Main Causes of Data Loss

Main Causes of Data Loss

Data loss can be explained as the inability to access and/ or retrieve information from a computer media device due to physical or human error. The biggest advantage of using a computer media is that an innumerable amount of data can be easily stored in small storage devices. It makes life simpler and much more convenient.
All regular computer users dread the possibility of facing data loss. Everyone who uses computers has some time or the other undergone the traumatic experience of data loss in varying degrees. Whether one is a student or a pro, all have ventured into this dreaded territory.
There are professional records like accounting records, client databases, marketing strategy, new inventions and there are personal records of emotional value like photographs, video clippings, :(emails that have been lost due to various reasons. Data loss affects everyone in varying degrees. It can upset a user and, in extreme cases, even put big corporations out of business.:)
Information loss is directly converted into financial loss. In today’s world of digital technology, information is an important asset and time spent in retrieving it is equalent to monetary loss. Nowadays everything learnt, developed, invented and planned is stored in digital form and any damage to this information can bring lives to a standstill and businesses to a close.

It is not only important to use technology to its optimum capacity but to be equally aware of all potential failures arising out of our complete dependency on it. In order to use technology efficiently, it is imperative to identify potential data loss situations and take necessary precautions to either prevent them or mitigate their impact.
There are many reasons for data loss. Some of the important ones being:
1. Hardware or System Failure: These include hard drive crash which is the main storage media for the computer. It can also be electrical failure, read/ write head crash, controller failure and so on. To prevent these hardware problems one needs to protect electrical components by using computers in a dry shaded area. It is important to protect against power surges using a UPS. Do not shake or remove the covers on the hard drives or tapes and make sure that your hard drive is in a secure dust-free environment, away from any potential dangers.

2. Human error: User error is also one of the major causes of data loss. These include accidental deletion of files or drive format and emptying of recycle bin thereafter. Also, there is physical damage or trauma resulting from a drop or a fall, server configuration error or network failure. These can be avoided by not attempting any installations or repair without proper knowledge or experience. Avoid moving a computer while it’s on. Maintain security on your personal files and folders and maintain systematic and timely backup.
3. Software Error: These include corruption by diagnostic or repair tools, failed backups and configuration problems. Database corruption also falls under software errors. These can be avoided by maintaining proper backup, using diagnostic utilities carefully, updating security software and programs and ensuring data integrity and backup prior to any software upgradation.
4. Computer Viruses: They can establish themselves in your system and create havoc. These infect files, emails and the whole databases leading to glitches and errors and unpredictable behaviour. They can destroy or overwrite any existing data making access impossible. These can be prevented by using a good quality anti-virus program from a reputable company which should be run on regular intervals to scan all incoming data and software. Be extra cautious when using any external media like floppy disks and CDs.
5. Natural Disasters: These cause the least amount of damage in terms of percentage but can wipe out data storage completely when they strike. These include natural calamities like floods, earthquakes, lightning, fire and so on and can be guarded against by maintaining an ‘off-site’ backup of your data.
6. Vandalism: These include malicious acts of unknown hackers who either destroy or steal information or of disgruntled employees trying to get even. Even competitors can sabotage important data from company’s account leading to corruption, erasure or loss of vital information. These can be prevented by putting up security systems and firewalls by reputed companies. Also, a good and regularly updated data backup free of virus ensures that data recovery is easier. One can also employ data forensics to investigate and find the guilty or the methodology to prevent any recurrence of similar episodes.
The crux of the matter is that data loss is today’s reality and the most important safeguard against it is a well-maintained data backup.
About Author
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk
Article Source: http://www.1888articles.com/author-james-walsh-2417.html

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The Control Panel and then some...

The Control Panel and then some...

