9 Essential Steps to Disaster-Proof Your PC
9 Essential Steps to Disaster-Proof Your PC
Posted 06/30/2009 at 8:00am
| by Paul Lilly
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A little preparation goes a long way. We show you how to avoid the most common tragedies to befall a PC user—guaranteed!
Stop whatever it is you’re doing. We know your time is valuable, and what you’re about to read could save you hours, if not days, of damage control. What could be so important? Your work documents, for one thing. And then there’s your entire digital collection of family photos cataloguing every birthday, vacation, and other special occasion over the past several years. Common PC pitfalls don’t just affect your digital files, either. Should disaster strike—say a power surge or a hacker attack— you could be looking at hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars of damaged hardware—or even worse, damage to your good name and credit if someone manages to steal your identity.
Are you thoroughly spooked yet? You needn’t be, not if you follow our nine-step guide to disaster-proofing your PC. On the following pages, we show you how to prepare for everything from acts of God to hacker attacks, and every other mishap you’re likely to encounter as a power user. And if you’re an old pro who already knows how to disaster-proof your PC, then treat this as a checklist of things you know you should be doing, but probably aren’t.
1. Back up Your Data
With a modicum of effort you can save yourself a whole lot of heartache
You hear it being preached all the time, but most of us wait until it’s too late before learning the value of maintaining a backup solution. Yet the longer you go without one, the more likely it is your hard drive will give up the ghost at the most inopportune time. Unlike solid state drives (SSDs), which are still too expensive to serve as a high-capacity storage solution, hard disk drives (HDDs) rely on the pinpoint precision of moving parts. Over time, wear and tear can take a toll on an HDD’s motor, but that’s not all that can go wrong. To prevent the read and write heads from damaging a drive’s platters, a thin layer of lubricant about 1nm thick is applied to the surface. Once it wears off, things can quickly come to a screeching halt, sometimes without warning. In addition, faulty firmware, a busted controller, accidental bumps, sudden power loss, and just plain bad luck can spell doom for your delicate drive.
Without a backup system in place, recovering data becomes tricky at best. Some users have reported temporarily bringing a hard drive back to life by sticking it in the freezer for 15 minutes, but this is a long shot. Replacing the controller board might also do the trick; however, that won’t do you any good if the platters are scratched or the read/write heads are worn. The only option left is to ship your drive off to a costly data recovery service, and that can set you back thousands of dollars—ouch!
To prevent being caught with your pants down, you need a backup solution. A common misconception is that a RAID 1 setup negates the need to back up your data, but nothing could be further from the truth. RAID 1 mirrors your data across multiple drives, which is good for drive failures. But if files are deleted, whether accidentally or as the result of a malware infection, they’re deleted from all drives.
The best strategy for backing up your data involves a secondary hard drive, either in your PC or in a USB enclosure, and an automated software solution. Most hard drive makers offer some kind of all-in-one solution, like Western Digital’s My Book and Seagate’s FreeAgent series, but you can accomplish the same thing with any ordinary hard drive and the right software. We’ve had great results with True Image 2009 ($50, www.acronis.com), which allows us to schedule full or incremental backups, or to take a snapshot of an entire partition through a user-friendly GUI.
Acronis's True Image sports a slick interface that makes it easy to create an image of your entire system, or just the data you specify.
There aren’t any complicated steps here—just click the Back Up icon and follow the prompts. Feeling frugal? SyncBack (http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/freeware-hub.html) will accomplish the same thing for free, minus the ability to image your entire drive. You can choose to duplicate your data on another drive, through a network, or even to an FTP server.
SyncBack offers a boat-load of configuration options, most of which are unlocked by choosing Expert mode. Best of all, the program's free!
More like this
livebriand
January 22, 2011 at 7:15pm
You could also use Dropbox for online storage (2GB free +256MB if you invite someone) or Windows Live Mesh (5GB free). Dropbox is a bit faster but only backs up one folder, Live Mesh is slower but lets you back up multiple folders in different locations. Also, you can buy more Dropbox space if you want.
