"I can't turn my computer on". The phone call that all computer troubleshooters or repair people will recognise.
If the power supply has simply failed, you all breathe a sigh of relief. Power supplies can be replaced, or the hard drive removed and read on another machine. Phew.
If the hard -drive has failed then it's a different story. Often the disc has been failing for weeks, if not months, and the user has just repeatedly restarted the machine, whilst maybe telling themselves that perhaps they should think of buying a new one. Once the hard-drive has become unusable it is difficult and sometimes impossible for a sensible price to retrieve the data stored on it.
How many people do you know who enjoy taking photos with their camera or phone and who store them all on their computer? What will happen to those photos if the computer is lost, stolen, damage or just simply breaks?
How many school and college students do you know who store their schoolwork on their laptop and/or a memory stick? How many memory sticks has your child lost? What will happen if your child's computer is stolen or lost? What will happen to their precious course work?
How many people do you know that run small businesses from home? How many store all their client information, orders and booking records on their laptop? Most won't have backup paperwork - many orders or enquiries are dealt with entirely online. If the business computer is stolen or damaged, what will happen to those business records?
I'm a computer troubleshooter and I know the answers to all the above questions from long experience. It's best summed up in a single word. Panic.
I regularly see clients who want to "tidy up" the filing system on their computers. I had just such a client today, which is why I'm writing this. She had most of her photos on DVDs, so she was going to delete them from her computer. I remained calmed and explained that this wasn't a good idea.
Backups. I'll say that again. Backups. Everyone needs them and you can't have too many.
What Backup isn't
Backing up your computer data doesn't mean copying it to a DVD, external hard-drive or memory stick and removing it from your computer. That isn't a backup - you only have one copy of the data. DVDs, memory sticks and external drives can break, get lost or stolen.
What Backup is
Backup means having at least two copies of your data, and preferably more. Then if one copy is lost, stolen or strays you have another copy to fall back on.
What will you do if your computer is lost, stolen or damaged along with it's accompany backup media? Many people keep their backups in their laptop bag, computer desk or office computer drawer.
If the whole lot disappears you are in trouble.
There is a solution to this. Use a remote backup service. An online, external, off-site backup service that stores all your precious documents in a remote location. You can access your stored data from any computer, anywhere at any time. So if your own computer dies, is destroyed or stolen you have peace of mind, knowing that your data is safe.
I practice what I preach and I don't think I would sleep at night if I didn't know that my computer is being constantly backed up to my online backup service.
If the power supply has simply failed, you all breathe a sigh of relief. Power supplies can be replaced, or the hard drive removed and read on another machine. Phew.
If the hard -drive has failed then it's a different story. Often the disc has been failing for weeks, if not months, and the user has just repeatedly restarted the machine, whilst maybe telling themselves that perhaps they should think of buying a new one. Once the hard-drive has become unusable it is difficult and sometimes impossible for a sensible price to retrieve the data stored on it.
How many people do you know who enjoy taking photos with their camera or phone and who store them all on their computer? What will happen to those photos if the computer is lost, stolen, damage or just simply breaks?
How many school and college students do you know who store their schoolwork on their laptop and/or a memory stick? How many memory sticks has your child lost? What will happen if your child's computer is stolen or lost? What will happen to their precious course work?
How many people do you know that run small businesses from home? How many store all their client information, orders and booking records on their laptop? Most won't have backup paperwork - many orders or enquiries are dealt with entirely online. If the business computer is stolen or damaged, what will happen to those business records?
I'm a computer troubleshooter and I know the answers to all the above questions from long experience. It's best summed up in a single word. Panic.
I regularly see clients who want to "tidy up" the filing system on their computers. I had just such a client today, which is why I'm writing this. She had most of her photos on DVDs, so she was going to delete them from her computer. I remained calmed and explained that this wasn't a good idea.
Backups. I'll say that again. Backups. Everyone needs them and you can't have too many.
What Backup isn't
Backing up your computer data doesn't mean copying it to a DVD, external hard-drive or memory stick and removing it from your computer. That isn't a backup - you only have one copy of the data. DVDs, memory sticks and external drives can break, get lost or stolen.
What Backup is
Backup means having at least two copies of your data, and preferably more. Then if one copy is lost, stolen or strays you have another copy to fall back on.
What will you do if your computer is lost, stolen or damaged along with it's accompany backup media? Many people keep their backups in their laptop bag, computer desk or office computer drawer.
If the whole lot disappears you are in trouble.
There is a solution to this. Use a remote backup service. An online, external, off-site backup service that stores all your precious documents in a remote location. You can access your stored data from any computer, anywhere at any time. So if your own computer dies, is destroyed or stolen you have peace of mind, knowing that your data is safe.
I practice what I preach and I don't think I would sleep at night if I didn't know that my computer is being constantly backed up to my online backup service.
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