Computer Preparedness: What Do You Recommend?

[TheUnboundOne]

Dear Forum Members,

I'm wanting my computer to be prepared for break-downs and disasters, but haven't thought of all possibilities. I have canned air to keep dust out of the circuitry, cotton swabs and alcohol to keep dust out of the keyboard and mouse, and backup CD-RW disks. I want tools to be able to rebuild my computer if I had to, but don't know what to get. What would any of you suggest?

After my last computer glitch, I revived my computer with canned air taken to the inside of the computer case, and now do regular disk clean-ups and back-ups. What else could anyone recommend that I do?

Also, what would you suggest for power sources, physical protection of CD-ROMs, and protection of computer equipment from Electromagnetic Pulse?

If any or all of you could make some suggestions, I would be very grateful and would be happy to spread the word.

[edward_4576]

I thought about it a lot and I've taken the following steps. First off all my files and documents are copied to CD-RW media and stored. Documets and such that would be more useful in hardcopy have already been printed and stored in binders.

My prmary backup is a decent laptop with power supply and an AC inverter just in case. It's not anything special but just enough to get the job done. I chose one that had LAN/dial-up/wifi capabilities built in. Just remeber to configure everything and load all the programs you'll most likely need on it before you store it.

When configuring the PC it needed office to view and change documents and allow me to open my spreadsheet on what's in my pantry and ACCESS to manage my databases. I also loaded a decent DVD palyer so the wife and I can watch movies if we want. I also have streets and trips for mapping and an external GPS sensor (just in case).

To protect all my goodies I took a galvanized steel trashcan and with some plywood I built an insert similar to a lazy suzan to store my CD's on. This includes my backup data and the original software for my system.

On the top two layers I have stored the PC, AC adapter and power supply. I have spare RAM in static sensative bags as well. I would like to get a spare battery as well.

To complete the protection this is stored in the basement. I have an older home and my basement has a coal room so I have a grounding rod pounded into the ground. I took the Trash can and loaded all my stuff in it and added desicants in side to prevent moisture collecting. I then took metal screws and fastened the lid down. I ran a cable connected to the grounding rod to the bottom lip this turns the can into a small Faraday cage and protects from EMP.

Who would look for electronic equipment in a trashcan?

[OzarkMtnDaredevil]

Who would look for electronic equipment in a trashcan?

Uh, well, lots of folks, now. ;)
Great post, Ed! Very thought provoking.

[Sarah]

My 'stupervisor' (His word!) was the great BOLT guru. The time was pre-Y2k, and being a 'answer guy', his concern was not having his references, if he was forced to Bolt. Bug Out Lap Top.

His BOLT system:

Three 'locations'. Laptop #1, Laptop #2, and Cache.

Each laptop location was a wooden brief case, water proof, with a 12V laptop (Pentium II!) with cd/3.5/20ghd. With wiring to connect to 12v source. (Not so easy to find true 12v laptops). CD media pack holding a full image to reburn hd. Spare HD. Tool compartment with a custom picked tool set from Cyberguys, and full set of spare hardware parts (also Cyberguys), also denatured alcohol with wood stick swabs, also a assayers blowpipe (lung powered air gun, with desiccant).

Cache held a third cd pack, spare hd, external hd and external cd burner.

The key to his system was to have the references available, knowing he would not be able to protect/defend his huge book collection.

The irony is that he was never able to get to a small enough and complete set of references.

In a lot of ways, his BOLT collection was a seed to the Librum's work.

Sarah

[macgeoghagen]

protection from screw ups and crashes:
build the computer yourself or find a local geek to do it for you. be sure to use quality components, not the slave labor trash that dell or gateway sells. I use ABIT for the motherboard, AMD for the processor, and ANTEC for the case. the drives are samsung or NEC or a recognised company. no sweat shop made stuff. be sure you use a case that has metal all the way around the guts of the computer. the plastic cases that dell sells are insufficient. the metal will help shield against EMP. Do not run a bunch of crap on your computer. all those little programs down there with the clock are hogging your ram and destabilizing your computer. In 5 years of building my own computers, i have had the blue screen of death twice. both times it was a microsoft update.

