dacs.doc electric

I KNOW, you've heard it all before. Sorry, but I'm going to sound a bit like your mother and tell you all of those things you should be doing to make your computing experience a bit safer (and less stressful).

I constantly talk to people, from novices to advanced users, who don't follow these steps and are trying to recreate data that took hours or weeks to create (even though most know better!). Yes, I'm sometimes guilty of not following my own advice, and I've paid the price. Here's my list of things to save you from having prematurely gray hair:

Backup your computer. Let's have a quick show of hands: How many of you have backed up your computer in the past week? Month? Year? The most important thing you can do to save hours of time when your computer crashes is to have a backup. I try and backup at least once a week, even more if I'm working on critical data. I don't care how you do your backups--just do them. You can copy your data onto a floppy, zip disk, CD, or backup tape and you'll be safe. I copy the files from my notebook onto my desktop computer, which is cheating, but it works. You don't need to go out and spend thousands on backup hardware or software when you can get a zip drive or a backup tape drive for less than $100.

Use a virus-checking program. There are more than 40,000 viruses out there, and it only takes one to trash your computer or hard drive. There are many ways to get a virus-checking program, whether you download it, buy it at the store, or get it free with another program. If you don't use a virus checker, the odds are that you will get a virus if you are connected to the Internet or share files with other people. Always scan floppy disks before you use them! Be sure to update your virus-checking program at least every 2 weeks. I sleep a lot better at night because I use a program to protect me from computer viruses. Now if these guys could only cure the common cold....

Be careful reading e-mail. No, you can't get a virus by reading your e-mail. However, you can get one by opening a file that came attached to your e-mail. If you get e-mail from someone with a file attached, make sure you scan it with your virus-checker before running it.

Be organized. Have your operating system, software, serial number, and backups somewhere you can find them quickly and easily. For those occasions when you suddenly have to re-install your video card or call support because your program is acting sick, you'll be ready. I've spent a lot of time searching for a serial number so I can install an upgrade. It really does pay to be organized, especially when you're on a deadline.

Pay for software. If you use something, pay for it. This is especially important for business users. Yes, everybody loves a deal, but it's not a real savings if you're working late at tax time and find that you need to install a feature from the original CD. Worse yet, if you call support with a pirated copy, they might do more than just hang up on you. If you use shareware, keep in mind that only a few people actually pay for shareware. If you like a program, send the author a check so they'll continue to update and write shareware.

Leave 100 megabytes free on your hard drive. There's an unwritten law about computers that says that no matter how large your hard drive is-- you'll fill it. Don't fill it all the way - Windows or the Mac operating systems need space to do things, and if you get too close you'll start having those strange problems. Give your operating system some breathing room, and it'll behave a bit better.

Never turn off your computer. Use the "Shut Down" command to let your operating system close open files and quit nicely. If you can, leave it on all the time. Most new computers have a sleep mode and use less electricity than a light bulb when in power savings mode.

Use a surge suppressor. Never plug your computer into the wall without some sort of surge protection. If you can afford it, get an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) with power filtering. If you have bad or "dirty" power, this can help extend the life of your computer.

Use common sense. If you're not sure about something, ask someone smarter than you (there usually is someone). I've called friends and asked them before doing something I think might be stupid, and they've saved me from trashing my computer.

Scandisk & Defrag. These two things can save your hard disk and speed it up. Scandisk checks your hard drive for errors, and keeps them from getting out of control. Defragmenting your hard disk reorganizes the programs and data on your drive, and can speed things up. I Scandisk weekly and Defrag monthly, but you should do it more or less frequently depending on how much you use your computer.

Join DACS. If you're not already a member, joining the Danbury Area Computer Society gets you many benefits, such as the monthly newsletter, access to the monthly meetings, special interest groups, and much more. Even though I am a "computer professional" (whatever that means) I still learn things from DACS. It's a steal at $25.

When all else fails, don't panic. Sometimes taking a break and coming back to the problem later will give you a new and better perspective on the problem. When all else fails, just use your backup.

You have one, right?