For starters there are several types of data which you may have on your computer.  There are those things which you want to keep, those you need to keep, and those which would be devastating to loose.  Each type of data requires its own minimum backup scheme, however, when in doubt it is always to above and beyond the bare minimum when it comes to data backup.

To begin with here are some rules for data backup:

1. Always keep at least three copies of anything you feel is important.
2. Use three different formats/media for these backup.
3. Keep archival copies of these backups which extend back at least 3 backups (ie. Jan 2010, Feb 2010, Mar 2010).

For the average home user these files will typically be photos and for businesses these will be your financial records.  The first of the three copies will typically be stored on the hard drive in your computer.  Unfortunately, this is as far as most people will go with securing their data and they will likely feel a lot of stress if/when that computer has problems.

Because the first copy is stored on the hard drive in your computer, you will need a second backup location and/or media.  For convenience this can be an external hard drive or a flash drive.  These can be purchased at just about any electronics store and are not too expensive, well worth the $10 – $100 to keep your data safe.  The price here depends on the amount of data you need to backup.  This will bring us up to two copies, however, both of these copies are still stored within your home and there is the possibility of flood, fire, or natural disaster damage.  For most of your data the loss of your home would be more devastating than the loss of the data, but the loss of all your family photos and tax records requested by the IRS may be worse.

For these files you need to have some form of off site storage.  One option here is to purchase another flash drive or external hard drive to keep at work or the home of a family member or friend.  This could also be stored in a safety deposit box for added security.  However, with high speed internet availability and cheap storage these days there are many online services which offer inexpensive online storage.  This allows you to backup all your files online with a password and access them from any computer with internet access from anywhere in the world.

Set up this backup system and nothing short of the collapse of civilization will cause you to loose your data.  Now, you will likely not backup your files to all three of these sources every time you change any one of your files, right?  For this reason you will also need a backup schedule.  My recommendation for most people is to copy the files on your computer to the flash drive or external hard drive at least weekly and to your off site storage at least monthly, of course the more frequent you backup your files the better.  This also takes care of rule three by providing you with a copy of your most recent changes on your computer, one week old files on your flash drive or external hard drive, and one month old files on your off site storage.  The reason this is needed is to make sure that if you get a virus which corrupts your files you do not loose all the backups as well.  If your files were updated across all there backups instantly then any corrupted files would be lost instantly in all three backups as well.

For more information on data backup or to get your backup scheme setup ASAP, contact me through Jones PC Repair, (828) 398-0304, or fjones@jonespcrepair.com.

Like

• kept most of the Vista layout
• added support for many of the XP programs which were not supported by Vista
• adjusted the taskbar and made it more useful
• InPrivate mode added to Internet Explorer
• ability to view recent documents by program

Dislike

• not a lot of features which make it worth the money to upgrade unless you’re already buying a new PC
• just like Vista, I would recommend at least a dual core 2 GHz CPU and 3 GB of RAM (this is overkill for someone who just wants to surf, check email, and type papers but becomes a minimum requirement if they are running Vista or Windows 7)
• Microsoft misrepresents the minimum requirements here (1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor; 1 GB RAM (32-bit) / 2 GB RAM (64-bit)) This is if you only want to load Windows 7 and want it to be painfully slow.  This is also part of the reason that Vista is perceived as such a bad OS, they say it can run on (1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor; 1 GB of system memory).  In my experience this leads to an insanely slow and unstable system.  Stick with a 2 GHz processor and 3 GB RAM, or more, for good performance.

My over all opinion of Windows 7 is that it will run very well on any system that can handle the overhead of Vista and it add a few useful features.  I will not rush out and spend the money to upgrade as soon as it is available, but I wont hesitate to purchase a new computer with Windows 7 pre-installed either.

I started with the 64-bit version of Windows 7 in the hopes that the kinks of other 64-bit systems had been worked out by now, unfortunately I was mistaken.  I was able to install and run the OS without any troubles which leads me to believe that the problem lays with the other software I use and not in Windows 7.  However, Windows 7 could and should find better ways to support these other software titles as I don’t believe they are that uncommon.  A few of these include, OpenOffice.org, Avast, and driver updates from windows update and my HP printer.  After installing these items the computer would no re-boot.  I was not able to narrow down the exact cause of the problem because I only tried the install and setup three times before switching to the 32-bit version.  It did seem to be more prone to problems if I installed a large program, such as OpenOffice.org or my HP printer software, or multiple programs without restarting the system between installs.

