Our recommended backup tape usage and replacement schedule is derived from input from hundreds of users, tape and drive manufacturers’ recommended replacement schedules, and years and years of monitoring tape life and backup integrity.

In short..It works.

The schedule includes, at any time, 12 tapes. The tapes are labeled as follows:

1) Monday
2) Tuesday
3) Wednesday
4) Thursday
5) Friday 1
6) Friday 2
7) Friday 3
Friday 4
9) Quarter 1
10) Quarter 2
11) Quarter 3
12) Quarter 4
The Monday through Thursday tapes are used as expected. On Fridays, one of 4 tapes is used. The Friday 1,2,3 and 4 tapes are used consecutively so that you always have a backup more than 1 week old. We have witnessed situations where a virus has infected a network, and corrupted files. Only going back to a pre-infection backup allows rebuilding of such files, and it often takes a few days to detect or identify such infections.

The quarter 1,2,3 and 4 tapes are used at the end of each of your fiscal quarters. These tapes are usually tapes close to the end of their service life. This will be the last use for this tape.

This rotation schedule requires purchasing four new tapes each year. At the time of purchase, the tapes are rotated into different roles. Each Friday tape is set aside awaiting a quarterly backup role. Monday to Thursday tapes are advanced to Friday 1, 2, 3, and 4 roles. 4 new tapes are introduced into the Monday – Thursday roles.

This schedule involves using each tape 66 times. We have found this to be a reasonable life expectancy for most backup tapes. The schedule gives you several levels of protection should a loss or corruption occur.

Keep in mind the tapes need to be kept warm and dry and at least the weekly and quarterly tapes off site.

Backup Tape Usage and Replacement Schedule is a post from: Restore For Computer

Of particular threat to your computer is spyware. It is basically like a virus in that is spreads throughout your computer however, spyware, as its name suggests, invades the privacy of the personal computer. Thus, the purchase antispyware software is essential in securing your computer from potential threats. Some operating systems are actually equipped with a security center built-in already. This means that when you purchase the computer and operating system software you already have the services of the security center at your disposal. Such services commonly include the ability of an administrator to monitor activity throughout the system as well as potentially block hazardous material on the internet from being viewed by other users, the ability to manage automatic updates and what’s more the ability to enquire about the status of antivirus software.

Many of these pre-installed security mechanisms also come equipped with a firewall. A firewall is essentially a , which protects against incoming threats whether they are in the form of infections or hijackers. Without the aid of a firewall an automated hijacker could hack into your system in a matter of minutes while you are connected to the Internet, completely unaware of what is happening to your computer.

Security For Your Computer is a post from: Restore For Computer

1. First, remove all cards and DIMMs. All we want is it to beep. If there is a beep, then it’s not dead, but has problems. There is no need to complicate the situation further with various cards in the system. We do not need any cards or memory in the system to hear a beep. All we need is the CPU inserted and a working speaker connected to the board. *The orientation of the speaker does not make a difference.

2. With only the CPU inserted and the speaker hooked up, there are still no beeps when power is applied.

3. Try the steps listed below/ After trying each step, power up the system to see if beeps are heard. It is of course very important to determine that the speaker works before hand if possible and that it is hooked up correctly. If beeps are heard at any time, reinsert the RAM. If long beeps that repeat forever are heard, the RAM is most likely either bad or at least incompatible with the board. If there is a long beep is followed by a few short beeps, then reinsert the Video Card. If the same beeps are heard, make sure the video card is in all the way or try another card. Nirvana is reached when only the short, single POST beep is heard. At this point the board should be running normally.

• Check the jumper settings. If the bus runs at 100Mhz, 133Mhz, etc. try a slower bus speed to see if that produces a beep. Try the “auto” setting if applicable rather than specifying a particular bus speed. Set the multiplier to a slower speed such as 2.5.

• Check the voltage settings for Socket 7 CPUs.

• Check the CPU for bent or broken pins or damaged contacts.

• Reseat the CPU. Take the CPU out and reinsert it, making sure it seats well.

• Try another CPU if possible. At this point, we just want a beep. It is unlikely that the CPU is bad, but if another one is handy, try that to see if a beep is heard.

• If the board is an ATX design, remove AC power from the power supply, unhook the power supply cable from the board, reinsert it and apply AC power to the power supply again.

• At this point, if the system is in a case, take the board out and try it on a test bench setup, anti-static bag on top of case, etc. to check for grounding problems.

• If possible, try a different Power Supply. Even if the power supply runs and the fan spins, etc. it could still have a problem.

• If the board is still dead, if possible, try another mainboard. Does it work with the same CPU, Power Supply, etc?

• If none of the above produce a beep, we have hit a wall. There is little else to try and the board may in fact be DOA.

How to Debug a Dead Motherboard is a post from: Restore For Computer