 Creative Intelligence @ Your Service |
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Creative Intelligence @ Your Service |
Site Map +1 214 234 9283 | Send Email |
It's approaching Spring in Texas, which means the weather shifts from quite pleasant to quite nasty rather quickly. Also we have plenty of thunder and wind storms this time of year. And the resulting electric power problems to go with it. So let's talk about ways to protect our computers and the data they store.
First make sure power circuits are safe for computer use. When storms induce distrubances in electrical power, problems arise quickly when we fail to observe the following rules:
Use Grounded Outlets: All desktop computers must be plugged into grounded outlets or a grounded adapter. Some laptop power supplies have two wire cords, but those with three wire cords must also follow this rule.
Why is this such a big deal? Because many homes in the Dallas/Fort Worth area were built before electric codes required the use of grounded outlets. If in doubt, a GFCI electrical outlet tester, under $10 with tax, will indicate if an outlet is wired correctly or not.
Use UL® Listed Surge Suppressors: Not all power strips are alike. UL has two separate ratings: one only for electrical safety and another for equipment safety. Only plug computers into power strips with a UL hologram sticker explicitly stating the words "Transient Voltage Surge Suppressor."
The above of course also applies to televisions, stereos, and other expensive electronic equipment. When we consider the repair cost of a blown power supply is well over one hundred dollars, spending 10% of that to make sure equipment is grounded properly makes sense.
Our problem in DFW is weather conditions change so fast. The phrase, "If you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes," is literally true. So before we leave our offices, let's review some general practices to reduce our risk of system corruption during a power failure:
Save Early And Often: Many office type programs, like spread sheets and word processors, only commit changes to disk when we save the file. So we must do this every so often, like after five minutes or when we reach a reasonable check point in our work. Some programs have an auto save function that normally is off: for serveral reasons, consider turning this feature on.
Disable Fast User Switching: Windows users are well advised to turn off fast user switching via the User Accounts control panel. Why? Well, with fast switching, programs from multiple users can run at once. Which means more open files. Which means more chances for data corruption if power is lost.
On Macs, there is no equivalent of fast user switching. One is always forced to log out to change users. A good practice from a reliability and safety perspective.
Log Out When Absent: The amount of damage possible when power is cut is greatly reduced when one simply logs off. This closes all open programs and puts the computer in an idle mode. Yes, there is a possibility the hard disk could be damaged in logged out mode. But this damage is usually reparable at boot time.
Shut Down Often: We recommend powering off computers when they will be unused for an hour or more. Not only does this protect from potential electrical damage, it also saves power. The exception? When a computer is a server with automatic back-up or other functions that run unattended. For servers, logging off is the recommended option.
Concerned that the electrical quality is so shaky a battery back up system is needed? More expensive systems have a data connection to shut down the computer if a power failure occurs. Since weather changes every ten minutes, we kind of need this feature: unless we are around to manually shut down the computer, at some point the battery will become exhausted!
Our October 2006 advisory has several tips on backing up data, including the all important export of critical accounting and contact data. Please read through the October advisory to review these important security considerations. A stitch in time...
Just contact us with any comments, concerns, or questions about items contained in this document. Or IT issues in general. Or call us at the telephone number below.
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