Al Lustie's Tips and Tricks

It happened again.  A client lost her data when her hard drive died.  Died Dead.

I recommend to you and to all my clients and friends, to all strangers and slight acquaintences:  purchase an external hard disk (they are less than $100 at Office Depot), connect to your computer (PC or Mac) and set up a regular back up schedule.  On PCs you can use the built in Backup program.  On Macs it is the Time Machine program.  You don't have to purchase anything but the hard disk.  It's easy.

Or hire me or someone like me to help you set up the backup program.  For most people, backing up once a week is adequate.  You lose no more than a week's worth of work.

Oh, if you use Thunderbird for an email client, search for MozBackup and run it regularly.  Have the program put the backkup file in your Library or Documents so that it get's backed up to the external hard disk as well.

If you use Outlook, plan on backing it up regularly and having the backup go to the external hard drive.  Be sure your contacts as well as your emails get backed up.  Calendar, too, if you use it.

Although this is boring and tedious, it really beats pounding your head against the sidewalk when you need a backup and you didn't provide for one.

So simple, but easy to miss.  When your computer, particularly a laptop, cannot connect to your wireless network, check for one of the following:

• A function key that turns the ability of the machine to connect on or off
• A switch on the front edge or side edge of the laptop.

If that fails, reboot the modem first by unplugging it for 15 seconds, plugging it in and then waiting 2 minutes.
Then reboot the wireless router by unplugging it for 15 seconds, plugging it in and then waiting 2 minutes.