Th3MadScientist
July 07, 2009 at 8:03pm
This should not be the main feature of the latest MaximumPC magazine. These tips are for noobs that have no idea what they are doing and do not deserve to either build or operate a computer. Make sure to have anti-virus installed....really... thanks for the tip guy.
MaximumPC has not been really Maximum at all these past few months. You guys seem to be catering more to the oblivious PC enthusiasts.
BTW Microsoft Virtual PC is horrible compared to VMWare Workstation. Sure it is free and that is why it sucks. Nothing but a headache, with VMWare Workstation I was ready to go in about 15 minutes without any previous experience.
Im seriously considering abandoning ship and heading over to Anandtech for my hardware reviews and using Dailytech for my daily news updates were the discussions are between IT professionals and not basement dwelling trolls.
badamsz
July 03, 2009 at 1:59pm
I have found that CrashPlan (http://www4.crashplan.com/consumer/index.html) is an awesome automatic backup system that offers a variety of backup options varying from self hosted to pay per gb. I love the flexibility of backup options such as local drive, another computer at home, remote comptuers, friends computers and more. Also their response to user requsts such as provideing your own encryption keys, etc. is nice to see.
K0BALT
July 02, 2009 at 3:46am
I think that there should be some sort of delay for online stories. I check MaxPC.com numerous times a day online. It's dissapponting to get my magazine 3 days later with everything in it that i've already read. Have a subscriber's section on the web or something. It's a waste of money to get it in paper 3 days later. Until something is resolved, I am yet another that will not be renewing my subscription.
phaze
July 01, 2009 at 7:31am
I have been subscribing for almost 5 years now and will continue my subscription.
Those of you saying that you won't pay one penny since the articles are free online have not considered the fact that if the magazine goes out of business, this site will require paid subscriptions, like espn.com.
If people don't pay for that, then the writers can't get paid and then we all go home.
Bless
July 01, 2009 at 1:21am
C'mon people maxpc is doing this because their country is in big crisis, thousand of people have become homeless, lose their job and so on, those people need to save their money to keep them from being starv to death. maxpc have a good heart u know? dont do this to our lovely magz. I'm sure there are other articles that is in the magz that is not covered in this site.
Mr.Pooney
July 02, 2009 at 9:12am
Sur Bless there are probably some footnotes or editorials that dont make it on to the site.... my beef is the Fracken coverstory on the site right after or even before some ppl have gotten there mags.
as for theyr country in trouble.... good on them! AIG GOLDMANSUCKS ETC there the reason every one is hurting. im in canada and im hurting! so why would i pay for a mag that i can get for free (more then 1$ a mag for me) off the net! thats what happend when i cutoff my satelite srvice for basic cable! i can get the same stuff on the net for free!!!
if the guys at Max pc dont do something about this there mag will fail and they will be starving.... unless they want the print to die so that they can keep the more lucrative site up.
Long Story Short! If you pay for something you want it to be worth your hard earned cash!
on the go? i have mobile internet on my phone! i dont have to bring the mag hicking!
i have a laptop i dont have to bring the mag in the bathrooom!
i want the mag! NOT the website in print! i have a printer for that!
i know that the world moves fast and if you dont put your story out about the latest mobo or gtx cards you'll get scooped.... but think about the loyalty of ppl that promise to read the mag with a 1yr 2yr sub..... not some random visitor off of google or bing(bing is the $hit BTW IMHO)
im tired of this argument... but i feel it coming up again... say round the last week of july... begining of august... Luckly ill be in Notre-Dame-Du-Nord at the truck rodeo so when i get back the mag and the site will be new! so i wont have a beef :P
MajorMajor
June 30, 2009 at 6:25pm
I for one appreciate the article, both in the magazine and online. At 1$e the magaszine is essentially free and is only printed at all as a vehicle for the ads. As long as the content is useful and interesting, online and off, I will renew.
Thanks
mrvander
June 30, 2009 at 8:15pm
The words "essentially free" do not make any sense. Something is free or it costs something. When I enter $1 times 12 into my calculator, it comes up $12. It doesn't say "$0". There is no such thing as "essentially free." However, I'm extremely glad you are willing to support the magazine so they will continue to provide me and other financially logical folk the same stuff... for free.
