So I had a bit of a mishap while working on our Citrix system late at night. I was trying to rename some backup files to roll back a bad update, but I forgot to enable the 'Show File Name Extensions' option, which is usually off by default on our Citrix VMs. As a result, I accidentally renamed MyBackup.exe to MyBackup.20250617.exe, and then back to MyBackup.exe.exe because I couldn't see the extensions. This caused some duplicate processes when the application restarted, leading to about 120 minutes of downtime over the past week. I'm a senior tech with 20 years of experience, but of course, I feel pretty dumb about this! Given that this is my first offense, how worried should I be about this mistake? Also, can anyone suggest a better way to handle backups? Maybe I need to start scripting these processes instead of manually renaming files at 2 AM?
5 Answers
Fired? Not a chance. You'll probably get some lighthearted ribbing, but we all mess up sometimes. Just learn from it and try not to repeat the same mistakes!
Man, we've all been there! Once I deleted an entire SQL record instead of just changing a field. Talk about a mess! It's easy to slip up, especially when you're working with things not originally built by you.
Honestly, don’t stress too much. Just fix it and keep quiet unless asked. Mistakes happen! If you notice it before anyone else does, you’ll probably be in the clear. Just keep it transparent; it's better than trying to cover it up like some others have done recently.
It's hard to gauge how fired you should be without knowing the full scope of damage, but those types of mistakes happen to everyone. Personally, I always show hidden files and extensions right away when working on Windows. It’s just a standard practice for me, but I totally get it—2 AM brain can lead to some slip-ups!
Yeah, I usually do that too, but the late-night fog is real! It's good that the impact wasn't too severe, at least.
20 years in tech and you still make rookie mistakes like this? That's what we call a 'senior moment'! Welcome to that club; it happens! Maybe consider passing off the late-night tasks to someone less seasoned, haha!
LOL, I will! I might need to start transitioning into project management soon. Thanks for the laugh!
True, but with recent firings over cover-ups here, I’ll have to tread carefully. Just want to keep my record clean!