Greetings Scott!    

 

Yikes, Ike! 

I was without electricity for 12 days of darkness after Hurricane Ike.  I have a renewed thanksgiving for windows - the windows that let air into my house!

And of course, I have thanksgiving for Microsoft Windows, which brings the World Wide Web to each of our desktops.  Yet Windows causes so many problems that I am in the business of making Windows make sense.  

I am thankful to have survived Ike with minimal damage and to be back providing PC Support On Site and to have customers and friends like you.  If you are reading this, you can be thankful that you have electricity and email, and that Windows is working!

During Ike I learned that my Business Disaster Plan only lasted for a few days.  I had  backed up my data onto my backup PC, but without electricity in my office, I had to rely on my laptop PC which didn't contain my accounting and customer database programs.  My backup was useless! 

Ike taught me about living without lights and to be thankful for windows.  I also learned that a good backup is one that gets you BACK UP and running even during a disaster.

This 4th issue completes the first year of The LifeRing from PC S.O.S. and focuses on backing up your data.

Enjoy The LifeRing, Autumn 2008!

Scott A. Goss

 

Sounds funny, doesn't it?  But its true: many people do not know where all their data are.  

For most users, I recommend that you store all of your data in your Documents folder.  Your Pictures, Music and Videos should all be stored here in their separate folders.   Then you can simply backup your Documents folder. 

In Windows Vista, your Pictures, Music and Videos are stored outside of your Documents, so you need to backup your User folder. 

Your accounting and database software should be configured to store data in separate folders inside your Documents or User folder.

I don't recommend storing files on the Desktop.  Instead, create a Shortcut on the Desktop to point to a file that is stored in your Documents folder.  Otherwise, you need to backup your Desktop. 

Don't forget to backup your Internet Favorites (Bookmarks).  Both the Desktop files and Internet Favorites are stored in hidden folders in XP, and in your User folder in Vista.

If you use Outlook, Outlook Express or Windows Mail, your email and contacts are stored in hidden folders and should be backed up.

If you use AOL, Hotmail or Yahoo, your email is stored on the Internet so you do not need to back it up. 

Finally, don't forget to backup any important data that is stored in the Shared Documents folder in XP, or the Public folders in Vista.  If you have multiple users on a PC, remember to backup the data in each user's folders.

Contact me to find out where all your data are and how to back them up before 2009!