This is a great article by the way - this is the kind of stuff I love MaxPC for. Keep 'em coming!
Mr.Pooney
June 30, 2009 at 2:01pm
Ok... I wonder if anyone from the mag reads the forums? how about an official statement! you see that the ppl have questions and a very valid argument..... ppl have been bitch slaping you guys in the face about this! are you just gonna sit there and take it!?!?
mrvander
June 30, 2009 at 5:40pm
They don't need to make a statement. It's simply a matter of business, not what we say here in the comments or forums. The dollars will do the talking. Once they see their revenue drop as more people realize they're paying for information the staff is delivering for free on the Net, the mag will die (unless things change.) It's sad really because I would easily pay for a magazine subscription again if it had content that was exlcusive to the magazine for at least a few months. I don't mean a news blurb or a review here and there, I'm talking the major articles and how-to's.
It's simple for me, really. Make a magazine with major articles exclusive to the print mag with added content online and they'll have my money again. Like others have said, I love having physical media I can take with me outside, to the bathroom, or to the doctor's waiting room, but I'm not going to pay for something they're giving away for free otherwise.
winmaster
June 30, 2009 at 12:04pm
Screw all you guys who got the mag before this was posted, I'm still waiting for mine. Needless to say, I will not be renewing my subscription.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.
DBsantos77
June 30, 2009 at 1:33pm
I had gotten a free 1 month mag and never renewed it because of this sole reason.
dinotrex
June 30, 2009 at 9:52am
Thank you for putting such an informative article. Keep up the good work!
Joel
Asterixx
June 30, 2009 at 9:33am
Nunc est bibendum!
I hope the print version never dies. Can't take the online version into the bathtub with you (unless you're willing to risk a thousand dollar laptop and/or electrocution). It'd be too big a pain to take the laptop into the bathroom every time nature calls, as well. And sometimes you just feel like sitting out on the patio on a nice summer day with a magazine. A hot, heavy, hard-to-see-in-sunlight laptop isn't optimal here either...
lunchbox73
June 30, 2009 at 4:28am
Another excellent and free backup tool is Cobian. http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm
blackcat77
June 29, 2009 at 10:39pm
I couldn't access the WHS console from the two computers on which I'd installed Open DNS, and even after trying some of the tips out on the net to address the issue, nothing worked. While I appreciate the extra security Open DNS provides, losing my daily WHS backups was not an option.
VorteX
June 30, 2009 at 8:18am
If you have an OpenDNS account associated with your IP address, just uncheck the following options under Settings > Advanced Settings
- Typo correction
- Filtering of .cm wildcard
- OpenDNS proxy
This will prevent redirection of local DNS requests to OpenDNS and will allow you (and WHS) to connect to local computers via the computer name.
My router is a D-Link DGL-4500 and this has worked perfectly for me. Just make sure you set up the OpenDNS server's on the routers side, not on each individual computer.
ColdDeck
June 30, 2009 at 4:56am
WHS and OpenDNS get along fine with the right router. It has to do with how your router handles netbios name resolution. If it handles it locally everything will work. If it offloads it to your ISP then OpenDNS will probably break it (WHS that is). With my Linksys WRT54gs running DD-WRT, WHS worked flawlessly with no configuration. With my D-Link DGL-4500 I had to dig into the advanced settings and check a few boxes. Day to day backups work fine, but I have to reset to my ISP DNS to add a new machine. Check your router's configuration settings for anything related to netbios to see if you can make it work.
Skillz_n_Magic
June 29, 2009 at 9:11pm
Sweet. I just got my magazine in the mail today and see the cover feature is online, for free. Plus, the first article is about Will's 5 essential apps. That was online several days ago, again, for free.
