The Road to Recovery
Most computers purchased today come with a restore
CD or have a set-up program that prompts the user to produce a restore CD. The purpose of
these discs is to enable the user to bring the computer back to life in the event of a
hard drive failure or system crash.
Unfortunately, the cure may be worse than the
disease. Using a restore CD is not like rebooting your computer. The restore program
restructures the hard drive to its original configuration at the time of purchase;
therefore, all of your files and settings will be destroyed.
More Than Just Data Loss
In a perfect world, a hard drive crash or an
operating system meltdown would not be a problem: computers are always new, the original
software disc is still available and office backup routine is meticulous. In the real
world, however, computers are often old, discs containing original programs are misplaced,
and backup routines are seldom adhered to.
There are many other considerations that are not
obvious until an issue arises that requires the computer to be restored.
Consider:
• All
backup files will need to be restored to the hard drive
• Software
that was pre-installed on the computer may have been included on the restore CD. If so,
the computer must be restored to its factory settings, even if only one program is
required
• The
installation media or files may have been lost; replacement media or the original download
link may no longer be available, i.e. software that was downloaded from the Internet will
need to be located, downloaded and re-installed.
• New
software may have to be purchased. This may be an issue if the application requirements
are greater than what is supported by the older machine. For example, the new software may
not be compatible with an older operating system, or the computer may not provide enough
memory, free hard drive space or a fast enough processor.
• All
personalized settings will need to be re-created, including Internet bookmarks, desktop
shortcuts, and security preferences.
• If you use a local e-mail client such as
Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, your address book may have been lost unless backed
up.
• Most
operating system vendors regularly release security updates. It can take a considerable
amount of time to download and install all of these patches at once. You may need to
restart your PC several times before it is fully updated.
Avoid Saving Data on the C: drive
Saving your documents on the C: drive is like
putting all of your eggs in one basket. Doing so ties the safety of your data even more
closely to the stability of your operating system. Many computer manufacturers split the
hard drive into multiple partitions, or logical drives. Inside your computer, there may be
only one physical hard drive; however, from within Windows you may see two or more logical
drives, such as C: and D:. Windows may be installed on your C: drive; however, you may
store documents on your D: drive. If the Windows installation becomes corrupted, you may
be able to reformat and re-install the C: partition, thereby leaving your data intact on
the D: partition.
If your computer did not come with more than one
partition, i.e. if you do not see additional hard drives in the "My Computer"
window, you can create new partitions if you have enough free hard drive space.
Third-party partition software such as PartitionMagic is available to make this task very
easy. If your new or second partition is assigned the letter D:, E: or F:, for example,
then that is where you should save your data.
Utility Software
Utility software, in this context, is an
application installed on your computer to help protect your data from deletion, or recover
it in case of accidental deletion.
Several recovery applications are available; some
products even allow the prospective buyer a free trial period. Naturally, each product has
its own framework for data recovery but in general, the features offered may allow
recovery of:
• Recently
saved data
• Files
from deleted or formatted hard drives
• Data
that has become inaccessible as a result of operating system corruption
Common Sense
Software applications can sometimes recover lost
data, but not if the hard drive has been severely damaged. Furthermore, if your computer
or hard drive is lost or stolen, a recovery program isn't going to help.
Users should:
• Ensure
that a regular backup routine is followed
• Test
the backup medium to guarantee that the data stored is recoverable
• Whenever
possible purchase each operating program CD/DVD
• Update
applications on a regular basis
• Backup
downloaded application installers that are not part of your regular business applications
onto CD/DVDs
• Establish
a working relationship with a computer consultant
• Never
purchase or download unlicenced or pirated software
• Maintain
all receipts, customer codes, passwords and contact numbers for each software product
Recovery programs supplemented with data and
program storage ensure peace of mind in the event of a system meltdown. Being prepared for
a disaster will allow operations to return to normal quickly and ensure that the negative
effect on the bottom line is minimized. |
