In this article...

Here are ten tips on how to reduce the chances of accidentally losing your data. This article gives a bit of info on the following methods.

• Anti-Virus Software
• Uninteruptable power supplies (in case of a power cut)
• Keeping your PC dry, dust-free and in the shade
• Repairing your PC
• Over tweaking your PC
• Storing your data off site
• Avoiding moving a computer when on
• Avoid sharing your files with people you don't know
• Maintaining your hard drive
• Spotting the signs that your PC is unstable

 by: Jowyne Leong

Prevention is always better cure. In order to avoid data loss situation, you could observe the following steps:

1. Use an Anti Virus software and keep it updated

Antivirus is designed to protect you and your computer against malicious computer virus. Some virus infections can delete, modify your data secretly and cause your computer to crash. So be sure to update your Antivirus software with the latest patch and signature files for maximum security.

2. Protect against power surges with an UPS

An uninterruptible power supply protects your computer and data during a power surge or failure. The spare battery in the UPS gives you ample time to save your documents and shut down Windows properly so that you don't lose any files or damage any hardware components.

3. Keep your machine in a dry, shaded and dust-free area

Never leave your computer near places where it is directly exposed to rain, sun or humidity. Such conditions have the tendency to cause rusting and damage to your hardware parts.

4. Do not attempt to repair or open up your computer without assistance

Without experience, you may damage the circuit boards, hardware components and worst of all, receive a nasty electric shock! Always consult an expert.

5. Do not over-tweak your system

Avoid modifying your system registry or overclock your hardware to yield performance boost unless you're absolutely sure of what you're doing. You don't wish to fry your computer.

6. Store your backups at an off-site location

This helps to protect your backup from damage in case of a fire or disaster.

7. Avoid moving your computer when it is in operation

You definitely would not wish for your power cord to fall off and cause a data corruption and physical damage to your hard disk such as a head crash while working on a project.

8. Do not share access to your computer with strangers on the network

Your computer data can be prone to theft and modification if anyone on the network can access your files freely.

9. Practise disk maintenance

Clean up temporary files, unused files and defragment your hard disk from time to time. This helps to keep your hard disk on top form.

10. Read failure symptoms

You know it's time to start backing up all your data files when your hard disk starts producing funny noises and your system starts getting cranky.

About The Author Jowyne Leong Adroit Data Recovery Centre (ADRC) Pte Ltd is the data recovery expert established since 1998. Headquartered in Singapore and Malaysia, we recover data for customers from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Philippines, Brunei and Vietnam. adrc.net ss2@adrc.net

PiciFix would like to add...

If you want to be super safe go for all of the tips above. What this article doesn't mention is the relative penalty for not doing each of these precautions. The suggestions don't seem to be ordered according to importance, yet some are more important than others. So here is the order of importance according to PiciFix.

1. Anti-Virus Software - your data is at serious risk without this, pretty obviously.
2. Avoiding moving a computer when on - hard disks can withstand some vibration but its just better to be safe than sorry.
3. Storing your data off site - your valuable data is always at risk from theft, fire and flooding so keep a copy off site -a remote server is a good idea.
4. Keeping your PC dry, dust-free and in the shade - you might want to show your computer off, but remember that direct sunlight can really heat your PC up to dangerously high temperatures, especially in the summer.
5. Maintaining your hard drive - it's so easy to set up window xp's scheduled defragging application.
6. Spotting the signs that your PC is unstable - if you get the chance to save before your PC caves in you can catch your files just before a crash happens.
7. Uninteruptable power supplies (in case of a power cut) - depends on how reliable your electricity supplier is. Unless you are in the middle of saving when the power is lost then you probably will just lose your unsaved changes and not the whole file.
8. Don't repair your own PC - depends on your ability to fix things. Doesn't require much more skill than changing a plug, but you definitly need a good knowledge of what you are doing. Serious damage can be done if you don't follow the golden rules such as unplugging your PC and using an anti-static wrist band.
9. Over tweaking your PC - over tweaking a PC can definitely fry your computer but by excercising a bit of precaution most overclocker enthusiasts rarely if ever destroy their PCs (not by accident anyway!).
10. Avoid sharing your files with people you don't know - shared files do enable hackers to force access to your whole hard drive. If you have some confidential information on a PC it is probably best not to share any files on that machine with unkown users.

Of course, remember to save every 10-20 minutes if you can. Set an alarm/stopwatch if you find it difficult to remember.

An anti-surge power cord is a good idea, because it protects your PC from lightening strikes. If you do invest in one make sure it also has ports for other cables such your internet connection (and tv ant if applicable). These switch themselves off if there is a power surge, but they also can be a bit too sensitive when you plug something in to the other sockets on the strip. They can sometimes trip out just by pluging in another appliance - so be carefull.