Prevent Data Loss! A Few Tips to Remember
Some people who use many different computers, computer applications, and hard drives over many years never have a data hard drive recovery situation to deal with. They seem to fly above the radar of computer meltdown. They may not even be computer or hard drive experts. How is this possible? What are they doing that the rest of us aren't? How can we prevent expensive, time consuming and emotionally draining computer data problems? Here are some basic tips:
* Make sure your computer is located in safe, dry and dust-free area. Responsible computer owners place their work stations in low-traffic, climate controlled areas which prevent physical damage and heat related issues.
* Back up your data regularly to an external hard drive is possible. If you backup to tape then be sure to verify that the backup actually happened by restoring the data off the tape and checking it. A recent study concluded that only 12% of the population backs up their data on a weekly basis.
* Take advantage of installation and diagnostic programs that offer "undo" disks. These can restore systems to their original configuration when you have a problem.
* Prevent power surges from destroying your computer! And be careful with this one - even low-level power bursts can erase hard drive data. Uninterrupted power supplies give some of the best protection from data hard drive recovery situations. So use a UPS on your computer but make sure to test it.
* Don't let static electricity erase data or damage hard drives. Extraneous Static Discharge (ESD) is becoming more and more of a factor with storage media. If you have a lot of static in your carpet try spraying some fabric softener on it
* If your disk drives makes any strange noises, skips a beat, hiccups or does anything out of the ordinary then backup it up immediately and have it checked. Everyone will have a hard drive failure at some point in time.
* Use virus, spyware and mal ware detection programs and keep them updated frequently. Viruses are still deadly to data. We use and recommend Panda Software for anti virus protection or the free version of AVG Anti-Virus.
* Always store your documents in more than one place. Most word processors save your files in the My Documents folder, which is OK as long as you have a copy somewhere else. Most virus or software failures affect the operating system, which causes everything on the drive to be inaccessible. Installing Using an external hard drive for backup is the solution. It will not be affected if the operating system is corrupted.
* Beware of email attachments - they can cause you to lose data. Set your email program to save attachments in a unique location so you don't over write something that is called the same thing.
* User error: Utilize features such as "versioning" and "tracked changes" in your word processor program.
* Always keep hard copies of your documents: It won't prevent you from typing and formatting your document again, but it's better than nothing.
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* Store copies of mission critical data off site utilizing a DVD, tape or USB stick.