Plus, every other article is about how MaximumPC - that's P-C - loves Macs. The processor guy wrote about Apple making their own procs this month. Last month was hackintosh, before that iphones. Really guys? You might as well write about cars, it's just as relevent to PC's as macs are. Are you on Steve Jobs payroll?
robotsneedhugs2
June 30, 2009 at 10:50am
Oh man, and here I was thinking about subscribing to this wonderful magazine. But, now that you guys have enlightened me to the fact that there's absolutely no reason in doing so, I don't have to. Thank you Maximum PC for making your magazine pointless! :D
mrvander
June 30, 2009 at 8:07am
This is why I've let my subscription expire. No sense paying for something I can get for free. And heck, use Adblock Plus and there are now zero ads.
This current model will kill the print mag. All I have to do is wait for the online articles, complete with clickable links and (sometimes) further-edited content. The site is ad-free. And after a while, I even have an archive of fully searchable PDF's. It's only a matter of time as more people let their subscriptions expire as I have.
Mr.Pooney
June 30, 2009 at 6:55am
i hear you Skillz_n_Magic
i had the same beef with the mag last month! the day i got my mag bam! coverstory on the website!
atleast this time it took 4 or 5 days!
Kinda makes you rethink your subscription. i dont pay for the mag and look at the calender every day in hopes of getting my next issue of bathroom reading material! i pay to get a quality mag with info you cant get anyware else!
and now this add system that pop's every lil bit... atlease you can skip! but if you pay for the mag! you should havea special account that lets you skip^the adds!!!!
I wanna call gordon on this one! not that he can change anything! but he'll have the balls to tell it form the mags point of view
and this was my rant of the week!!!!
Is Maximum PC and Maximumpc.com 2 completly diffrent things that just hapen to have the same info?
if so then evolution says one is gonna die!
lunchbox73
June 30, 2009 at 12:48pm
I read the site every day and check out the mags from the library. Sorry MPC. I love yuh but you're not getting any $ from me.
Saltboy
June 30, 2009 at 5:00am
This just in, Macs ARE PCs. All the guts are essentially the same. The only real difference these days is the OS. Have people forgotten what PC even means??
nekollx
June 30, 2009 at 8:21am
Politically Corect? Personal Criopractor? Prince Charming?
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Coming soon to Lulu.com --Tokusatsu Heroes--
Five teenagers, one alien ghost, a robot, and the fate of the world.
Skillz_n_Magic
June 30, 2009 at 8:13am
Even though Macs use Intel processors they are not PC's. PC's are an
open platform, Macs are proprietary, and that is why you have to shell out
$300 for a dongle to run their OS on a PC.
n0ctis
June 30, 2009 at 10:34am
Macs use the same hardware as PCs and, while most of the OS is proprietary, the core of it is BSD Unix. Macs are PCs. They are just overpriced, horribly locked down, not-worth-it PCs in a cult-like niche market. You can use other OSes on their hardware.
mew905
July 03, 2009 at 8:35am
PC's are capable of using any hardware as long as the parts are compatible with each other, and finding the required drivers. Vista, XP and Windows 7 all have alot of drivers pre-loaded. HOWEVER I've never owned a mac, will never buy one for the fact they are rediculously expensive for weaker hardware and less compatibility, having but two advantages over PCs: lack of viruses. But why hit the minority when you can target Windows as the Majority? Macs lack of viruses is because Windows is the popular system. Mac certifies all their hardware, whether or not it will work with uncertified hardware is beyond me, but because it certifies everything, stability is amazing.
Now, in terms of the PSU calculator they provide. I came across one that was incredibly accurate (2 watts lower than my actual usage, but I forgot to put in my 8800GT's overclock), completely free, but doesnt have a long list of the newer parts. It'll make a recommendation as to what size PSU you need, as well as what size UPS you should get if needed.
Here's the link: http://web.aanet.com.au/SnooP/psucalc.php
Havok
June 30, 2009 at 6:32pm
Essentially they are the same, but no true apple faboy will ever call a mac a pc
OMGWTFBBQ
n0ctis
July 01, 2009 at 8:44pm
Wouldn't want to defile the divine Cult of Apple with the profane infidel philistines of PC would we
dcrail
June 29, 2009 at 8:28pm
Well, at least I had my subscription copy 2 days before the cover story was online. I guess that's something.
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