If you own a computer and you have personal data on it, then you need to be backing up. There are many ways to backup your PC, however in this article I’m going to talk about just one of those ways – Backing up your files with an external hard drive.

Let’s cover the requirements:

- Windows 2000, XP, Vista or Windows 7.
- Administrative access to your PC (don’t worry, you probably already have this).
- You know what you want to backup. These would be items like pictures, music, documents, desktop items and favorites.
- You have at least 1 free usb 2.0 port on your PC.
- You have an external drive complete with ac adaptor (if your drive requires it) and usb 2.0 cable.
- You have saved all open files and closed any open applications (like word or excel).

There are two basic ways to backup data to a hard drive: manual and automatic. I’m going to be discussing the manual backup process of personal files. Let’s get started.
Turn on your PC and login. Connect your drive to your PC with the supplied USB 2.0 cable. If your drive requires external power from and AC adaptor then plugin that in to. The external hard drive will automatically be installed, mounted and given a drive letter. Let’s take a look at the drive. On Windows XP open “My Computer”. On Windows Vista open “Computer”. You should now see your external hard drive as an additional drive. Typical drive letters would be E:\, F:\, G:\, H:\ or K:\ Now that we’ve established that the drive is loaded in Windows we can begin copying data to it. Backing up a file to an external hard drive is an easy process. Open your external drive, select the files and folders that you want to backup and drag them to the external hard drive. The files will now be copied to the external hard drive essentially backing them up. Most of your critical data is located in about 3-6 folders: for Windows 2000 and XP: C:\Documents and Settings\”your user name”\. Backup the folders listed below. Remember, in order to backup the folders listed below all you need to do is drag the folders to your external hard drive and wait for them to be copied: My Documents Desktop Favorites for Windows Vista: C:\Users\”your user name”\ Backup the folders listed below: Documents Pictures Desktop Music Videos Favorites Depending on the amount of data that you have your backup could take hours or even days to finish.

For most people, backing up personal data is just one of those things that they’ll never do until they’ve been burned by a hard drive failure. You don’t have to be one of them, backup those files before it’s too late!

What is Hard Drive PCB?

The green board on the bottom of the hard disk drive is known as Printed Circuit Board(PCB). The main function of the PCB is to supply power to the hard drive, maintain speed and rotation of the spindle, and control all internal operations through its firmware. Essentially, PCB is the brains of the hard drive that all components are heavily dependent upon.

Why Swap PCB Boards?

Hard disk drives that do not spin up after the power has been supplied can be diagnosed as PCB failure. Because data recovery service is very expensive, sometimes we would prefer to swap them ourselves.

How to find the matching HDD PCB boards?
Western Digital – same board number which is etched on the PCB, begin with 2060- Seagate – same board number which is etched on the PCB, begin with 100…, and the same Main Controller IC. If you can’t find the number on the PCB (Old Models), you should find the same Main Controller IC. Maxtor- same Main Controller IC(The biggest chip on the board) Hitachi- same information on the small white label (first two lines) Samsung – same board number which is etched on the PCB, begin with BF41- Fujitsu – same board number which is etched on the PCB, begin with CA

Hard Drive PCB Swap Process:

Remove the PCB from both hard drives with star screwdriver. Replace the damaged PCB with replacement one. If you HDD spins up, but can’t be recognized, you should also exchange the BIOS chip on it. If there is no matching 8pins BIOS chip on the PCB, it means the BIOS chip is integrated on the Main Chip IC, then you should remove the damaged PCB’s Main Chip IC to the donor PCB. It is more complex to exchange the Main Chip IC than exchange the BIOS chip. If you should do, please do several test on the PCBs which don’t have the important data.

What is PCB’s BIOS Chip?

All of the 8pins (4 pins on each sides) with 25P05VP, 25P10VP, 25F512, 25F1024, 25F1024AN, SST25VF512, SST25VF010, etc. are the BIOS chip. It is easy to be found because there are not many 8pins chips on the board.

