Issue 7.10
I often get a call from someone needing help that goes something like this:
“Hi,my computer quit working. Should I just bring the hard drive over to you to look at?”
I then have to ask a number of questions and do a little bit of teaching so that people know that the hard drive is a small (usually about 4 inches wide by 6 inches long by 3/4 inch high) black and silver metal box that is inside the computer. The computer is the main (large) box that holds all the other components and the monitor is the screen. If you know these terms and use them correctly it will help your technician understand what you need more quickly and correctly.
The hard drive is where all the important stuff is stored. This includes your operating system (such as Windows) your programs (like word processors,graphics programs,games,etc) and most importantly,your data (such as your pictures,letters,family history,etc.) The reason that I am continually harping on making sure you have a backup is that the hard drive is a mechanical device and they eventually fail. The data disks inside these boxes run at very high speeds (usually 7200 revolutions per minute). While they usually run smoothly,you can imagine how quickly everything can be ruined at those speeds if something goes wrong.
Hard drives usually last from three to six years and many will last 10 years or more before breaking down. If there are any flaws however,your hard drive can fail even during the first year.
For anything important,I have two backups. The first is either on a second hard drive inside the computer or on an external hard drive that typically plugs into your USB port. This gives you a solid measure of security and is fairly inexpensive. 250 Gigabyte Hard Drives typically are less than $100,and 2 Terrabyte Drives (2000 Gigabytes) are available in the $150-$200 range. The second backup I recommend is the online streaming backup.
Online backup services (such as Mozy and Carbonite) are fairly easy to install and they run in the background,not usually interfering with your use of the computer. They work by copying your files to a encrypted computer at a remote location. The encryption keeps anyone else from being able to look at your files. These programs default to backing up only your documents file,email and a few other basics. In both cases you can specify that you want more (or less) files backed up –even up to backing up all the files on your hard drive. These services usually cost about $5 per month and can really save you headaches in the event of a crash.
I hope that nothing like that ever happens to you. However,be prepared – and always have a backup of anything important.
Shaun McCausland has been in the computer industry for 28 years (locally with Musicomp &Bits ‘N’ Bytes) and currently does in-home and on-site computer consultation,service,training and repair. If you have questions,you can reach him at 668-7118.
