A vital step in Laptop Repair concerning Data Recovery, Migration or Maintenance is having a solution in place before a critical situation arises. At our Boston Computer Repair shop we have all the tools and experience to recover your important data from a failed hard drive or crashed system in most cases. However, for the inevitable times where a hard drive has catastrophically failed and Data Recovery is impossible it is vital to have a secure backup solution in place.

Your Data is Irreplaceable

There are many reliable data backup solutions on the market for Desktop and Laptop PC users, as well as more complex data maintenance systems for enterprise level customers using server racks or computer-farms.

I personally use and recommend an external hard drive of at least 1 Terabyte configured to automatically back up your entire system. It is important to make sure your Laptop Hard Drive is large enough to store all of your files without spilling over onto the external - as the essence of backup is to keep two complete and separate copies of everything in case one of the drives fails.

USB or Firewire External Hard Drive

For most users this one hardware and software solution will be everything you need to secure your data and prepare to migrate to a new system in the event of an upgrade or a crash. However, there are a number of other ways to back up your data in case you need to have it on-the-go or access it over the internet. In another post I will review flash-based storage, cloud-based storage and RAID backup solutions for businesses.

Remember the file sharing application Kazaa? I remember when I first discovered it. I regularly went on music-downloading binges, thinking that I was getting free music with no strings attached. Or so I thought. Soon after bulking up my hard drive with downloads, loading a simple website like Google.com grew to become a thirty-second process, and I found a new ability to take care of household chores while waiting for my favorite applications to open up.

Someone finally broke the news to me. Apparently, there is no free lunch when it comes to downloading music. A nasty little virus was tagging along behind each new mp3 I downloaded. A friend offered to reformat the hard drive on my computer.

“Will I lose all my music?” I asked.

“Yep – but you really have no choice,” was the response. I cried myself to sleep that night.

Turns out, I may have been able to save my many cherished pop punk mp3s if I had sought professional IT help. Viruses, malware, corrupted file systems, a system crash; these are a few things that can make your computer act funky and require reformatting the hard drive. I recently interviewed Michael Thomas, owner of A+ Mobile PC Doctors, and asked him what he does when a computer needs its hard drive reformatted.

1. Consider if there are files that need to be recovered or existing software license keys that are needed once reformat/reinstallation is complete (e.g. Security/Anti-Virus software, etc.). If so, take Data Backup steps and recover license keys if possible – once data is backed up:

2. Run Reformat/Reinstallation process

3. Load NIC Driver

4. Install Security Software: pre-existing or  AVG (AVG FREE – if doesn’t have a paid version)

5. Connect Internet connection, launch browser and validate security software

6. Update security software but DO NOT run system scan

7. Load all SYSTEM drivers (not peripherals such as printers, cameras, etc.)

8. Perform Windows Updates using Custom Selection (DO NOT Install IEv8, and do not remind about this installation again)

9. Install Firefox, Adobe Acrobat Reader (free), Adobe Flash (free)

10. Install CD burning software if customer has it

11. Install MS OFFICE if customer has CD. If installing MS Office 2003, then install MS Office Compatibility Pack

12. Configure desktop (properties) to show My Documents, My Computer & My Network Place. Also ad d the Quick Launch to the Windows Nav Bar, and if installing MS Office, add shortcuts for Word, Excel, PPT & Outlook

13. Check power settings, screen saver and wallpaper

14. Install any specialty software at customer’s request (e.g. QuickBooks, etc.)

15. Reinstall data from data backup once data is cleansed of malware

Only a professional computer repair company like A+ Mobile PC Doctors will have the knowledge and expertise to back up your data, isolate the problem, and reinstall the data in good condition. And a bit of advice for music junkies – stay away from file-sharing applications like Kazaa. They’re always a bad idea.