You Should Talk

Have You Protected Yourself From Potential Data Loss

Posted April 30th, 2009 by admin

We would all like to think that we are immune to a system failure and that our trusty computers will just keep on going without a hint of a problem. Sadly regardless of whether you’re are a home or business user, systems are prone to boot up failures and these often result in unexpected data loss of varying degrees.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing and if you have ever experienced a data loss in the past you will at least have at the very least a modicum of experience to guide you. But that said there are many signs of impending system failure so what symptoms should you be on your guard against?

Your computer appears to be starting normally but fails to present the log in window: Typically this can be put down to a number of different causes that could be either hardware or software centric. What this means is that it may be a mechanical problem such as a hard drive failing, or could be one of your drivers failing or a corrupt system file. Starting in safe mode may help but not always.

Your computer loses its zing and starts to feel very jaded and slow: This could be the result of hard drive fragmentation which can be rectified, or could be a more serious operating system problem. The potential for data loss is possible in both scenarios and the most serious operating system problems are best dealt with by doing a totally clean OS install.

Viruses, trojans and malware: Unless you are sat behind the strongest firewalls known to man, or are not connected to the internet or share any files then your computer will always be at the risk of data loss due to these rogue programs. In extreme cases the only rectifiable solution is a totally fresh install.

OK so you have been unlucky and have suffered from the worst potential problem, your system is dead and the only option left is to reinstall your operating system. So how could you have avoided data loss?

The answer to preventing data loss is incredibly simple: backup, backup, backup. You would however be simply amazed at how many computer users at home or work fail to follow this simple protocol when backup today is so simple.

External hard drives can be purchased in most computer shops now days and a quick search online for online backup will also give you a number of remote back up options.

So what can you do if the worst has happened to you? One simple technique that has helped thousands of people recover data that would otherwise be at risk due to the unpredictability of the reinstall process is to use a USB caddy and hook the drive in question up to a fully working, (and fully protected) machine.

You can find more great advice on data recovery and in particular for businesses raid data recovery here.

Tags: Data Backup, Data Recovery, Online Backup