My favorite features of Windows 7 thus far include their decision to keep the general layout of Vista and the updated design of the taskbar.  Have a look at the my Windows 7 desktop.

I like to keep a clean desktop with very few links and icons, but there are a few programs that I use often and typically like to keep readily available.  Now I can pin these to the taskbar, the small list of icons next to the Start menu, and they’re available with only one click.  This has been available since Windows 95 or 98, I forget which had this first.  The difference with Windows 7 is that when you open multiple windows they nest together under the one icon.  This frees up lost of space on the task bar and is similar to one of the features in OS X and has been tried in Windows XP and Vista, but wasn’t very useful.  With Windows 7 this feature is now usable due to the fact that windows are shown as thumbnail views with updated information when you move the cursor over the icon.  Check out the screen shot below.

My biggest drawback so far is the lack of ‘Classic View’ option in the menus.  This has been my crutch for some time and I would like to keep it.  I know that I need to get used to the new menu layouts for future versions of Windows, but I’ve been reluctant to learn a new layout and generally like to avoid change if I can.  It looks like with this version of windows I will be learning a new menu layout.

I will continue to use the 32-bit version, which installed the first time and worked perfectly, until the end of this test on June 3rd.  Let me know if you have any questions or programs you would like me to test while I have Windows 7 installed.

I have downloaded the latest release candidate of Windows 7 and will begin a 3 week trial of this latest OS from Microsoft.  If you want to fallow along you can download a trial copy here.  I will begin by formatting my laptop to convert from Vista to Windows 7 on Wednesday of this week, 5/13/09, and will continue to use the new OS until Wednesday 6/3/09 when I will format back to Vista.  I will begin with the 64-bit version and only change to the 32-bit version for the last week, or if there are too many problems with the 64-bit version.  If there are major problems with the new OS then I will have to go back to Vista sooner, but if this goes well I may continue using Windows 7 past the end of my coverage of it on this blog.  This will be a no holds barred look at the latest OS from Microsoft.  I will take into account that this is only a release candidate and therefore not ready for retail release and will probably tend to be a bit buggier than the final release.  However, I want to allow people to know what they may be getting into before buying this new OS.  Unfortunately anything new for Microsoft also comes with ridiculous upgrade requirements and countless bugs which drive everyone crazy for a couple years until they fix the bugs and release another new OS to begin the cycle again.

About my laptop

For the other geeks in the room I have listed below the technical specs of my Toshiba laptop which will be running this trial.  For everyone else, you should understand that my laptop is faster than anything you would have paid less than $1000 for more than three years ago and at least as fast as anything you would have paid $500 for within the last three years.

• CPU: AMD Athlon X2 QL-60 1.9GHz
• RAM: 3GB
• Video: ATI Radeon
• HDD: 250GB
• DVD burner

About the OS

I am very excited about the release on Windows 7, unlike most of the other OS releases from Microsoft.  The thing that excites me the most is the multi-touch capabilities, but I don’t expect this to effect most homes for at least 3 – 5 years, and I do not have the hardware to test this feature either.  The most important features for most users are going to be the compatibility modes for Vista and XP programs.  This should make the transition seamless and add support for many of the programs that used to work in XP but never got updated for various reasons.  Check here for more information about the list of feature built into Widows 7.

I learned about Earth Hour on Friday evening and was so impressed by what has already been done and the plans for the future that I signed up immediately.  As a computer nerd it’s not so much the lights that I will have to turn off, but all my computers.  I plan to simply flip the main breaker, so there isn’t even any vampire power being consumed.  The fridge can maintain it’s temperature for an hour if the door is kept closed, which will help my diet.  Just look at all the benefits from cutting costs and helping the environment.

I plan to spend an hour in conversation in the dark istead of going out for the hour.  I figure that if you just go out then you’re changing where the energy is spent and the type, such as using gas instead of electricity.  Not everyone needs to sit in the dark to participate in Earth Hour, just turn off all the lights in your home or business for one hour on March 28 from 8:30 – 9:30.  Please join us and find more information here.