Dear Bloggers,
If you ever had a
total computer system crash, count yourself lucky, because all the
gurus say it's not "IF" your computer is going to crash,
but "WHEN." Having had three crashes myself over the years,
I can confirm that statement. How well you prepare for this
inevitability will determine how stressful and costly the crash
experience will be.
When my computer’s
operating system was fried last week (and not even during the night
of Friday the 13th), I braced myself for the stress that was to
follow. My computer a laptop was only about three years old and was
probably killed accidentally during one of Microsoft's automatic
downloads in the middle of the night. The reason given on the "black
screen of death" I got the next morning was that perhaps I had
temporarily lost my cable Internet connection or the power had failed
momentarily during installation of an update or during the reboot.
(For that reason, I have now instructed Microsoft to download updates
to my computer in the middle of the night, but give me the option of
installing them when I choose.)
Not wanting to put any
money into a three-year old computer I'd bought refurbished to begin
with, I trekked over to Thrift shop the following Tuesday to see what
my options were. I was VERY happy to learn that I wasn’t going to
be stuck with Vista’s operating system, and that I could buy a LG
computer with a free “downgrade” to Windows XP Pro; further that
Microsoft would continue to supply critical updates for years to
come. (In fact, I was told they are still issuing critical updates
for Win 3.1.)
Coming back from a
computer crash is going to be stressful, no matter how you carve it.
But if you have prepared for a crash by taking steps to insure that
you have everything you need to get back up and running as quickly as
possible, your stress will be manageable. Then, your primary concern
will be the time it's going to take you to shop for a new computer
(if necessary) or reformat the drive and begin all over again to
reinstall the software programs you normally use, plus all the time
it will take to download the latest updates to the operating system,
browsers, software, etc. If you use Outlook as your email server, you
will need a current .PST backup file containing all your email
messages and contacts (see below).
Backing up and Restoring
Files
Getting all your documents
and files back on the computer again can be easy or difficult,
depending on what backup system you use and whether you back up files
regularly. The thing that gave me the most comfort when my computer
crashed was knowing that all my documents, website files, pictures,
music, and programs I had downloaded from the Web but did not have
CD-ROMs for were waiting for me on a remote site.
Outlook is the only fly in
the ointment (see below). Knowing how to back up Outlook and actually
doing it on a regular basis are two different things. It's easy to
"forget" to back up Outlook, even when you've got the
automatic backup program in place. I get busy and think I'll do it
tomorrow, and before I know it, it has been a week or more since my
last backup. I was lucky the last time my computer crashed in that I
lost only four days' email messages and whatever changes I had made
to my Contacts folder in that period. I’m now being very good at
backing up Outlook every other day at least, and especially when I’ve
got unanswered email messages in the Inbox at the close of day.
Tips for Getting
Everything Back Up Again
Before your computer
crashes, do these things:
1. MAKE A LIST of all the
software programs you have on your computer, which ones you have CDs
for, and which ones will have to be downloaded again. And keep all
your computer program disks together in a safe place, such as a
fireproof file drawer in your office, or in your safe deposit box.
(I've been amazed to learn how few computer users actually do this.)
If you buy a program that you download and then install from your
computer, make SURE you put that .exe file either in a folder that is
backed up to a remote location, or on a CD disk to be stored with
your other program disks.
Free programs such as
Adobe Reader, File Zilla, etc. can always be downloaded from the Web,
but you may need a reminder list to remember all that you want to
restore. For example, the last time my computer crashed, I had
forgotten that I had to download Microsoft’s "backup tool"
in order to get the backup option on the FILE button so I could make
regular backups of the .PST file. Now that file is in my downloads
folder, which is always backed up by Carbonite. (This Web page has
the download link to Microsoft's backup tool, along with instructions
on how to do regular backups.)
2. Even if you have a
current .PST (personal folders file) for your Outlook email and
contacts list, you will have to manually set up all your email
addresses again. This will be easy to do if you go into the settings
for each email address you have now, and then copy that information
into a document you can print and save. (Be sure to protect your
email passwords; you don’t want them in a document on your
computer.) If you regularly archive sent messages, you’ll need to
figure out how to save this file and restore it too, as it's not
included in the .PST file.
3. Always have a print copy of all your passwords and contact information for everything
related to those passwords. If you keep this information only on the
computer and you lose access to your hard drive, you’ll really be
up the creek without a paddle.
4. Id ther eare some document files you absolutely must have to keep your business going
in the event of a major computer crash, put those files on a CD that
can be used on another computer. For example, I'm an Amazon
Marketplace seller, and I normally include customized cover letters
with outgoing orders. When my computer crashed, I could temporarily
access my Amazon orders from a computer at the library, but I
couldn't include my usual package inserts because I didn't have a CD
backup of those important file folders I could use on my laptop.
Know Who to Call When You
Need Help
The thought of having to
haul the computer to a shop, wait for maybe days to get it back, and
then pay big bucks for the repair had me thinking I should just buy a
new computer and be done with it, even though my HP Compaq is only
three years old. Thankfully, the friend I called for help had
recently met a computer guru in my area, and when I called him, he
said not to worry; whatever the problem was, he could fix it, and I
certainly wouldn't need to buy a new computer.
It took three hours for
him to find all the bad stuff (much of which he said was just
"Microsoft crap") on my computer. Using several free and
very powerful shareware programs, he cleaned my Registry several
times as he removed this or that file, ultimately finding 956
Registry errors. After uninstalling my CA Internet Security program
and all the files it had left in the Registry (they did reverse my
credit card charge without question), he installed a powerful free
anti-virus program he said he had used for years with no problems.
After doing virus and malware scans and a defrag, my computer was
"blazing hot" and my Internet speed had doubled. My printer
was also printing pages so fast and with such power that they were
almost flying off the rack.
Finally, my new computer
friend, installed his powerful computer tools on my
computer so now I can easily and very quickly use them to do weekly
virus and malware scans of my hard drive and keep the Registry clean.
He also installed a defrag program (better than Windows') that runs
in the background all the time. He turned on my Windows' firewall
program, but agreed that I should download Zone Alarm's more powerful
(and free) firewall program for maximum security.
I urge you to look in your
own community for the kind of help Al is now giving me and have him
"on call" so you'll know where to get fast help when you
need it. If you happen to live in the Naperville, Illinois area,
visit Al's website. For me, finding him was like getting manna from
heaven. I highly recommend his services.
In Summary
If you’ve never had a
computer crash before, don’t assume that it can’t happen to you.
If my experience is any indication, a computer crash is going to come
when you least expect it, and preparing yourself for that
inevitability will make all the difference in how stressful and
costly the experience will be.
The Old Sailor,