In most cases, you should exchange the BIOS before you swap hard disk pcb. You should have certain technique.

Note: You should know the hard drive failures are not always caused by PCB failure, swap PCB can’t guarantee to fix all of the hard drive problems.

Previously, in the IT world, most people were focusing on Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 family hard drive and were worry about some drive-level issues, such as hard disk drive status stays BUSY; hard disk drive being detected with 0 in LBA; hard disk drive reports SMART error on startup, etc.

However, all these problems now can be fixed without damaging the data, instead works for data recovery. That will be unique features which are only available in HD Doctor Utility; no other similar HDD repair and data recovery equipment is capable for solution before this time. It’s being a big step.

The problem that HDD being detected with 0 GB is a typical malfunction for Barracuda 7200.11. Such drives can be detected normally but the data area is inaccessible with LBA detected as 0.

Here is an option: the upgrade version of HD Doctor for Seagate 3.0 adds the feature to recover such malfunction without damaging the data on the drive. Also, this can work out for Barracuda 7200.11 malfunction that drive stays BUSY.

How to get rid of CE LOG error from products like HD Doctor?

It was said that when being connected to HD Doctor Console, the malfunction drive can be ready and detected normally, but it will be very slow in reading data from the drive. Some experts clarify that the CMD utility will repeatedly output CE Log error message, which is the reason that causes the drive being very slow in reading data from. The version 3.0 adds the feature of CE Log Repair to remove such malfunction. The feature is intended for Barracuda 7200.8, Barracuda 7200.9 and Barracuda 7200.10 drives.

As experts and professionals worldwide predict that HD Doctor for Seagate is a software-hardware complex designed for data recovery from damaged Seagate hard drives. Its first release was on 2004, since then it was developed from a DOS program that supported the major models of Seagate drives to a software-hardware complex runs on Windows with easy and instantly renewable USB installation. Now it has been the tool supports the most comprehensive drive families; with the problems of Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 being exposed, on this July, solutions have been worked out for three typical headaches mentioned above.

In fact, hard drive storage is not relatively secure. Even the best products can eventually malfunction and any minor repair from a data recovery company can be expensive.

Anytime, most people take their data for granted. Let’s face it! Given your data drive malfunction, you can easily lose all the data on it, even find it helpless till after send to a third party data recovery company. One way of dealing with this impending danger is to do backups, so that you will be able to retrieve your data in a case of a drive malfunction. Don’t get your data risking.

All rights reserved. Free to copy the article, without re-editing.

Well it seems funny but I wanted to tell you my personal story, how an onion and even a radish helped me during my quit smoking process. A few days after I smoked my last cigarette, my lungs were full of phlegm, and I had terrible cravings for a cigarette, especially after a meal.

Having a cigarette at the end of a meal was the only way I could finish eating, I was almost waiting to finish my food so I can get to light a cigarette. I was thinking, how could I finish eating without smoking a cigarette, nothing was comparable or a good enough substitute. I was checking over the internet for different kind of food, which will reduce phlegm and will allow me to breathe better and maybe help to enjoy my meals better.

I found vast amount of information on the net regarding this issue, so I started reading, checking and testing to find out what works best for me. I don’t know if there is any scientific explanation for that but onion and radish helps, it sure helped me.

At the end of the day while preparing my dinner I added (on the side of the plate), one slice or half a slice of a fresh raw onion, and a half of a sliced radish. In the beginning it was a bit difficult for me to eat raw onion, but I got used to it, and today I really enjoy it. Well I don’t expect you to enjoy it too, I know that the taste is difficult, but it really helped me.

I could feel the difference every day, breathing better and even eating less, I think the raw onion helped me finish eating quickly. At the end of dinner I had jasmine tea, which is also known to help reduce phlegm. My goal in this article is to bring people to stop smoking, I wrote this article to show that there is a lot we can do and find solutions for the difficulties we encounter during the process of quit smoking.

