Self-Inflected Problems

Self-Inflected Problems

Computers are very useful tools for getting work done. However, they are much like cars; we use and abuse them, then get mad, frustrated, and panic when they do not work. This article provides a few tips to prevent some of the self-inflicted problems encountered by computer uses in all types of businesses.

Slow Down!!!

Hurrying through tasks is the biggest source of self-inflicted problems. When popup warnings come up, this means that some programmer felt the need to tell you, the user, about some 'issue.' Generally, programmers do not like doing this, but the warning is there because the programmer felt that the user must decide what to do next.

Here are two very good examples: installing a new program and uninstalling a program. When doing either of these tasks, popup messages usually come up. It is important to read these to find out if the correct response is yes or no.

In the first case, when installing a program, a warning may come up. The programmer wants you to decide about overwriting an existing file with another older version. Generally, this is a very bad idea and it should not be done. So read the question and see if yes or no is the correct response.

For the second case, you are removing a program from your system and you get a warning that you might be leaving some file or files on your system and do you want to keep them or delete them. Here again, this is a place that reading the wording of the popup is crucial. Leaving extra files is generally not a problem on your system, but deleting them might be, since other programs could be using these files.

Don't Be Overzealous

Cleaning up some of the clutter and debris on your hard drive is definitely a very good thing to do. However, you need to be careful. If you do not know what a file is, then do not delete it. Many applications will put some file or group of files in a folder on your hard drive and the folder and file names have nothing do to with the real application.

Virus Checker Is A Must Have!

A good virus scanner is necessary if you do any of the following things:

Your computer is connected to the internet

Your computer is used for reading e-mail

Your computer or computers are connected to a network

You share files with any other computer -- even if only by using floppies/CDs

It is well worth the money to buy and subscribe to something like Norton Anti-Virus or McAfee VirusScan. These two, in particular, have live, online updates for new viruses. Updates are needed because new viruses constantly are being created.

Beware of hoaxes, like an e-mail warning about some new, potentially deadly system virus. When you check into it a little closer you may find that the e-mail wants to sell you a ‘virus scanning’ service. Another ‘virus warning’ was sent to a company I worked for from a former employee who was still very friendly with management. Well, the ‘virus’ file described was actually a system file used by windows. If we had deleted the file like the e-mail said to do, our computer systems would have been taken completely out. Another source of viruses, are e-mails with attachments. Unless you know the person sending the e-mail or have reason to believe it is a legitimate e-mail, delete it right away.

Setup a Maintenance Plan

Preventive maintenance can solve many problems before they ever happen. Windows XP comes with some system tools to help. Scandisk and defrag are very helpful. Scandisk will search the hard drive for bad data blocks or data blocks that are about to go bad. Many times scandisk can even repair these places on the drive or, at the very least, mark them as bad so no data will ever go there. Using scandisk regularly can prevent data from being lost by ensuring that only good areas of the hard drive will be used. Defrag can help system performance by gathering all the pieces and parts of a file stored on the hard drive and putting those parts into a single, accessible, place.

Another maintenance item is to clean the computer system every once in a while. I don't mean running your computer through a car wash, but wiping the case off, checking for any build-up of dust bunnies, clearing the air vents of the case so you have good airflow. In addition, cleaning your keyboard and mouse occasionally will help. This prevents build up of 'stuff' in the hardware but also may prevent weird things from happening when you type or use your mouse.

Doing all work from the Administrator account

For XP users this is a bad idea. Setup an administrator account and leave it alone. Then set up a user account, with or without admin rights for you to use normally. This keeps a useable account separate from your normal working account.

The best example I can think of is this. One of our computers got hit with an e-mail worm virus, so any time the account got started the worm took over the system. However, once I shut down the system and logged back in as the Admin, the worm did not activate. With the worm not active, I was able to use my antivirus program to kill off the worm and all of the infected files. So, having the emergency Admin account, I was able to kill off the virus infection without causing extreme harm to the rest of the network and very little down time to the user.

Another "Must Have" – Backups!

Computers are only machines, and machines will break down or fail. Having a disaster recovery plan is essential so that life can go on after one of these things happens.

Most computer operating systems have a backup program that is built in. Also, there are many commercially available programs to make this task simpler. Then there are the options for where to store the backups: floppy disks, tapes, CDs, Zip and Jazz drives, and even DVD ROMS. Then, what do you back up? Just your data, data and programs, or the entire C: drive, including the system portions of the operating system?

These are not easy questions to answer, but good answers can only come from a case-by-case analysis. For instance, is this your only computer? How critical are the data and programs to your business? How long can you live without your computer? As you can see, there are many things to be considered when creating a disaster recovery plan. However, I prefer using a strategy of doing several things all at the same time, but keeping them separate. This way, there are multiple ways of recovering.

There are many choices but the most significant choice is that some procedure is in place and that backups are being done on a regular basis

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