I assume that you've played around in your windows "Control Panel." It's one of the first places I went before I had much software. ("Start" - "Settings" - "Control Panel" or access it from "My Computer"). If you haven't been there, go play for a while, and then come back. It's safe, really. Just remember, if you're unsure about something, just "Cancel." As long as you don't click "Apply" or "Okay" your changes won't have a permanent effect.
You may have a lot of fun in the "Display" area. That's where you can change your screen saver, your color schemes, your desktop wallpaper, your screen area size (or resolution), and lots of other things too. Nearly every computer that comes in has the same default windows settings. Change it around. Live a little. If you happen to choose a screen area (resolution) setting that makes your screen go black, don't panic. Just don't press any keys, and your monitor will return to its original setting within 10 to 20 seconds. All that means is that your monitor cannot handle that high of resolution setting. Many older monitors won't go above a setting of 800 x 600.One area in your "Control Panel" that you may have left unexplored is your "Device Manager." This is the master hardware control center for your entire computer. From the "Control Panel", go to "System" then to the "Device Manager" tab. This is where you can immediately spot a problem if one exists.
:)- - - - :x- - - - - -:o - - - -

First, you'll see all of your devices listed there, from your CD Rom, to your USB (If you have Universal Serial Bus ports). There should be NO yellow circles with exclamation points inside them. If you have any of these, it means something is wrong. Usually, a driver (software for your hardware) is missing or incorrectly installed. Sometimes, even though the driver is correctly installed, there may be a conflict with another one of your devices. When Windows first installs hardware, it's called "Plug and Play." But Windows doesn't always do it properly, hence the technical term "plug and pray." When something doesn't work right, whether it's your CD drive, your sound, your modem, or anything else, the "Device Manager" is always the first place you should look.

By clicking on the individual device, you can expand the tree to show you your specific device. If you don't know what kind of modem or video card you have, click the "modem" or "display adapters" icon and there you'll see it listed. Please though, unless you know what you're doing (and if you did you probably wouldn't be reading this) don't make any changes in your device manager.
With only 500 or so words allocated to me each month, I can't really tell you how to do very much in there, but I encourage you to go look anyway. By being well informed about your computer, what's inside it, and what's wrong with it, you can more easily get your support questions answered, and you're less likely to get taken advantage of in a repair or upgrade situation.
Another great area of fun in your control panel is the "Mouse." Change your cursor to an hourglass, then sit back and howl as your family hits the "reset" button and reboots the computer over and over only to have the hourglass never go away! It's not good for your computer, but it sure is funny!
By: Scott Hendison

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Clean Your Desktop

Clean your desktop

Look at your computer screen. How can you find anything in that mess? Aren’t all those shortcuts on your desktop confusing? How is the rest of your family supposed to use that thing? Don’t you wish is could be simpler? This month I’ll give you a quick and easy solution that will have your desktop looking like you just moved in.
Let me start by saying that Windows actually has a built in feature to add different users.
Each user can have his or her own desktop, wallpaper, shortcuts, start menu, etc. This feature though, involves logging off and signing on again every time someone else wants to use it, and that’s too cumbersome for my tastes. I find my solution a little simpler.
Find and empty spot (if you can!) on your Windows desktop. Now right click and select New – Folder. Notice that you now have a new folder on your desktop, the name of which is “new folder”, highlighted in blue. Just by typing here, you can rename that folder to be called whatever you want. Let’s type in “Games” and press enter. (To rename a folder once it’s already there and named, just right click and select “rename”)

Now you have an empty folder on your desktop. You can place all the game shortcuts on your desktop into that one folder a couple of ways, but the easiest is to click and drag. Just left click on a game icon, hold, and drag it into the folder. Once you let go, it’s moved. You can even select multiple shortcuts to move into this folder. All you do is hold down the Ctrl key while you left click to select as many icons as you choose. You can use this Ctrl key whenever you want to select multiple anything. Once they’re selected and highlighted, just drag them into the folder. That’s it.
By clicking and dragging shortcuts into folders, they will disappear from your desktop and be moved to the folder. If you want to have the same shortcut in more than one place, that’s easy. Just create a second shortcut before you move it. Please note that if you try to move an item that is actually a program, and not a shortcut, Windows will create a shortcut in that folder to the program you’ve chosen, leaving the original in place. A few things just have to stay on the desktop, and there is no real easy way to delete them.
You can have as many or as few folders on your desktop as you like, and organize them however you want. You can have one folder called “Kids” and have all of their games, programs etc. in one place. You can do this for each member of the family, giving each user their own folder that they can customize however they want.
To customize a folder, try this… Open one of the new folders, like “Games”. Go to the VIEW pull down menu at the top of your screen, and select “customize this folder”.
Then select the middle dot that says, “choose a background picture” and hit the “next” button. From here, you can pick a color for the background (instead of boring white), or change the color of the text for the icon titles, or even pick some special background art to use as wallpaper in that folder. By doing this, each user can have their own desktop folder to organize and use as they see fit, making your desktop as neat and clean as the day you got your computer.
By: Scott Hendison