If you want to read more, please

Data recovery involves recovering data from media that may not be performing properly. There may be a problem with the hard drive or any other component of the storage media. It would be great if we could decipher the nature of the problem ourselves with the help of a naked eye. However, our eyes and our technological knowledge have its own set of limitations. Data recovery is a highly specialized field that can cater to most of the data loss problems. Data loss can occur in strange and mysterious ways and each data loss incident can be different from each other. Due to these variations, the cost of data recovery can be heavy or light on your pocket. Data recovery, generally speaking, can be an expensive process. It may cost you several hundred pounds to just get the nature of data loss incident evaluated. This evaluation will merely give you an idea about the list of files that the data recovery company can recover. In addition, this evaluation cost may not be included in the actual cost of data recovery. So, what makes data recovery so expensive? Simply put, data recovery is expensive because it is a complicated process and not many companies are specialized in this field. Even though there are many companies that offer data recovery services, only the reputed companies can boast of effective data recovery. However, there are multiple factors that contribute towards the cost of a data recovery company, which consequently make the data recovery service an expensive alternative. Let us analyse the various factors that make data recovery an expensive option.

Factors that Influence the Cost of Services of a Data Recovery Company

Data recovery companies can minimize on your business’s downtime by providing a quick turnaround time. Most companies will be able to recover your data within the range of 24 to 72 hours. Consider the valuable time that would be wasted if you try to recover the data on your own. Since complex procedures need to be performed within a short period of time, the costs associated with the services are high. There are times when people use DIY software or their own expertise to recover their lost data. In such instances, there is a high probability of losing your data forever. In today’s world, data means information, and information holds the power to make or break a business. A data recovery company ensures that your data is recovered in the most effective manner and is able to recover all or major portion of your data. A data recovery company hires experienced employees and uses effective tools to recover your data. These experienced employees come with a sound educational background as well as good industry experience. The nature of the work of these professionals is also highly complicated. Data recovery specialists need to evaluate and assess the nature of the data loss. Their skills are extremely effective in replacing or repairing fragile components. Therefore, the data recovery company has to match their salary with their experience. In addition, most data recovery companies use proprietary tools to recover the damaged data. These tools can be extremely expensive. There are some overhead costs involved for a data recovery company. There are times when hard disk parts would need to be replaced. However, replacing these parts becomes very difficult because the hard disk manufacturers do not sell these parts. Therefore, only a hard disk of the same batch and model can be used to ensure that the data can be read off the disk platters in an appropriate way. A hard disk that has the same model but is of different batch will have different set of parts inside. Therefore, to avoid wasting time in looking for hard disk parts, the data recovery companies tend to keep a stock of hard disk parts. These stocks contribute towards overhead costs. Hard disks are extremely fragile and prone to any kind of dust, air, or environmental contamination. Therefore, a data recovery company needs to invest in clean room facilities to ensure that the hard disks are handled in an appropriate environment. Establishing and maintaining these clean room facilities can be very expensive. Therefore, the data recovery companies tend to charge higher for their services. Since the nature of work of a data recovery specialist is very technical, the data recovery companies tend to provide extensive training to their employees to ensure that the data and the media are handled appropriately and the success rate is maximised. Each data recovery company tends to develop their own trainings in this field because not much training is available through schools or colleges. Companies tend to spend significant amounts on developing their own training procedures. These costs are reflected in their cost of services.

Outlook Express is a different application as compared from the Microsoft Office Outlook e-mail client which comes with Microsoft Office for Windows. Outlook Express is bundled with Internet Explorer and uses *.dbx files for storing emails.

Outlook Express stores its e-mail messages in different formats depending on the version.

Outlook Express v 4, which shipped with Windows 98, stored messages in *.mbx files. Outlook Express v 5, which shipped with Windows 98SE, switched to *.dbx files, with a separate file for each mailbox folder. Outlook Express v 5.50 shipped with Windows 2000 Outlook Express v 5.5 shipped with Windows Me Outlook Express v 6, which is included with Windows XP, also stores messages in *.dbx files.

