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It happens to the best of us, and it will probably happen to you
eventually. Yep, it's the one thing we all say won't happen, but
always does - a hard drive failure. I'll show you how to
safeguard your iMac from disaster, and, aside from some sort of
disk drive, it won't cost you a thing.
First, we'll start with the most important thing: backing up
your data. Most people think this is expensive, but with the system
software provided with newer Bondi blue iMacs and the candy colored
iMacs (which is called 8.5) you can get a free backup program. If
you have the older OS, 8.1, you can upgrade to 8.5. It's worth the
money. This program is called File Synchronization. It resides in
your control panels folder. If you don't see it, you can install
it. Pop in the orange Software Install CD and click Mac OS Setup,
then do a custom install and install the program. (You can find it
in the Control Panels submenu).
Now that the program is set up, you need a disk drive. Imation
and Iomega make high density drives in 120 and 100 MB capacity,
respectively. You can get them at any computer store for US$150 or
less. Now that all of that stuff is setup, back up all of your
documents. All of the programs that came on your iMac are already
backed up on the orange disk called Software Restore or on their
own included CD. (For more on USB drives, read Low-Cost USB Removables
Compared.)
But, that's not all you can do. You shouldn't wait for a problem
to maim your disk before you do anything. Apple provides a free
program called Disk First Aid with all Macs. It can be found in the
Utilities folder. Run this program weekly to nip any problem in the
bud before it hurts you.
Now that we know how to stop hard drive disasters, hopefully
your data will be safe. I recommend again that you should do this
whenever you can, before you have a problem. ( I didn't take my own
advice for a while. It took me three hard drive crashes before I
started backing up.)
Recent Mac Happens Columns
MP3 Forever!, 6/26/00. Closing down
Napster will not help already rich artists, but may prevent new
ones from being discovered.
Internet radio, 6/9/00. Internet
radio solves problems with poor radio reception, but also lets you
listen to radio from around the world.
Listen to Just the Music with the V-Moda Vibe Earbuds, Tommy Thomas, Welcome to Macintosh, 09.05.
Well built, the noise canceling earbuds will let you hear all the nuances of your music without letting through background noise.
Tomorrow's Solid State Drives and Notebooks, Dan Knight, Mac Musings, 09.04.
Flash drives are great but have some shortcomings. Some thoughts on building better SSDs and notebooks to use them.
Latest Deals on Low End Mac
Best 15" MacBook Pro Deals, 09.05.
Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $999; 2.16, $1,125; new, 2.2, $1,450 after rebate; refurb 2.4, $1,699; 2.5, $1,999; 2.6 Santa Rosa, $1,849; rebates on new.
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