Computer Panic - how to avoid losing your work

The blue screen of death - never before has a single colour caused so much panic in the developed world. It can strike at any time and when you're least prepared, it's why many of us have become conditioned to save our work after every sentence (I just saved that one). Computer crashes are something we have all come to dread - but if you're smart and plan ahead, it doesn't have to spell imminent doom. Learn how to avoid losing your work and beat the blue screen of death with these helpful hints:

1. Save often: Ctrl + S is your friend; by saving your work often you'll be alright in case a program crashes or becomes unstable. Alternatively, be sure to enable to AutoRecover functions in your programs, this will automatically save your work every 10 minutes or so   Practice other good habits, including emptying your Recycle Bin no more than once a month and closing down programs that you're not using instead of leaving them to run in the background, using up valuable RAM.


2. Save data on a separate location from your operating system: some technicians recommend storing your data files on a separate hard drive from your operating system, this way in case the operating system is affected and the drive needs to be reformatted, your data and work won't be lost.


3. Back up your files: if you save all of your work on your
   
   hard drive, make sure to create a separate back up regularly. Invest
   
   in an external hard drive or you can burn them onto DVDs. Alternatively, you can back up some of your most important work by storing it online (ie emailing documents to a free email account like Gmail). There are services that will provide free online data backup; when you
   href="http://www.rentsmart.com.au/go/why-rent/what-can-i-rentsmart">rent desktop computers, you can take advantage of the included tech support of 5 GB of online data storage.

If your computer does crash, don't panic. Many new computers and laptops come with technical support services that will help you recover and retrieve your data from your hard drive. Be sure to take care of your computer as well, by cleaning up your folders every so often or defragging the hard drive(s) to allow the machine to run more efficiently.