Kustom Computers Huddersfield

Disaster Prevention

Preparing for hardware failure is not a choice. In the worst case all your data may be unrecoverable. Examples of irreplaceable data saved on your computer may include;

• Family photos
• E-mail receipts
• Letters and legal documents
• Internet bookmarks
• Personal and work e-mails
• Purchased music and video
• Tax records

There a many levels of protection against disaster. The amount of protection you apply depends on how much you value your data.

A Low Level of Protection

• This involves making data backups to external media such as CD and DVD.
• Benefits - You can copy your data back in the event of hardware failure.
• Hardware/Software Needed - A CD/DVD writer
• Limitations - Any recent work which wasn’t copied to CD/DVD will be lost. To restore your system you will have to find all your original software disks. You may have to contact many different companies to retrieve account details for services that you have purchased. You will have to spend hours reinstalling the operating system and programs. More time will be required to customise your settings. It will be costly to pay a PC repair technician to restore your system back to its original state.
• Time needed to completely restore the system - Hours/Days

 

A Medium Level of Protection

• In addition to saving files to CD and DVD, programs are configured to store data onto a separate hard disk.
• Benefits - If your primary hard disk fails your data will still be safe. Your recent work will not be lost. Windows users may see some performance benefits.
• Hardware/Software Needed - A CD/DVD writer and a second hard disk drive.
• Limitations - If your main disk fails you will still have to re-install your operating system and re-customise all your programs. Again this can be expensive. You will still need to backup your personal data to CD/DVD regularly in case all your hardware fails.
• Time needed to completely restore the system - 5-10 Hours

 

A High Level of Protection

• In addition to the above a disk image (an exact copy) of the operating system is made.
• Benefits - Same as the above plus if hardware failure occurs there is no need to re-install your operating system. All recently imaged programs will not have be be re-installed. Restoration time can now be measured in minutes.
• Hardware/Software Needed - A CD/DVD writer, a second hard disk drive and disk imaging software.
• Limitations - You can only restore your operating system and programs as far back as your last disk image. You will still need to backup your personal data to CD/DVD regularly.
• Time needed to completely restore the system - 30-60 minutes on identical hardware.

 

The Ultimate Level of Protection

• To have complete peace of mind the disk image is updated daily. Personal files and the disk image are automatically copied to an external hard disk daily. This copy must be taken away to another location every day.
• Benefits - Same as the above. Also in the event of a fire, theft, or electrical faults you can still recover your system. If you accidentally delete a file you'll still have a previous copy on the external hard disk.
• Hardware/Software Needed - A CD/DVD writer, a second hard disk drive, disk imaging software plus an extra external disk drive.
• Limitations - You have to MAKE SURE that you take your backup off site.
• Time needed to completely restore the system - 30-60 minutes on identical hardware.

 

Cost

The cost of this service depends on your current PC setup. Bigger backups mean purchasing larger capacity hardware. Reliable hard disk drives cost roughly £60 each and their external versions slightly more. Disk imaging software costs approximately £30. Our charge is £20 for the first hour and £10 per hour for any further hours. The total cost may range from £100 to £200. But consider this, what would you do if your PC hardware failed right now?

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