If you regularly go down the drain, use a firewall, or take other precautions for your PC, you can avoid situations where crying is bad. Here are five ways to prevent disaster for your PC. If you do only four things, you may be in danger.
The first safe step is to perform a full backup. A recent reader said it had accidentally deleted an important post. Unfortunately, you do not have a copy of the floppy disk (or any other removable media).
CD-RWs, DVD ± RWs, and external hard drives are means of making backups easy and inexpensive. External hard drives are great backup tools in some cases. For only $ 70 you could have a drive large enough to back up your programs and data. However, if you want to keep multiple backups (a good idea), external drives can be a costly option.
In contrast, CD-RWs and DVD ± RWs are cheap, and you probably already have one or both of them. Make backups on rewritable discs (CD-RWs) more than once (CD-Rs), saving you money in the long run.
You should copy the data files once a day. If using Windows 98 or Windows Me, back up the following folders (you may not have all of them): My Documents, WindowsAll Users, WindowsApplication Data, WindowsDesktop, WindowsFavorites, WindowsLocal Settings, WindowsProfiles, WindowsSendTo, and WindowsStart Menu. . In Windows 2000 and XP, everything that needs to be backed up is within the Documents and Settings folder; But in that folder do not back up the History, Temp, and Temporary Internet Files subfolders.
Automate full backups (copy all files in the data folders and run once a week) and additional backups (only copy newly created or changed files). since last backup, and run daily). You can perform backup procedures at the end of each working day. Refer to 'Customizing Windows at Your Own' - AIS in June 2004 (page 112) or go to find.pcworld.com/42622 for how to perform automatic tasks (such as backups) when shut down windows.
Introduce Datahjaelp's $ 27 zip Backup to CD program (see Figure 1). Visit this program to find.pcworld.com/42628. If you already have WinZip, you can use the Spector Backup System; Refer to 'Easy Backup with WinZip ...' - March 2003 (page 121) or go to find.pcworld.com/42626 for step-by-step instructions.
Backup software
Figure 1 Backup to CD, DVD or hard disk using Zip Backup to CD |
Backing up Windows and applications is not as vital as data protection (you can always install these programs). However, in the event of an emergency, software backups can save you time.
The complete system backup program will back up the entire Windows folder (except the Temporary and History subfolders), the Master Boot Record file, the boot files in the root directory, and the optional program folders. . It will store this information on a bootable CD or DVD for fast recovery, along with all your data.
V Communications' $ 40 Recovery Commander fulfills the above requirements. However, this program backs up to the hard drive instead of to the removable disk, and does not back up all the files that you need to protect. Recovery Commander is also a member of VCom's $ 60 System Suite. Visit us for more information.
You must also regularly back up the Windows Registry - especially when using Windows 2000. (Windows 98, Me, and XP will automatically perform Registry backups.) For backing up in Windows 2000, please take a look at Lars Hederer's free Emergency Recovery Utility NT, go to www.pcworld.com (Download, ID: 42636) to download. Refer to 'Protecting Your PC with a Roadmap' - April 2004 (page 106) or go to find.pcworld.com/42638 for how to back up and restore the Registry.
The safest way to back up your system is to create a disk image - a complete copy of all sectors in the entire hard drive or hard disk partition. When restoring a disk image, your disk will return to its original state as it was created. Everything that is working now will work. However, you will lose all materials, e-mails, as well as any data you have received, created, or altered since you made this image. That is why you need to make additional backups to the data.
A popular disk image maker is Acronis True Image, which you can buy at www.acronis.com ($ 50). It is a simple and easy to use program. This program performs both full backups and additional backups so it is very useful for daily backups.
Create rescue disc
Figure 2: Prepare to deal with incidents in Windows 98 and Me by boot floppy rescue |
Are you fully prepared to cope with unpredictable crashes, when Windows refuses to boot? To be ready, you must have more flexible means than a disk image backup: an emergency boot floppy. (Of course you have to have a recovery program to put that image on the hard disk). In Windows 98 and Me creating such a disk is quite easy: Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add / Remove Programs. Prepare a blank, formatted floppy disk, click the Startup Disk label, and then follow the prompts (see Figure 2).
Windows 2000 and XP do not have this capability, and the DOS-based tools that you saved on your 98 / Me rescue floppy disk are useless to NTFS file systems used in Windows 2000 and most XP machines. However, if you have a Microsoft Windows CD-ROM, you can use a very good tool called the Recovery Console. To use it, insert the Windows CD into the system and reboot, and press any key when prompted to 'Press any key to boot from CD'. In the 'Welcome to setup' screen, press 'r' corresponding to Repair.
Without the Windows CD, most likely your PC comes with a recovery CD to fix the problem. Use this disk to boot as described above and find out if there is a program that can repair the boot sector, scan the hard drive or perform the same functions. If the CD only allows recovery of the hard drive to its original state, release this option and use a different recovery solution.
