Originally Posted By: jford
I hope you had a backup of your data files at least.

I recommend using something like Acronis True Image to make a backup of your hard drive. <...snip...>

I generally backup my data weekly (I have a batch file I use to do so) or more frequently and take a system image monthly. <...>


John is giving very good advice here.

I use Acronis and back up data daily. I also use Microsoft's Sync Toy. It makes a copy on an external, removable drive that are 100% uncompressed, identical, and usable.

At least once a week I do a full backup/image, more often if I'm doing a lot of work, and definitely before I install any new software (a disk image has saved my butt more than once).

I also make, on a different removable drive, a disk image once a month, and I save the last 9 months on that disk (that's all that fits). If I get a crash, virus, ransomware, or whatever, I can restore my computer to how it was months ago, and with sync toy as a partner, my recent data files are still up to date.

There are only two kinds of computer users, those who have had a hard disk crash, and those who haven't had a hard disk crash yet.

It's cheap insurance, it doesn't take much time, and when it saves you, it's priceless.

Example:

I installed a trial version (LE) of a major music app once. The computer locked up during the install. Ctrl+Alt+Del didn't work so I forced a shutdown. It automatically resumed the install on boot up and locked up again. I tried rebooting in the safe mode with the same results. A locked up computer with no access to either my data files or even Windows.

So I put in the rescue disk, and re-installed the disk image I made right before I tried the LE software, and I was back in business, exactly as the computer was a couple of hours ago. Then I threw the CD with the LE version of the software away.

Running a computer without backing up is living dangerously.

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