Ford

Carolyn Richardson

Professor Jeanne Murcia

Microcomputer Application CGS1100

November 2, 2013

Research Paper

Although it can be frustrating to lose data, almost everyone has heard a story about someone who lost a file and spent hours trying to recover it or have experienced it themselves. Hard disks fail more often than any other component on a computer. It is extremely difficult to recover when a hard disk fails without obtaining professional help which usually comes with a hefty price tag.

Errors made while using the computer can result in the loss of a file or group of files, even if the hard drive never fails. You need to take care when you save a file as you could lose the file by saving a new file with the original file’s name, or by accidentally clicking the wrong button in a dialog box and wiping out the contents of the file. In either case, you most certainly are going to lose some data. All of the files you created or saved since your last back up might be lost for good if a hard disk failure occurs. Getting in the habit of backing up the data on a regular basis would avoid the loss of the data and save a lot of frustration (Security Essentials).

Taking proper steps will ensure that you can recover lost data when an accident happens; however, Windows 7 cannot prevent you from losing data on your hard disk. You should use a backup program to protect data on a hard disk. A backup program copies and then automatically compresses the files and folders from the hard disk into a single file, called a backup file. The backup program stores the backup file on a backup medium, which can be a hard disk, optical disc, shared network folder, USB flash drive, or even on another computer on the network.

According to Velazquez (Configuring Windows 7 Backups), you should create a system repair disc before backing up your data or system files. When a serious system error has occurred, a system repair disc can be used to repair and restore your operating...