Rescue Those Files!

Listen up, kids. We have a lesson to be learned here.

If you take very good care of your computer, it should last you for several years. So, if you’re working on your Master’s degree there’s no reason why your computer shouldn’t see you through to the end, dissertation and all.

Of course, just about anything can go wrong. Like lightening or a power surge. Or an OS malfunction. Or a virus or worm. And when that something goes wrong, you’ll be so grateful that you took the advice of your favorite geek and backed up your hard drive regularly. Because, seriously, if you don’t back up, that’s a sure-fire recipe for disaster. And a great way to lose all of your Master’s degree work.

No, I’m not the one who didn’t back up. I was simply the one entrusted with the task of retrieving the 80-page paper that had been 2 years in the making. Before I go on, let me just say that the “pretend DOS” that XP (and Vista) uses did nothing but frustrate me further. Can we please have real DOS?

Anyway, the point is not to bash Microsoft or XP or even Vista. Heck, it’s not even to bash smart people who do dumb things like not back up their hard drives. The point is that when my brain froze my friend Amity rescued me with a reminder of the best way to retrieve files before scouring a hard drive to start fresh.

When you can’t get to the files you need and you’re ready to lose your mind because the OS won’t boot, be prepared with BART PE. First, right now while you’re thinking about it, go and grab the BART PE builder program. Use it this very minute to build a Bart PE bootable disk.

Keep in mind that BartPE runs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista but not on Windows NT4, ME or 9x.

Now, if your machine won’t boot and you really need to get files copied to a jump drive or CD, pop in your bootable BartPE disk and grab the files you need. It’s really that simple. If you need some step by step instructions, you’ll find them on the BartPE page.

But do regular backups, anyway. Just to be safe.