dacs.doc electric

After a brief discussion about some of the changes taking place, Gene Barlow got us thinking about our hard drives with a query of what really happens when we erase files and data that we no longer need? He went on to describe a recent news report about a group that obtained a number of used and/or discarded drives and found many cases of private information including credit card information.

Gene explained the importance of using products such as Secure Clean 4.0 an individual file scanning and deletion utility and Wipe Drive 3.0 a proven hard drive sanitizing solution rather than simply deleting the file. Both products are available from White Canyon Software. A members only 50% discount is described in the October Dacs Doc. If you missed it go get last months copy or check at dacs.org.

Full and proper protection of our hard drives must include a plan for regular backup of files and data. Replaceable media such as tapes and CDR/CDRW and DVD are often used however they fall short with the increasing capacity of modern hard drives. With drives near or over 100 GBytes a simpler, faster, easier method of backup is required.

With a large drive there often is sufficient unused space to have a second copy of the system files and data. Rather than simple coping of files a more elegant method should be used. PowerQuest Corporation well known for the products Partition Magic and Drive Copy also makes a lesser know product called Drive Image. In operation a backup is made by creating an image of the entire hard drive with only a very few keystrokes. A separate partition is created to contain the drive image. In practice it is recommended that the system and data files be contained in their own partitions. Data files, which change more frequently than system files, can be imaged (a backup) independently.

With a backup performed by creating an image of our files and data Gene went on to describe more advanced methods which provide addition protection and convenience. With larger drives additional partitions can be created to hold more than one image of the system or data files. Having more than one backup covers that case where a current backup is made only to find a corrupted file on the active system is in the backup. With two or more copies it is possible to go back to an earlier backup.

Other strategies are required and come to mind if in addition to your desktop computer there is also a laptop. If your backup image is on another computer we achieve additional protection. If the drive in one computer falls completely we have a full backup on our other computer. Another variant when two computers are involved and budget does allow for the purchase of an additional drive for each computer a single external drive can be shared between the two computers. It can be cheaper buying a single large drive in an external enclosure than two smaller ones.

As we pondered the possibility of various backup schemes and wondered how we were going to remember what we had just heard copies describing all of the software discussed and ordering information was passed out to those in attendance. During the presentation Gene had mentioned many of the features of Drive Image and a new product V2i Proctector V2. The hand out describes each of the products offered along with special pricing finally. A question and answer session brought out the fact that Drive Image v7 is for XP only however a copy of the prior release is included in our special discount bundle. Noteworthy are two products called Discover Your HD and Backup Your HD. A question was asked to compare V2I Protector V2 and Drive Image V7 (both were the same price). The answer was that the Dacs member only special price for Drive Image V7 includes a copy of the 2002 release of Drive Image which works with Win98. V2i Protector V2 has the ability to mount the backup image as a separate drive permitting individual files to be recovered rather than the entire image.

To help you take advantage of the WhiteCanyon products, we have created a URL and code for your User Group. The User Group Advantages web page can be found at www.whitecanyon.com/ user group.php. Please note that this page cannot be accessed from WhiteCanyon’s main web page. Once you have accessed the User Group Advantages page, enter your User Group code UGID* in the login box.

*This is members only offer. Members should contact the webmaster to obtain our group ID number. Please include your name and membership number in you e-mail.

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