However these archive files can become corrupted causing sever data loss, these days when emails have become most prominent form of communication, considering that if email data is not present may cause severe financial, time losses to an individual or a corporate.

Several Causes for Corruption of DBX Files

Files corruption due to “Compact File or Compact All Folders” option usage. Most Common Cause: Antivirus trying to scan incoming & outgoing emails sometime causes data corruption to *.dbx files. Huge number of outlook express emails in Inbox or Sent Folders sometime causes data corruption to the respective .dbx files. Accidental deletion of email or permanent deletion of emails from deleted items folders in outlook express.

Disk Doctor’s Email Recovery (DBX) software has been unleashed by Disk Doctors Labs, Inc. to recover accidentally deleted Outlook Express e-mail messages from any dbx or a mbx archive.

This software also recovers emails from dbt files,

dbt files are the temporary file created for dbx files. If for due to any reason Microsoft Outlook Express crashes and you cannot find a required dbx file or recover an important email from the dbx file, then dbt files holds the relevant information which can be repaired to recover lost outlook express emails using Disk Doctors Email Recovery (DBX) Software

Hard Drives: ATA versus SATA

The performance of computer systems has been steadily increasing as faster processors, memory, and video cards are continuously being developed. The one key component that is often neglected when looking at improving the performance of a computer system is the hard drive. Hard drive manufacturers have been constantly evolving the basic hard drive used in modern computer systems for the last 25 years, and the last few years have seen some exciting developments from faster spindle speeds, larger caches, better reliability, and increased data transmission speeds.

The drive type used most in consumer grade computers is the hearty ATA type drive (commonly called an IDE drive). The ATA standard dates back to 1986 and is based on a 16-bit parallel interface has undergone many evolutions since its introduction to increase the speed and size of the drives that it can support. The latest standard is ATA-7 (first introduced in 2001 by the T13 Technical Committee (the group responsible for the ATA standard)) which supports data transfer rates up to 133MB/sec. This is expected to be the last update for the parallel ATA standard.

As long ago as 2000 it was seen that the parallel ATA standard was maxing out its limitations as to what it could handle. With data rates hitting the 133MB/sec mark on a parallel cable, you are inviting all sorts of problems because of signal timing, EMI (electromagnetic interference) and other data integrity issues; thus industry leaders got together and came up with a new standard known as Serial ATA (SATA). SATA has only been around a few years, but is destined to become “the standard” due to several benefits to be addressed in this Tech Tip.

The two technologies that we will be looking at are:
ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) – a 16-bit parallel interface used for controlling computer drives. Introduced in 1986, it has undergone many evolutions in the last 18+ years, with the latest version being called ATA-7. Wherever an item is referred to as being an ATA device, it is commonly a Parallel ATA device. ATA devices are also commonly called IDE, EIDE, Ultra-ATA, Ultra-DMA, ATAPI, PATA, etc. (each of these acronyms actually do refer to very specific items, but are commonly interchanged)
SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) – a 1-bit serial evolution of the Parallel ATA physical storage interface.

Basic Features & Connections

SATA drives are easy to distinguish from their ATA cousins by the different data and power connections found on the back of the drives. A side-by-side comparison of the two interfaces can be seen in this PDF from Maxtor, and the following covers many of the differences…

Standard ATA drives, such as this 200GB Western Digital model, have somewhat bulky, two inch wide ribbon cable with 40-pin data connections and receive the 5V necessary to power them from the familiar 4-pin connection. The basic data cables for these drives have looked the same for years. A change was made with the introduction of the ATA-5 standard to better improve the signal quality by making an 80 wire cable used on the 40-pin connector (these are commonly called 40-pin/80-wire cables). To improve airflow within the computer system some manufacturers resorted to literally folding over the ribbon cable and taping it into that position. Another recent physical change also came with the advent of rounded cables. The performance of the rounded cables is equal to that of the flat ribbon, but many prefer the improved system air flow afforded, ease of wire management, and cooler appearance that come with them.

