Back up, back up, back up! Those words haunt me, but will become part of my lexicon and daily routine from this day forward. But, I digress. I had never been to the store in Manhasset before so I Googled it to see exactly where to turn off Northern Blvd. to get there. What I hadn't counted on was all the reviews published online about the store in general and that location in particular. It was more than a little off-putting to read things like, "the rudest people you'll ever meet," "it's worth driving a littler further to get to ______________," "I got it back with a cracked screen," and "all they wanted to do is sell me another computer."
I almost regretted my decision to go there, and here I was pinning all my hopes on the geniuses at the genius bar. My life was trapped inside that computer and I feared I would watch it flushed away, along with whatever ailed my Mac. I started wondering where I would get the money to replace it with the latest version of something. I also knew I would no longer have the blind faith that I was in safe hands because it was after all, Apple.
I arrived, late on a sunny afternoon, early enough to have time to kill. A quick walk through Crate And Barrel to pass the time and calm my nerves did nothing to quell the anxiety building in 
me so I headed off to the Apple Store. I finally signed in and was seated at the end of the "bar" waiting my turn. On the huge screen above me were some Apple tips that ran in a loop, offering something of interest. I learned a few things I didn't know about the capabilities of my devices, including the ability to input your own shortcuts into your phone and the ease of changing text to bold, italic, etc.
The geniuses at work, helping other people, seemed knowledgeable, helpful and not the slightest bit rude. I was beginning to have hope. At long last, my turn. My genius, by the name of James, looked so much younger than the others. Would he have the same expertise, I wondered. I needn't have worried. He came in like a physician in the E.R., calm, cool and intent on hearing my tale of woe. When he plugged in and began the diagnostic process, there, hidden behind the gray screen were all my things, perceived to be lost.
Sadly, try after try, he was unable to get into anything. The same wonky messages were coming to him that I started receiving that fateful Thursday night. It appeared there was no hope at all of retrieving that which was lost. James walked away for a few minutes while his system continued doing its thing. When he came back, miracle of miracles, my computer in its last moments of life coughed up its secrets, and with the external hard drive I'd just purchased the backup began.
In the end, we don't know for certain what caused the catastrophic failure. At first James thought it could be cable related, a hard drive failure, or software related. Looks like software was the culprit, but I may never know for sure. What I do know, and probably all that matters is my data is safe. I lost all the programs I had installed that were not directly from the Apple Store but that seems a small price to pay, considering the magnitude of the issue. If it happens again, I'll be better prepared.
Oh, and a side lesson, don't believe everything you read on the internet. Those "reviews" that we all live and die by, they just may have no relevance. Were I to write one for the company, or the Apple Store I went to in Manhasset, NY, or James, my genius, it would have been nothing but positive. Every hard working person I encountered was helpful and pleasant in the process. I came away with a renewed faith in all things Apple.
Comments (11)Subscribe to CommentsComment