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Speed Up Your Internet Connection

How to Maximize the Speed of Your Internet Connection

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

This article describes how to speed up your Internet connection without use of web accelerators, and is geared towards Windows and Internet Explorer.

Steps

1. Do some basic maintenance on your PC. Run Disk Defrag, a scan disk, a virus scan, a malware scan, and clear your recycle bin. An unusually slow Internet connection experience is often the only sign that your computer is infected with viruses or other malware. Delete old files and temporary files. Never allow the free space on your C: drive to be less than 10% of the total size or twice the installed RAM (which ever is larger).
   
   
   A well maintained PC will operate much better than a PC that has never had any maintenance. Google or your local computer repair store should be able to help you with this if you don't know how.
   
2. Reset Your Home Network. Sometimes restarting your home network if you have one will drastically increase the speed of your connection.
   
3. Optimize your cache or temporary Internet files. These files improve your Internet connection performance by not downloading the same file over and over. When a web site puts their logo graphic on every page your computer only downloads it when it changes. If you delete the temporary files it must be downloaded again.
   if you disable the cache, it must be downloaded every time you view a page that uses it. This can be done by opening Internet Explorer, clicking on "Tools" at the top and choosing "Internet Options". On the General tab, click the "Settings" button next to Temporary Internet Files. Set Check for newer versions to "Automatically". Set amount of disk space to use to 2% of your total disk size or 512 MB, which ever is smaller. On Firefox, click "Tools" then "Options," and go to the privacy tab. Then click on the Cache tab within this.
   
4. Never bypass your router. Most routers include a firewall that is very difficult for hackers to defeat. If you don't need to use Wireless then hook your computer directly to your router. Routers will only slow down your connection by a few Milli-seconds. You won't notice the difference but the hackers will.
   
5. If you are using a Wireless router, make sure it doesn't conflict with a cordless phone or wireless camera. Wireless routers come in two varieties; 802.11bg (2.4Ghz) or 802.11a (5.8Ghz) If you are using a 2.4Ghz Cordless phone and 2.4Ghz Wireless router then your Internet connection speed will slow while you use the cordless phone. The same is true of wireless security cameras. Check on your phone and camera, if it's 900Mhz then it's fine. If it says 2.4Ghz or 5.8Ghz then it could be the cause of your slow connection speed while they're in use.
   
6. Call your Internet service provider (ISP). Sometimes you just have bad service. They can usually tell if your connection is substandard without having a technician come to your home. Just be nice and ask.
   
7. Upgrade your computer. If your computer is slow, it doesn't matter how fast your Internet connection is, the whole thing will just seem slow. You can only access the Internet as fast as your PC will allow you to.
   
8. Replace your old cable modem. Any solid-state electronics will degrade over time due to accumulated heat damage. Your broadband modem will have a harder and harder time 'concentrating' on maintaining a good connection as it gets older (signal to noise ratios will go down, and the number of resend requests for the same packet will go up). An after-market cable modem as opposed to a cable-company modem will frequently offer a better connection.
   
9. Often your connection speed is slow because other programs are using it. To test if other programs are accessing the Internet without your knowing, Click Start, Click Run. Type "cmd" (without quotes). Type "netstat -b 5 > activity.txt". After a minute or so, hold down Ctrl and press C. This has created a file with a list of all programs using your Internet connection. Type activity.txt to open the file and view the program list. Ctrl Alt Delete and open up the Task Manager. Go to the process menu and delete those processes that are stealing your valuable bandwidth. (NOTE: Deleting processes may cause certain programs to not function properly)
   
10. After you have tried all this try your connection again and see if it's running any faster.
    

Tips

• Call your ISP and have them verify all of your TCP/IP settings if you are concerned. Ask them to verify that your Proxy settings are correct.
  
