Proposal for a Workshop on Backing Up Your PC
Do you have any data on your PC that You cannot afford to lose?
Why do I need to have a backup?
Hacking is more formidable now than ever, and more often than not, once a PC has been hacked, it needs to be restored from scratch. At some point, your computer will be so slow that you will want to restore it to factory settings. A system image backup together with incremental backups can make restoration much easier and more complete.
What do I need to do the backups? Software Hardware
What hardware/software do I need to do the backups? Your PC with Windows installed One or more of the following (depends on the version of Windows that you have): External hard drive with a capacity larger than your PC hard drive Jump Drive (Flash Drive/Thumb Drive) DVD writer and DVD disks
Software is highly debatable. There are very good commercial software packages for doing EZ backups. Problem is that when you need the software, it is either obsolete or doesn't work with your particular backup. I try to stick with Microsoft Windows backup/restore software, but that can have its own problems. I discovered this last week. I used Norton, which is good. But, what happens if you get a different antivirus?
Steps to Backing Up Your PC
Steps to Backing Up Your PC Run a full scan of your antivirus to try to get rid of as much malware as possible. Make an inventory of your system with Belarc Advisor (download) http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html Update the BIOS chip (optional) Run Windows Update to make sure your current version is up-to-date; needs a lot of time
Steps to Backing Up Your PC (continued) Remove all programs that you do not use or even know about. Start->Control Panel- >Add/Remove Programs. Run Disk Cleanup (Start->Programs- >Accessories->System->Disk Cleanup) Create System Image (done differently in different Windows Versions.
Steps to Backing Up Your PC (continued) Create Windows Recovery CD or Jump Drive (this varies depending on Windows version Win8.1 requires a Jump Drive; other versions can use DVDs or CDs) Set up Incremental Backups; again using Microsoft backup software. (Varies with the Windows version).
Backup, Restore, Backup Demo Demo of restoring a backup to a real computer I am using a laptop that my brother wanted to recycle. The history is: I re-installed the OS from scratch to get rid of any personal files from my brother. I made a system-state backup of that re-installation I made a recovery DVD disk (didn't work, though)
The Jargon System Image a backup that includes all of the programs you have added outside of the basic Windows Operating System Incremental Backup backups taken at a set interval such as a week, or 2 weeks, or month. Good to retrieve files that were accidentally erased or damaged or corrupted.
Homework These things maybe cannot be done in the Workshop 1) Run Windows Update (this could require several iterations do them all). 2) Do the actual System Image backup (we may be able to do this in the Workshop, maybe) 3) Make a set of Recovery Disks (I'll help you with instructions for the method specific for your brand of computer.) 4) Contingency Gather your disks and docs in one place. If all else fails, you can do it from scratch.
Estimated Time for Workshop Day 1: Review of what we must do Gather information about our computers (Belarc) Find the software that we need for each computer. Ensure that we have the hardware needed external drive, jump drive(s), blank DVD disks Review how to do a Windows Update Homework: Windows update
Estimated Time for Workshop Day 2: Check whether we need to update the BIOS biosagentplus.com Uninstall programs, if necessary. Start->Control Panel->Uninstall Programs Run Disk Cleanup. Start->Programs->Accessories- >System->Disk Cleanup Create System Image Find the commands for you to do this at home. It takes an hour or two.
Estimated Time for Workshop Day 3: Review how everyone came out with their System Image (compare the space used on the disk with the space the image takes). Create recovery media (DVDs or jump drive depending on the Windows version). About an hour here. Choose backup software and set up a regular schedule for backups. Show me that you have the information and disks needed to recover, if this recovery fails.
Estimated Time for Workshop Day 4: Review any loose ends. Possible demo of restoring a computer from the backups.