Two kinds of devices I use to backup my data are flash drives, aka thumb drives, and external hard disk drives (HDD). Both connect to any PC via a USB connector.
Flash drives usually come in sizes like 1GB, 2GB, 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, 32GB, and 64GB. The lower the capacity the lower the price. I would recommend at least a 4GB thumb drive for the average home user. If you are big into digital photographs AND music downloads, you may be pushing this technology. Check the size of your MY DOCUMENTS folder (right click on it and then click on PROPERTIES). Mine is 43GB. A recent customer's was 80GB! We are both rather unusual, and you may find yours is only in the single digits of GB. If the latter, then a thumb drive, appropriately sized, is fine for short-term usage.
For higher volumes and longer-term backup storage I would recommend an external HDD. These typically come in sizes like 250GB, 500GB. 750GB, and 1TB (terabyte = 1000GB). I have a Western Digital MYBOOK with a 1TB capacity, and I bought this for $199, but prices are coming down pretty fast, so look for the maximum capacity you can afford. I wouldn't worry too much about the brand, but if you have a question, give me a shout.
Whichever type you choose, you can use it (or them) on any machine with a USB port, so if you have multiple computers in your home, you can move the device from PC to PC and do your backups. In between, you can disconnect the device and even power it off (if external HDD). Thumb drives are always off and get their power from the USB connection when you plug it in.
Questions? Please write.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
What part of backup don’t you understand?
A lot of people are keeping me very busy these days. I have had at least 4 that I can remember whose machines have been attacked by what are now called "rogue" programs, rendering the machines unusable. These rogue programs, and the ones I have seen all seem to have a name in common (somewhat), have names which are variants of ANTISPYWARE2008 or 2009, ANTIVIRUS2008 or 2009, and ANTIVIRUSXPxxxx.
The first sign of these is a pop-up (the fact that you have pop-ups blocked on your system should be a clue that this is something radically wrong) asking you if you would like a free scan of your system, or words to that effect, and then after the FAKE scan they tell you that you have many serious problems with your machine. In fact the only real problem is that you are "listening" to them and doing what they say, some even going so far as to pay good money for their "solution".
Okay, it's bad enough that your system is rendered unusable and that you have to do a complete reinstall of the operating system or at least a REPAIR installation. You'll probably also have to reinstall all of the extra programs you have installed on your machine over the years. Where is the Microsoft Office CD and, even more basic, where is the Operating System CD set?
What keeps me in business is that so many of you are coming forward asking me to try to salvage your data on your hard drive because you have NO backups!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE back up your data, usually everything contained within your MY DOCUMENTS folder, but sometimes more, like your e-mail if you use Outlook or Outlook Express, or your Firefox Bookmarks or IE Favorites, and even, for some of you who keep data folders on your desktop, your desktop contents itself.
If you are a pro at burning CDs or DVDs, back up to them. If not, get yourself a large capacity thumb drive (I have an 8GB and a 4GB but will soon get a 16GB or even bigger) and use it.
The first sign of these is a pop-up (the fact that you have pop-ups blocked on your system should be a clue that this is something radically wrong) asking you if you would like a free scan of your system, or words to that effect, and then after the FAKE scan they tell you that you have many serious problems with your machine. In fact the only real problem is that you are "listening" to them and doing what they say, some even going so far as to pay good money for their "solution".
Okay, it's bad enough that your system is rendered unusable and that you have to do a complete reinstall of the operating system or at least a REPAIR installation. You'll probably also have to reinstall all of the extra programs you have installed on your machine over the years. Where is the Microsoft Office CD and, even more basic, where is the Operating System CD set?
What keeps me in business is that so many of you are coming forward asking me to try to salvage your data on your hard drive because you have NO backups!
PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE back up your data, usually everything contained within your MY DOCUMENTS folder, but sometimes more, like your e-mail if you use Outlook or Outlook Express, or your Firefox Bookmarks or IE Favorites, and even, for some of you who keep data folders on your desktop, your desktop contents itself.
If you are a pro at burning CDs or DVDs, back up to them. If not, get yourself a large capacity thumb drive (I have an 8GB and a 4GB but will soon get a 16GB or even bigger) and use it.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Ever wonder who owns a certain web site?
If you have ever wondered who owns a certain web site, you can find out easily and quickly. WHOIS is a web site maintained by Network Solutions. Just key in the url (address) of the web site in question, and you will soon know the owner.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Warehouse for Beginners Guides
After yesterday's post, I found the mother lode of Beginners Guides at pcstats.com. These may be quite technical, but you might just find one that apeals to your interests and which will work for you. It's worth a looksee anyway.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
