PC Workshop often see customers who have lost their photos etc. and we can usually recover them, but there are occasions where even we struggle! So that said it would appear prudent for people to have at least one copy of any photos etc. that is precious, then at least when the computer system crashes and they all seem to eventually your documents are safe.
PC Workshop can install an automatic back up system for £25 contact us before loss strikes as it will cost a whole lot more than that for recovery.
GOLDEN RULE NO 1 – BACKUP
There is nothing that can replace a backup to prevent data loss and avoid expensive recovery.
Backup simply means you are keeping at least one copy of the original data, preferably not in the same disk media. Backup could often be misconstrued as the followings:
I backup my notebook data in the external USB drive and then delete the original data in notebook.
I backup my data from the first partition to the second partition in the same physical disk.
Another pitfall is after backup, the backup data is never verified by the user until disaster strikes. Often, much to the horror of the user, the backup data was found to be corrupted, invalid or wrongly carried out.
If the data is important, store your backups at an off-site location. This helps to protect your backup from damage in case of a fire or disaster.
One practical problem while practicing backup is you need to stop work for such operation to take place. Often, this is not possible. The issue is often compounded by increasing data size, such as your ever-growing mailbox. Every backup operation could become a real pain if you have a busy schedule.
Whatever the situations, one fact remains – Diligent backup is a disciplinary act and the only way for you to circumvent data loss disaster.
PRACTICE GOOD WORKING HABITS
While working on your computer, if you choose the correct steps, it will help you to prevent major data loss and in the worst case scenario, will help you to increase the chance of successful recovery.
Partition your drive into a program and data zone. Should some thing happen to the program partition and unless it is a total disk failure, you still stand a good chance to retrieve the data intact from the data partition.
If you have a choice, adopt NTFS file system volume instead of FAT32 file system. Not only it gives you more flexibility in length of filenames and directory, security control, in case of disk corruption, you stand a greater chance of good recovery.
Keep your file names and directory simple and direct which is ideal for direct backup to other media such as CDR/DVD.
If you can help it, do not use file or disk encryption. In case of disk crash, recovery would be more difficult. If you really have to do this for reason of data confidentiality, you may want to protect only those selected files rather than everything.
If you are not using the computer for long period of time, turn it off. Do not put on power save mode and leave it through the night as it stands a greater chance of power surge or unknown damages.