SATA drives, such as this 120GB Western Digital model, have a half inch wide, 7 “blade and beam” data connection, which results in a much thinner and easier to manage data cable. These cables take the convenience of the ATA rounded cables to the next level by being even narrower, more flexible and capable of being longer without fear of data loss. SATA cables have a maximum length of 1 meter (39.37 inches), which is much greater than the recommended 18 inch cable for ATA drives. The reduced footprint of SATA data connections frees up space on motherboards, potentially allowing for more convenient layouts and room for more onboard features!

A 15-pin power connection delivers the 250mV of necessary power to SATA drives. 15-pins for a SATA device sounds like it would require a much larger power cable than a 4-pin ATA device, but in reality the two power connectors are just about the same height. For the time being, many SATA drives are also coming with a legacy 4-pin power connector for convenience.

Many modern motherboards, such as this Chaintech motherboard, come with SATA drive connections onboard (many also including the ATA connectors as well for legacy drive compatibility), and new power supplies, such as this Ultra X-Connect, generally feature a few of the necessary 15-pin power connections, making it easy to use these drives on new systems. Older systems can easily be upgraded to support SATA drives by use of adapters, such as this PCI slot SATA controller and this 4-pin to 15-pin SATA power adapter.

Optical drives are also becoming more readily available with SATA connections. Drives such as the Plextor PX-712SA take advantage of the new interface, although the performance will not be any greater than a comparable optical drive with an ATA connection.

Performance

In addition to being more convenient to install and drawing less power, SATA drives have performance benefits that really set them apart from ATA drives.

The most interesting performance feature of SATA is the maximum bandwidth possible. As we have noted, the evolution of ATA drives has seen the data transfer rate reach its maximum at 133 MB/second, where the current SATA standard provides data transfers of up to 150 MB/second. The overall performance increase of SATA over ATA can currently be expected to be up to 5% (according to Seagate), but improvements in SATA technology will surely improve on that.

The future of SATA holds great things for those wanting even more speed, as drives with 300 MB/second transfer rates (SATA II) will be readily available in 2005, and by 2008 speeds of up to 600 MB/second can be expected. Those speeds are incredible, and are hard to imagine at this point.

Another performance benefit found on SATA drives is their built-in hot-swap capabilities. SATA drives can be brought on and offline without shutting down the computer system, providing a serious benefit to those who can’t afford downtime, or who want to move drives in and out of operation quickly. The higher number of wires in the power connection is partially explained by this, as six of the fifteen wires are dedicated to allowing the hot-swap feature.

Price

Comparing ATA drives to SATA drives can be tricky given all of the variables, but in general it is the case that SATA drives will still cost just a bit more than a comparable ATA drive. The gap is closing rapidly though, and as SATA drives gain in popularity and availability a distinct shift in prices can be expected. Considering the benefits of SATA over ATA, the potential difference of a few dollars can easily be justified when considering an upgrade. Computer Geeks currently has a limited selection of SATA drives, but several technical sites, such as The Tech Zone and The Tech Lounge, offer real time price guides to see how comparable drives stack up.

Final Words

The current SATA standard provides significant benefits over ATA in terms of convenience, power consumption and, most importantly, performance. The main thing ATA has going for it right now is history, as it has been the standard for so long that it will not likely disappear any time soon. The future of SATA will be even more interesting as speed increases will help hard drive development keep pace with other key system components.

Prices: $150.00-$175.00

Surprisingly light weight for its size, the Buffalo Technology LinkTheater HD Media Player (Model LT-H90LAN) is a great addition to any living room with its high tech look. Have you ever heard it said, that it’s what is on the inside that counts? The LinkTheater has its Pros and Cons like any Digital Media Player and my impression is that it is a good buy for the price, but might not have enough “muscle” for the higher end home theater buffs that drool over features like 1080p or need a wider range of video format compatibility. This player still has enough push to make the list, and comes in, right in the middle of the higher end players, but above the low end.