The free Microsoft Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install comes with a built-in Recovery Console. Setup Disks are installed on six floppy disks, the first of which is bootable. You must browse through all 6 disks to find the Recovery Console. You go to pcworld.com.vn (Download, ID: 42662) to download. Refer to the article 'When Windows XP or 2000 Will not Boot' - TGVT A November 2003 (p. 134) or go to find.pcworld.com/42640 for more information about booting capabilities in Windows 2000 and XP.
Defragment the hard disk
Figure 3: Automate hard disk partitioning with the Windows Scheduled Tasks Wizard |
You may disagree with the statement that defragmenting your hard drive will not improve your PC's performance. However, defragmentation will increase reliability: A disk with fragmented files will certainly have more problems. You have to defragment the disk once or twice a month.
No need to buy a defrag program. The program included with Windows is enough. In Windows 98 and Me, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. In Windows 2000 and XP, open My Computer, right-click on the C: drive, and select Properties, Tools, Defragment Now.
If you find it difficult to remember, you can install Windows so that it defragmentes itself on a scheduled schedule. Those who are using Windows 2000 must first go to PCworld.com (Download, ID: 42642) to download Morphasys' free AutoDefrag program, and then save the utility to the C: WINNT folder. In all versions of Windows, you choose Start, Programs (All Programs in XP). Accessories, System Tools, Scheduled Tasks. Double-click on Add.Scheduled Tasks to launch the Scheduled Tasks Wizard. When asked to choose a program, you choose any program, you will later change it. Name the task Defrag (see Figure 3). Make your own decisions in the rest of the Wizard, but when it comes to the last page, you check the Open Advanced Properties for this task when I click Finish and then click Finish.
In the Defrag dialog box, replace the ones in the Run box with the appropriate command for your version of Windows: Defrag c: / noprompt / f in Windows 98 and Me; In Windows 2000, type autodefrag c :; and in XP type defrag c :. (The operators '/ noprompt' and '/ f' will automatically start the defragmentation process.) Click OK, exit Scheduled Tasks, and you're done - unless you're using XP, and if that's not the case, the task will not run. Refer to the 'Scheduling tasks for XP' section (in the 'Synchronizing Folders ...' section) - January 29, 2003 (p. 100) or find.pcworld.com/42644 for more information. information.
Stop the bad guys
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OTHER TECHNIQUES FOR HANDLING THE NETWORK |
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TGVT A in May 2004 provided an article on 'PC does not see each other' (p. 124), which provided a way to resolve the situation of PCs in LANs that could access the Internet but could not communicate with each other. Firewall software can also prevent LAN pairing. If your networked PCs can not 'see' each other, check the firewall. If you are using ZoneAlarm, double-click the ZoneAlarm icon in the system tray and select the Zone label. (If none of these labels, click on the arrow icon in the lower right corner.) To add another computer to the Trusted area, click Add.Host/Site. Trusted Trust is selected in the Zone. Enter the computer name in the 'Host name' area and then click Lookup. When the firewall finds the computer, enter the descriptive information and click OK. |
There are some bad guys snooping around on the Internet. The first defense is a firewall - a 'door' program between the Internet and your computer. Whenever something outside attempts to infiltrate your PC, or a program on your computer attempts to infiltrate the Internet, the firewall will ask for permission.
The built-in Windows XP firewall program is not well protected by ZoneAlarm third-party firewall software (see Figure 4). It is a thoughtful, powerful, easy-to-use and free program. You go to pcworld.com.vn (Download, ID: 42750) to download ZoneAlarm, and refer to the article 'Firewalls, concepts and how to use them effectively' - LGVT A December 2003 (p. .pcworld.com / 42648 for more information.
You also have an antivirus program that checks incoming and outgoing mail, as well as files on your hard drive, to hunt for viruses that are hiding on it. Trend Micro's $ 50 PC Securuty PC Securuty Suite - the best-selling security suite available today - includes a great antivirus engine, a very good firewall, a set spam filtering, and other transcendent capabilities. Visit the download page for a free trial, and refer to the article 'Best Free Antivirus Utility' - January 2004 (page 103) or go to find.pcworld.com/. 42650 for more information.
Finally, keep an eye out for spyware - sneaky programs that install themselves into your computer and monitor your activities for the benefit of advertisers. Some of these programs report on your online shopping habits, while others change the way your website displays, sometimes adding their own ads. Fortunately, both of the best anti-spyware programs are free. Visit Lavasoft's Ad-aware program, and download the Spybot Search & amp; Destroy by Patrick M. Kolla.
7777 & Zone Anti-intrusion alarm system without any coin |
Antivirus, antispyware, and spyware detection are constantly updated. You maintain your firewall and antivirus programs running in the background. Remember to scan for viruses and spyware for all downloaded files before installing them on your system. Do not forget this old-fashioned security rule: Never open an e-mail attachment unless you already know the sender and are expecting the message.
Minh Xuan
PC World USA 9/2004
