Two smart things you can do for your data

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I just got a call from a friend who had a hard drive crash. It appears his video card is toast, too, and this was the latest in a string of several hardware failures. He blames it on Mercury being in retrograde. I think there’s a more rational explanation: bad power.

Look, hardware can fail at any time. Circuit boards and chips are really sensitive to surges and spikes in your power supply. A simple power strip does nothing to protect you, even if it claims to be a surge protector. Most of those devices are just junk. What you really need is a universal an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which is basically a big battery in a case that plugs into the wall and to which you can in turn plug your PC, monitor, and other sensitive devices. (But not your printer, which draws too much power).

You can find sales on decent UPS products regularly. I’ve got a couple of Belkin models here that work very well and cost around $30 when I bought them. I’ve also used APC products and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them. When you get a power surge or spike, the device kicks in and filters the current. If you have a momentary power failure, the UPS keeps you running so you don’t lose anything. And if your power goes out for long enough, you can shut down gracefully and save what you’re working on.

The other thing everyone should have is an external hard drive for backing up important files. You can find DIY USB 2.0 drive enclosures just about anywhere, for around $20-30. Get yourself a cheap 80-120GB hard drive and put the pieces together. Voila! Instant backup device.

Update: Thanks to Ryan Walters for the correction on what UPS really means.

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Published by Ed Bott

Tech journalist. Author of 25+ books. ZDNET Contributing Editor since 2006. Contact info: https://edbott.com/contact-me/

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4 thoughts on “Two smart things you can do for your data”

  1. I use a 80 GB USB hard drive as my primary backup device (and regard it as indispensible), but I don’t use a UPS device — or at least, I’m not sure. 🙂 For years I have used an APC product (not recognized by XP as a UPS device, and it didn’t come with software) that is supposed to be a surge protector, but it also gives me 15 minutes or so of battery life when power goes out. Is this good enough? Is it a UPS?

    I’m sensitive to this issue because I bought a brand new computer just two days ago and I also have a high end monitor. I used the APC device with my previous computer for almost five years, and am now using it with the new computer. It has always done what it is supposed to do, which is to protect my machines from power surges and give me a few minutes of battery power during power failure. But, again, XP says it isn’t a UPS device, or at least it doesn’t recognize it as such.

    Thanks
    Ken

  2. That’s an “uninterruptible” power supply, not “universal.” I have an APC UPS, which I ALWAYS recommend, because Windows will always recognize them natively (allowing Windows to shut itself off gracefully when the power goes out). Frequently other branded UPS products require additional software, some of which will not run if you’re not logged on.

    Thanks for a great site!

  3. Good suggestions, I’ll look into that.. I’ve been lazy and don’t have a UPS, and my Backup drive is just a 2nd Hard Drive instead of a External one.

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