This specific type of media player differs slightly from the Seagate FreeAgent Theater, in that this Buffalo model allows you to stream high definition content from a Windows or Macintosh computer, and it will stream from any network storage device such as a USB hard drive or network attached storage (NAS) device, or DLNA media server. Buffalo offers an add-on storage hard drive (Buffalo LinkStation Live(TM) 1.0TB Model ) to allow more space that can be connected to your computer and accessed by the LinkTheather(TM) HD. This is a LAN media player that comes with a built in 10/100 LAN port. I do like some of the connectivity of the Buffalo Technology LinkTheater HD. Here are some of the pros:

o 720p, 1080i High Definition Playback (Component Video Only)
o AAC-LC, AAC-HE, MP3, WAV, WMA, Dolby Digital (AC-3)(Optical Audio Output)
o Supports MPEG2, MPEG4 (low res), WMV, H.264 video playback
o USB 2.0
o Connections: Video: HDMI, D4, Composite; Audio: Stereo Audio, S/PDIF; Other: 10/100 Ethernet LAN, 2 USB
o Image formats: JPG, BMP, PNG, GIF
o Included Remote Control

Looking for a ring for your future fiance? There are a lot of things to consider when finding the right one. There are different cuts and styles, plus the different stones and metals. Most likely, a diamond is the best bet when it comes to engagements. Now what to buy?

Well, you should first ask yourself if your girlfriend would like silver or a golden ring. Most women would probably opt for gold but do not be tricked as there are also some who like silver better because of its simplicity.

You should look at the personality of your partner. Is she the flamboyant type? Then maybe she would want an extravagant ring or something that catches attention – perhaps an interesting design and cut. Is she quite sentimental? Then pick something different, something unique like a heart shaped diamond ring. Or maybe she is one of those girls who would like a simple but sophisticated ring. Then you can never go wrong with a cushion cut engagement ring.

A cushion cut gem is the way to go when it comes to simple girls. It is one of those classic designs you can never go wrong with. It has been popular for centuries (first in the 1800s) and is now making comeback. The classic cushion cut engagement ring would be hard to find in jewelry shops and you can probably only find it in antique shops or pawn shops. However, there are now modern cushion cut diamonds which are made to be more brilliant.

In an age of computers, you can no doubt understand the need for a digital backup at all times. Now as you probably know, backups have actually been around for some time, so this is really nothing new. What is new however, is the way in which the backups are actually performed. In the past companies have used tapes to back up their files, meaning they could be stored on site. While being stored right there at the company did have its advantages, it seemed to have more disadvantages than anything else.

For one thing, anyone who needed ‘dirt’ on the company could simply go to the tape storage room and get whatever they needed. Of course the information might have been encrypted, but the encryption was only as secure as the company in question could afford. Luckily there are new ways to back up, and they are much more secure. For instance, have you ever considered using Seagate backup software? Seagate has something that is known as Evault backup software, which is precisely what it sounds like. The ability to store your data off-site and be confident in the knowledge that it is perfectly safe. So what makes Evault so much better than your old tape back ups? Let’s take a look:

Off-site Storage
The ability to store data off-site is priceless. Not only to you increase your security by having it inaccessible to most people, you also save room at your own business. You also have the increased security at the Evault building that will ensure your data is perfectly safe.

Quick Restore
Having your data off-site might be great, but how fast is it going to be restored? With Evault you can be assured that your data will be restored in a timely manner, just the way it was. You also will not need to worry about duplicate data, and for those that have dealt with it in the past, this is a vast improvement.

Instant Access
You can access and review your data anytime, anywhere using a web browser. You will be able to modify your data, copy it, or even add to it. All of this is made possible by Seagate.

Controlled Access
The data can only be accessed to the one who holds the key. Now keep in mind that if you do not have the key, or you lose it, then you will not be able to access your data. There is no backdoor encryption key, so while this is an advantage, it can also be a very sharp double edged sword.

Seagate backup software can be a huge advantage to you and your business. Look into it today to have a more secure corporate future. You really won’t regret it!