The sad fact is, computers "crap out" all the time!  Sometime because of a virus, sometime they just wear out.  The sad part is people often lose files and pictures they can't replace! 

We've always been careful to back up our important files.  We used a raid system, a system that uses two identical hard drives, and writes to both of them at the same time.  Whatever files get written to one, also gets written to the other.  The idea being, it is very unlikely that both drives will give up at the same time so you always have a backup!  Ten years ago, that sounded good.  Today we know better.
 
Earlier this year, the house on the corner caught fire.  When the power lines to the house hit the ground and since it's on the same circuit, we use here, it toasted every hard drive on our systems (including my backup drive).  I managed to retrieve most of my data but it took months.  I had depended on a system to get me backed up and running was part of the system that got burned out by the surge.  Happily for me I had backups for my backups and along with some creative thinking...well, lets just say it could have been worse.

We looked into a few of those on-line backup services and found them to be a little pricey.  For small amounts of data it was $6 a month($72 a year).  With the amount of data we have to backup it would have cost us more than a new computer every year.  I ended up making a "mirror image" of my computer and back up changed files on a CD daily.  That backup image is stored on a drive that I keep totally apart and turned off  except to restore my computer.  I made the image of my system just after I restored it and put all of the software I use on it so I know the image is clean with no spyware, malware or other harmful software.

Today, we work with clients using this better way to do a system backup because after all, experience is the best teacher.  When a client has us build a computer or brings us a computer to fix.  After it's fixed or as soon as the operating system is installed and updated, we install the security software, after that

1>  The first thing we do is to is scan the computer and remove all unwanted software, malware, spyware or virus infections.  Obviously new systems don't have much of this but you'd be amazed what we find on most of the computers we fix.

2>We then update the programs, windows and the drivers until they are current and completely up to date.  The fact is, since service pack 2 was released on Windows xp, there have been literally hundreds of updates. 

Finally, we make a mirror image of your entire computer on an external hard drive which will be stored in a safe place in the event that you need to restore your system because of a hard drive failure.  From that mirror image, you can completely restore your system (settings, software and all) to the same condition it was in the day we cleaned it.  When our clients picks up their computer, we teach them how to make backups of their changed files onto a CD or DVD so that even the most recent files won't be lost.

We can do the same thing for you, providing you with hard drive storage space, provide the security and software for making an image of your drive, and so you can make regular back ups of your changed files (the files you are working with).  Then should the unthinkable happen, you should never lose an important file again.  The best part is, we can do it a lot cheaper than backing it up on-line.

Our main interest is to save you money while keeping you safe.

Most people don't need to be that sophisticated.  As long as you have the install copies of all your  system and program files, we can supply you with free software and show you how to back up the files you generate on a CD or DVD. 

I wish I could be more specific on the cost of our complete system backup but every computer and every situation is different.  
Without knowiing your situation or how much space backing your system up would require,, it's hard to come up with the most economical figure possible.  Our aim is to help you do this as inexpensively as possible.  It certainly won't cost you a dime to ask and you will find that our prices are unusually reasonable 
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