• Don't expect dial up or high speed lite service to be fast. The Internet is primarily geared towards Broadband Connections. Sometimes, you have to wait a little.
  
• Download programs that make browsing faster:
  
  • Loband.org is a browser inside of a browser that loads web pages without the images.
    
  • Opera is a good Internet browser for slower speeds. You can set an option to not load images.
    
  • If you are using Internet Explorer or Firefox, try downloading Google Web Accelerator. It is meant to speed up broadband connections, but it can also slow your Internet connection. Try enabling it and disabling it and see when your Internet connection runs faster.
    
  • If you are using Firefox, download the Fasterfox extension and Firetune.
    
  • Reduce the amount of programs running that use your Internet connection (Instant Messengers, RSS Feeders, and MS Applications set to send Internet data)
    
  • Google Accessible Is designed to search pages in order of how clean they are of junk. This will bring up pages that are usually not only easy to read, but are quick to load.
    
  
  
• Upgrade your RAM. This will not only improve your regular computer use, but it will affect the speed of your Internet connection because your computer works faster.
  
• Use the Stop button to stop loading pages once you've gotten what you want.
  
• Some times malware on your computer can eat up your bandwidth. Make sure you have an up-to-date malware protection program.
  

Warnings

• Viruses and malware can often use up your bandwidth and slow down your Internet connection. Make sure you have protection against this. Many ISP's will provide software for this. Make sure your anti-virus and malware scanners are up-to-date.
  
• Bypassing the router will leave you more vulnerable to attacks because you no longer have the built-in firewall from your router protecting you.
  
• Watch out for scams that claim to make your Internet go a lot faster for free. They may tell you to download their program, which usually has a lot of other hidden programs attached that might steal your identity.
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Reset Your Home Network
  
• How to Log on to the Internet and Other Basics
  
• How to Get a Free Internet Connection
  
• How to Get Free Internet on a Verizon Wireless Razr V3M
  
• How to Reset a Linksys Router
  
• How to Change a Computer Hard Drive Disk
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Maximize the Speed of Your Internet Connection. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

How to Speed Up Your Computer - Free Up Disk Space
By Brooks Carver

If you want to speed up your computer you have to free up disk space, you can improve the performance of your computer quite a bit by doing this. Windows comes with a disk cleanup tool that helps you free up space on your hard disk. The utility identifies files that you can safely delete without messing anything up, and then enables you to choose whether you want to delete some or all of the identified files. This is a necessary step when looking to speed up your computer.
Use Disk Cleanup to....
* Remove temporary Internet files.
* Remove downloaded program files (such as Microsoft ActiveX controls and Java applets).
* Empty the Recycle Bin.
* Remove Windows temporary files.
* Remove optional Windows components that you don't use.
* Remove installed programs that you no longer use.
Typically, temporary Internet files take the most amount of space because the browser caches each page you visit for faster access later.
To use Disk Cleanup
1. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools,
and then click Disk Cleanup. If several drives are available, you might be
prompted to specify which drive you want to clean.
Disk Cleanup calculates the amount of space you will be able to free.
2. In the Disk Cleanup for dialog box, scroll through the content of the Files to
delete list. (If you have multiple hard drives you will have to select which one
to scan.)Choose the files that you want to delete.

3. Clear the check boxes for files that you don't want to delete, and then click OK.
4. When prompted to confirm that you want to delete the specified files, click OK.
Be sure to do this if you want to speed up your computer speed!
My personal website is an absolute must see if you are looking to increase the speed of your computer. Go to how to speed up a computer now to learn my other ways to increase your computer speed. This site is complete with step by step instructions with videos and screen shots to help even the most novice computer users. My main site has other various computer how to types of tutorials and guides to help you with your computer. Go to my computer how to site now to get more information!
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brooks_Carver

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Tune up your PC

How to Tune up Your Windows XP PC

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Here are some expert step-by-step tips for tuning up, tweaking & optimizing your personal computer running the Windows XP operating system.