Protection from intrusion: keep it turned off when not in use. run a firewall, antivirus, antispyware, and a registry cleaner. keep the doors locked. do not let teenagers on the computer. they load a bunch of crap and myspace and porno and viruses on there.

preventive maintenance:
keep it off the floor. if your computer desk has a little shelf, use it. the computer fans can suck in dust from the floor or carpet. as for keyboards, if you really want to keep your keys clean, get one of the rubber flexible keyboards. those are somewhat washable. use a power strip/surge protector/UPS. these keep lightning out of the computer. if power goes out youll have 5 minutes to finish what youre doing before the battery runs out.

data backup/system recovery:
there are programs that allow you to save everything on your computers hard drive to CDs. you should also get some system recovery software and know how to use it. I think windows XP has some backup features. learn how these work. this is probably the hardest part of keeping your system prepared, as it takes knowledge of DOS and BIOS settings.

Protection when SHTF
I like the trash can idea to protect from EMP. it would also be a good idea to get an inverter so your computer can run off the cigarette lighter in your car. If you really want to be able to read all your computer military and survival manuals, I think the best thing to do is get an inexpensive MP3 player that has a little screen on it and support for text files. that way you can save your military manuals to it and keep it in a metal can until its needed. If possible, keep extra batteries for it. my mp3 player has an internal battery and charges off USB. if my computer gets fried, i'll have to find a stand alone charger of some kind.

if you absolutely need to type stuff while defending from the mutant zombie hordes, get a panasonic toughbook. they have a metal case and can be used to bludgeon goblins. model CF-28 is a good one to get. get the one with the rubber covered keys and touch screen if you can.

[theresehirko]

Since my laptop died in the middle of class this semester while i was working on my research, I have one bit of advice..Back up weekly. I lost everything! and had to recreate all of my work from notes. I do a weekly backup to an external hard drive and also backup important stuff onto a memory stick.

[HockeyFan]

Extra power supply would be nice.
Any components that you recall ever going bad in the past, probably have a high turnover rate. Therefore, these are the items that I'd have replacements for.

Make sure you have memory maxed out (for whatever your OS will recognize). If any memory goes bad, you can just remove the bad memory, and with whatever is left, continue to run reasonably well.
It wouldn't make sense to have extra memory lying around, and not using it. Just max it out.

[edward_4576]

I have been able to get an older hard drive and I reformatted it and have begun to mirror my current profile so if necessary my HD crashes I can just replace it. I do intend to put it in antistatic bags Packing material and finally aluminum foil before I put it in my can for storage.

[TheUnboundOne]

Dear Edward4576 and Macgeohagen,

Howdy, Edward and Macgeohagen! Thank you for the wise words and practices. I will endeavor to put into practice everything I haven't done yet.

Mac, I hope I would be able to shoot the zombie hoards before they got close enough to bash with a laptop...

;D

...but since one can always run out of bullets and shells, I will make the Panasonic Toughbook Model CF-28 my next play-purdy.

:)

Is there a convenient way to put a Faraday Cage around a desktop set-up and the power source, so you can pick up where you left off when the bomb dropped?

[TheUnboundOne]

Dear Theresehirko and Hockeyfan,

Howdy, Theresehirko and Hockeyfan! Thank you for the wise words on backing up memory.

I've heard it said to the effect that memory is the greatest defender of justice and the greatest enemy of injustice. With that in mind, it only makes sense to have back-ups, both for the head and for the hard-drive.

[TheUnboundOne]

Dear Sarah,

Howdy, Sarah! Thank you for passing on your boss' set-up. Thank you also for maintaining such a wonderful Web Site as the Librum. It is like an Alexandria for the self-reliant of the world. May it always stand against any hoard of destroyers and prevail over any force of nature!