Pay Attention to Details Regarding Your Backup Procedure

Here are some questions to consider, when determining if your backup procedure still works:

• Doyou check the backup log to see if the backup worked?  
• Do you have enough free space on your external hard drive to put the backup file? Most backup procedures do not delete or overwrite the last backup. Therefore, unless you delete old backups, you will not have room for new backups. To check how much free space is left on your external hard drive, right mouse click on the hard drive icon listed in My Computer, and select properties. The pie chart will show you how you are doing on free space.
• When is your backup scheduled? Is your computer on when  the backup is scheduled to occur? If not, the next time the backup is attempted is when the schedule indicates. A missed scheduled backup will not happened immediately when you computer is booted.
• Do you use a free service like Drop Box? If there is a red "x" over the Drop Box icon, you are over your 2GB allowance and backups have stopped. You will either need to change what you backup to bring you under the 2GB limit or for pay for extra storage.

Pay attention to the details and your backup will be available when you need it.

Does your computer freeze or shutdown unexpectedly?

Most computers have a safety feature that causes them to shutdown if the temperature inside of the computer case reaches a critical level. Sometimes the computer does not shutdown, but freezes.

Two Main Causes of Overheating Are: 

• Dust accumulates quickly inside of a computer. If the dust blocks airflow to your computer chip, that chip can overheat.
• The cooling fans of your computer may have failed.

"Dusting" Your Computer

To remove the dust from inside your workstation, you must open the case. Please refer to your owner's manual for information. Owner's manuals are usually available from the vendor's website. To  minimize dust being blown from the computer case into your home, it is recommended that you open the case outside and remove the dust there. Your computer must be unplugged when doing this procedure or your computer may become damaged.

Purchase a "canned" air product such as Dust Off at an office supply or computer store. Spray the compressed air inside the case and blow out all the dust you can see. Make sure to dust all cooling fans and the computer circuit boards. Reassemble the case.

Opening a laptop computer case is difficult and should only be attempted by a professional. To remove dust from a laptop computer, shutdown and unplug it. Again, because of the mess, this procedure is best done outside. Point the "canned" air into the ventilation slots in the case to blow the dust out.

Checking the Cooling Fans on Your Computer

Workstations have at least two cooling fans. With the computer running, see if you can detect airflow where the electrical cord plugs into the back of the workstation. This fan is part of the power supply. There should be another fan that vents the heat inside the case. The case fan is below the power supply fan. A flashlight pointed at the fans will allow you to detect if the fan is moving or not.

If the fan for the power supply is not working, the power supply needs to be replaced. This is a job for a professional computer technician. If the computer is an older one, the failure of the power supply may be the first sign of an older computer starting to fail. Consider replacing the computer instead of replacing the power supply.

If the case fan has failed, this fan is easier and cheaper to replace than the power supply. If you are handy with a screw driver, you may be able to replace this fan yourself. Remove the fan, noting where the electrical connection was plugged into the motherboard. There are many different fan sizes. Take the fan to a computer store to match the size of the fan. You must replace the fan with a fan of the same size.

Newer laptop computers do not have fans; they vent air via convection. Never leave a laptop computer running on top of a bedspread. It is possible for a soft surface such as a bedspread to block the cooling vents causing your computer to overheat.