Steps

1. Run "Windows Update" regularly, or use the automatic "Critical Updates Notification".
   
2. Install anti-spyware software (Ad-aware, Spybot S&D & Spyware Doctor are all good ones) and keep it updated. Spyware Blaster runs in the background and stops spyware installing itself.
   
3. Run the anti-spyware program regularly to keep your PC clean.
   
4. Install & regularly update your anti-virus software.
   
5. Run the anti-virus program on a regular basis.
   
6. One option is to enable "Microsoft Firewall". However MS Firewall does not control outgoing connections (ie. a virus/worm trying to 'phone home'). Download and install ZoneAlarm - a free version is available.
   
7. Make sure there's nothing in the Startup list. (Start Menu> All Programs> startup) Unless there are programs in the list that you need to run when the computer starts up, it should be empty.
   
8. Uninstall unnecessary or rarely-used programs in "Add/Remove Programs".
   
9. Clean the Desktop icons you don't use. Put them in a folder (preferably not on the desktop) if you are nervous about deleting them.
   
10. Clear the Recent Documents & Programs list, on Taskbar & Start Menu properties.
    
11. Internet Explorer users:
    • In "Temporary Internet Files", delete cookies, and delete files.
    • In the "Advanced" tab, uncheck all "Install On Demand" items and disable Javascript and VB Script listed under "Microsoft VM".
    
    
12. In your "Windows" folder, manually delete files in the "Temp" folder.
    
13. Delete unused system tray programs.
    
14. Remove startup programs with the MSConfig application (Start>Run> "msconfig", OK).
    
15. Run Windows Disk Cleanup. Do this at least twice a month. Make sure 'Recycle bin' is checked to periodically empty it.
    
16. Run MS Disk Defragmenter. Do this at least once a month.
    
17. Update your drivers for CPU, memory, video card and sound card, etc. Download the driver updates from the manufacturer's web site.
    

Tips

• To change the mouse speed in Windows XP: (Start>Control Panel>Mouse>Pointer Options tab). Move slider settings to two , three points faster - this can increase the appearance of the mouse's pointer speed on your screen. Make sure 'Enhance pointer precision' is disabled or mouse acceleration will be present.
  
• When you perform Disk Cleanup in the "More Options" tab, remove old system restore points; this can clear about 2GB of disk space!
  
• Your data will be easier to manage if it's organized and in one place. Your "My Documents" folder can be very helpful for this.
  
• Try to develop the discipline of editing your video files soon after taking them, then immediately burn them to DVD backup and remove them from your PC to save space on the hard drive.
  
• If you use MS Outlook email service, delete your biggest and oldest emails.
  
• When installing any Instant Messengers, be certain “Run on startup” isn’t selected by default. It's not necessary for the Messengers to open on every startup. This will help the start-up load faster.
  
• Add the Netmeeting program to Windows XP if you can, it's very useful (Start>Run> "conf ", OK).
  
• If you want faster internet performance, consider an alternative browser such as Opera, Avant, or Firefox.
  

Warnings

• Clean at your own risk!
  
• Just in case, make a backup of all of your documents you never want to lose, before you start cleaning.
  
• For disk and registry cleanup, learn to clean your registry (to be safe, use Registry Mechanic, CCleaner and Regcleaner ).
  
• In the "Windows" folder use caution your system files are on there and only access the temp do this at your own risk.
  
• All in one tool to do all the above jobs automatically: http://www.keep-pc-clean.com
  

Related wikiHows

• How to Install Windows Using a CD
  
• How to Remove Windows Messenger on Windows XP
  
• How to Disable Windows Error Reporting
  
• How to Get Rid of Programs Stuck on Windows Xp
  
• How to Disable Simple File Sharing in Windows Xp Home Edition
  
• How to Install the Recovery Console in Windows 2000 or XP
  
• How to Start Windows in Safe Mode
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Tune up Your Windows XP PC. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

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