- Securing Your Software CD’s/Software Licenses
- Watching For Signs Of A Crash.
Next month’s article will complete the series with: When The Big Day Happens, and Recovering From A Crash.
Step 3. Securing Your Software CD’s/Software Licenses
If you purchased software on cd/dvd’s or downloaded it from the internet you need to keep a record of any licenses and ensure that this document is included in your backups. Increasingly software manufacturer’s, to save costs, are moving away from providing cd’s. I’m old school on this topic and recommend where possible you opt for a cd/dvd version even if it costs a few euro more. I’ve seen countless computer users having to re-purchase software because they cannot locate the original license document. This is less likely to happen if you purchase a cd. One caveat on this: Do not loan the software to a friend or family member. Chances are you’ll never see it again and worse still you may find when it comes time to re-install the license your family member or friend has registered it on their own pc and you are left to buy a new copy. Lastly, before you put the software cd’s away make a photo copy of the license.
Step 4. Watching For Signs Of A Crash
Some of the telltale signs of an imminent crash to watch for include:
- Painfully slow start up time
- Slow response
- Pc freezing
- Pc becomes very hot
- Excessive fan noise.
To check for heat or disk problems download the free Speedfan utility from the following link http://www.reidyonline.com/downutils.htm.
If you machine exhibits any of these traits you should seek technical assistance immediately.
Delaying won’t help the situation and the health of the machine will not improve. Avoid the temptation to try a quick fix yourself and avoid roping in your relation who “works in computers”.
Computer repair technicians are specialists and are both trained and experienced in diagnosing and repairing computers. There is little or no chance that someone who is not a specialist can correctly identify or repair the problem.. The result of a quick fix, in many cases that cross my desk, is that an even worse situation develops several months later.
Oliver Reidy is a computer technician and has been in the industry since 1981.Locally he is a member of Mebo (Meath East Business Owners) Http://www.mebo.biz.
