Backing Up Your Hard Drive
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Backing Up Your Hard Drive |
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Most home computers have only one hard drive. Because of this, almost every home computer is extremely vulnerable in the event something goes wrong with that drive. But what could go wrong? What can damage a hard drive, or the data and programs it contains?
Many things can happen to a hard drive. A power glitch can occur while data is being saved to it, corrupting the information. If the computer is shut down improperly, files on the hard drive can be damaged. Through human error, the hard drive can be accidentally formatted, resulting in the loss of every bit of data it contains. The computer's power supply can fail in such a way as to damage the drive. More often than not, however, the hard drive itself will fail, either mechanically or electronically.
The computer user is always surprised when it happens. Usually, the first sign is the computer failing to boot up. The user might see the infamous "Blue Screen of Death". Or the screen just remains dark, only the sounds of cooling fans to accompany the sinking realization that all of the data, the programs, and anything else of value on the hard drive is likely gone for good.
Can something be done to reduce or eliminate the damage that can occur when a hard drive fails? Yes, several things can be done, and they are relatively simple and inexpensive.
First, you must decide what you want to back up, what you want to preserve. Are you wanting retain only the data that is important to you? Or, do you want a complete backup that protects everything on the computer: the operating system, all your programs, and your important data and files?
Protecting only data is easily accomplished. It can be done with a USB flash drive or two, depending on how much data needs to be preserved. If you have more data than can be stored on flash drives, then portable hard drives that plug into a USB or Firewire port can be used. No special software is required to use either of these methods, but using backup software can automate the process, simplifying it and saving time.
If you wish to completely backup a computer system, this too can be done, although the process is a little more involved. But the advantage to a complete backup of a computer's hard drive is that the PC can be restored to its original, fully functional state, current to the point it was last backed up. The tedious, time consuming, and costly process of reloading the operating system, all of its updates, the various programs and applications, and the most important data files, can be avoided.
Complete backups require either a second internal hard drive be installed in the computer, or an external, portable drive attached through a USB or Firewire port can be used. Special software is also required to perform complete system backups, but there are several good packages available at reasonable prices.
At Your Service Computer Repair will be happy provide you with free advice on how to back up your computer system. If you desire, we can add internal or external hard drives to your computer, and install the necessary software to protect your valuable data. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at 541-981-9350, or by email at: sales@ayscr.com.
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