist, Jamie Berger Katz.
But it was (by now) 5:30 a.m. Way too earlier to call her, unfortunately. (Though I did consider it. And more than briefly.)
I texted instead. “Mayday! Mayday!” I said. Then, to impart extra urgency, I described the situation — a computer version of “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.”
Jamie Berger Katz
But terror-filled questions blasted my brain. What happens if Jamie likes to sleep in? What if she is on vacation, in some place like Tenerife? How long should I reasonably expect to wait to hear back — and what if she never calls?
So I did what any normal person does in that situation.
I turned to Facebook.
On the Westport Front Porch page, I described my dilemma. I sought a calm but urgent tone, yet probably came across as teetering on a ledge (with one foot already off).
I urged/pleaded anyone with any expertise to please call.
It was 5:45 a.m. Though Facebook never sleeps, most Westporters do. My hopes were low.
At 6:30, Jamie texted me. She was happy to help!
I described all the weird stuff. She listened.
Then she said, “Take a deep breath. You’ll be okay.”
She had one request. She wanted to have her morning coffee, before tackling my case.
Of course!
I would have been happy to bring her coffee, if she wanted it. I would have made her breakfast too. But she was good.
Soon enough, Jamie called back. Through the magic of technology, she sent a link that gave her power over my screen.
I watched, impressed, as the cursor moved magically up and down. Upon commands from a few miles away, new screens opened, then closed.
“Somehow, everything is in a TEMP file,” Jamie announced. “Your computer doesn’t recognize it’s you. We’ll get it back to where it does.”
That sounded good. Of course, “we” was really “she.” I was just along for the ride.
In fact, I felt like a rider in a driverless car. Also, a patient awake during brain surgery.
Throughout it all, Jamie reassured me. “Everything is here. You haven’t lost anything. It’s all good.”
(I do back everything up on Carbonite. But I still wanted that stuff here, not in some cloud — which, I know, is not even an actual cloud.)
Soon enough, Jamie’s magic was done. “We” restarted my computer. The familiar log-in screen appeared. In a few seconds, so did my regular Chrome browser.
Everything was there. My thousands of photos. My tens of thousands of documents. My millions of emails.
Whenever anyone posts a request for computer help on Facebook, Jamie Berger Katz’s name comes up.
I’ve used her often, in non-emergency situations. She’s never failed me.
Apparently, many other Westporters love her as much as I do.
So — for many very selfish, but nonetheless valid — reasons, Jamie Berger Katz is this week’s Unsung Hero.
And if you’re ever in need of your own hero, you can find her at 203-984-3834; jbkatz@gmail.com, and/or click here. Her company name is Personalized Tech Support.
But wait! There’s a second Unsung Hero this week.
In the middle of my conversation with Jamie, I got a call from Sam Disraelly.
He’s with Your Tech Department (the name of his Wilton-based cybersecurity company), and he was very concerned.
I told him I was already in good hands.
His hands, it seems, are also quite good.
Not only was he willing to help — he followed up.
Twice. Just to see how I was doing.
I’m doing fine, now.
I am happily joyfully gleefully back on my computer, which looks just like it did before.
So I’d like to add Sam Disraelly to Jamie Berger Katz, and honor both as Unsung Heroes of the Week.
(Unsung Hero is a weekly “06880” feature. To nominate a hero, email 06880blog@gmail.com. To support our work, please click here. Thank you!)
