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Data Backup for Everyone

Everyone is dependent upon the data stored on their PC. There are family pictures, music, documents and more that are vital for our lives. The PC has replaced the old Secretary Desk that sat in the living room and contained all the family documents, the check book, and the bills to pay. Our dependence on the family PC and the data stored on it has seemingly sprung up out of nowhere. Panic ensues if any of this critical family data is lost.

Data loss fits into two categories, hardware failure or software/operator failure. When a disk drive fails, all data on it may be lost because of physical hardware failure. About 90% of the time data can be saved by installing the disk in another computer, running diagnostics to repair the disk as much as possible, and copying the data to another disk drive. In sometimes the failed drive can be imaged (duplicated) and the image used to restore the data, Windows, and application programs to a new disk. This disk drive with the image, when installed in the PC, completely restores it. In severe cases data can be retrieved by using special disk restoration services costing $1,000 and up.

Software/Operator failures happen when the application program just blows up or the operator makes a mistake and erases the critical data. Backup mechanisms that protect against hardware failure are ineffective against Software/Operator failures.

Further, people want data backups to be automatic so they do not want to consciously have to think about them.

Data files are separate from the programs themselves. For example pictures are .jpg files. These files are used by a variety of programs to display the picture or modify it. Some programs permit you to move forward but they prevent you from moving back. Word 2007 files (.DOCX) do not work with Word 2003 (.DOC). To use data in Word 2003, it must be “Saved As” a Word 2003 document.

New backup approaches work to cost effectively save data. External mirrored drives can be attached to any Windows PC or Server for around $300. There are external chasses (boxes) that mirror two SATA drives up to 1 TB (1,000 GB) capacity. Plug the drives in and they are mirrored. More importantly, these boxes attach to the Windows PCs using either super high speed eSATA or USB connections. The eSATA connection is as fast as or faster than most internal PC disk drives. If the Windows PC fails the data can be quickly moved to another PC. When a drive fails, the data from the drive mirror can be quickly copied to another drive. After the failed drive is replaced, the box automatically copies the data to the new drive and reestablishes the mirror. Hardware failure problems are solved.

Software to automatically back up data files on Windows PCs is not so easy to find because Windows blocks copying data files in use by other programs. Special backup software is needed or an operator can shut down the application, copy the data to the backup folder at the end of each day. A simple daily routine of copying data to a backup folder solves the Software/Operator failure problem.

Offsite data backup is important in case of disaster. Special Internet backup services use software to copy data to an Internet site that stores the data for you. These services charge by the month and by the amount of data backed up.

Finally, we have PBB. That is prayer based backup – one prays that nothing fails.
Link to The Top-Rated 5 Data Backup Systems

P. D. Moulton and Dial A Nerd, a local Columbia, Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland(MD) PC repair, computer repair, laptop computer repair, Wi-Fi network and wired LAN network configuration & repair, Windows XP repair, Windows Vista repair, Windows 7 repair, network server computer support, and virus & spyware removal. Dial-A-Nerd repairs PC (s), computers, networks, removes viruses & spyware and upgrades slow computers 24 hours a day 7 days a week. DialANerd provides immediate remote access as well as fixed price computer repair, network repair, virus & spyware removal services at its local Columbia, Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland(MD) repair shop. Repair completion is typically 24-hours to 48-hours. Dial A Nerd recovers hard disk data and saves your data. Each hard disk is tested for errors for free. Dial A Nerd makes a fixed disk image, recovers and saves your data for about a 90% of the desktop computer, laptop computer, and netbook PC (s) serviced. Dial A Nerd, a local Columbia, Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland(MD) repair business provides fast PC repair, computer repair, desktop computer repair, laptop computer repair, Wi-Fi network and wired LAN network configuration & repair, Windows XP repair, Windows Vista repair, Windows 7 repair, network server support, and virus & spyware removal services with a warranty. Dial A Nerd works on many PCs including Sony computers, Gateway computers, Hewlett Packard computers, Compaq computers, Toshiba computers, Emachines computers, Clone PCs, and Dell computers in the local Columbia, Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland(MD). The Dial A Nerd mission is delivering the best quality, affordable cost effective PC repair, computer repair, laptop computer repair, desktop computer repair, Wi-Fi network and wired LAN network configuration & repair, Windows XP repair, Windows Vista repair, Windows 7 repair, network server support, virus & spyware removal, home PC repair, printer configuration, PC - desktop computer - laptop computer - netbook computer performance optimization & speed up service. Homes and small businesses with limited IT service and IT support budgets in the local Columbia, Ellicott City, Howard County, Maryland(MD) hire Dial A Nerd.


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DialANerd
7146 Rivers Edge Road Columbia, MD 21044 US
Phone: 410-531-5890 Website: dialanerd.com