Just in case you, like a number of my customers, either can't find, lost or never received some Windows Recovery CDs or a Recovery DVD... all hope is not necessarily lost. Look at the menu on the left and you will see a few Recovery CD/DVD ordering locations. Check them out and then you may be able to restore your system to factory settings. Good Luck.

    One of the greatest items of System Recovery is initial organization and planning. If you layout your system correctly from the start then backups and recoveries will be much easier. Create sensible disk partitions and directories so that critical data is easily distinguished.

Concerning the computer operations, there are some BIG questions that need to be asked and answered.

What would you do if your PC failed, was damaged or was stolen? If you had to re-load the software on your present or a new PC, do you have everything? System Recovery Disks? Including drivers for printers, scanners, monitors, zip drives ... etc? Software Registrations? (The codes that make you leagal.) Programs from the Web? (All those cute little things...) Notes from Susie, Aunt Bessie, Mom and other cherished memories? Those other things you use but never remember till they are needed? And of course those "borrowed" items? Take the time, you don't have, to make a list of what you use for work, play or whatever. If you don't have a means of recoverying anything on the list, then back it up...!

It has been mentioned many times in ALL computer circles, classes, books, magazines and in just plain discussions. BACK-UP and keep it in a safe place. You do not "normally" have to back up the operating system. Normally you get Recovery or Installation Software. If you didn't ... get it!

    So, let's make a list of the items that we MUST have saved, copied and stored on something other than the Hard Disk. A DVD is wonderful, CD is nice and if you're desparate use a floppy. Now then, this is a computer system. A Personal Computer System. Therefore, it will not be an out of the box setup. Certain configuration files and programs are neccessary for each of us to use our computers comfortably. Unless you are in a rigid shop, no one else will have a PC setup like yours. So, what did you configure and/or put in the PC?? Do you have a dual boot system? If so then you are going to have to make up two lists. In my case I have three!! I have Windows XP, which came with my PC and Linux which I installed. Then I installed Windows 2000 inside Linux. Yep, when I crash my PC I can ... and do ... spend a lot of time getting things back in operation. If you have something listed, then better make sure that you have the original source and/or a back-up.

Windows XP

1. The Recovery Disks ... which I finally obtained.
2. Installing WinXP from scratch wipes the rest of the Hard Drive(HD). IF you have two HDs you may have to disconnect the second one during the WinXP install. It tries to install the OS on Both!! Makes re-booting very difficult.
3. Setup GTedit from install files.
4. Install Partition Magic Ver 7 and partition the HD.
5. Setup NetGear RT311 Gateway Router and software.
6. Setup Hawking Switch... just connections.
7. Setup NetGear Print Server PS110 and software.
8. Install HP cp1700 printer and software.
9. Install and setup Netscape.
10. Setup mail boxes, then reinstall saved mail from backed up zip files. For here you will need your Mail Name, password, POP3, SMTP and mail server.
11. Install Homesite.
12. Install Dreamweaver.
13. Install KoolMoves.
14. Install PaintShop Pro 8.
15. Install Print Shop 12.
16. Install Ad-Aware.
17. Install Avast.

Linux - Professional Version

1. CDs with latest version of SuSE Linux. Make sure you have checked for any quirks and you have the fixes.
2. LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP) is installed during the SuSE Linux disks... if you make the correct selections. And double check the config files to make sure everything starts.
3. Copy of .alias file for Home dir.
4. Copy of .bashrc file for Home dir... be sure to check for BIG differences before just copying over the one that gets installed.
5. Copy of .function file for Home dir.
6. Copy of .xinitrc for Home dir... same rule here as for bashrc.
7. Untar your saved copy of your HomeDir bin directory.
8. Untar your saved copy of your HomeDir scripts directory.
9. Untar your saved copy of your HomeDir gifs directory.
10. Untar your saved copy of your HomeDir sounds directory.
11. Untar your saved copy of your HomeDir notes directory.
12. Install Nedit... so we can edit config files... comfortably.
13. Install and setup Netscape. Need domain name for Cox... you did save it, didn't you??
14. Setup mail boxes, then reinstall saved mail from backed up tar files.
15. etc dir:
    • fstab
    • hosts
    • rc.config
    • DIR_COLORS
    • modules.conf
    • oraInst.loc
    • oratab
    • X11/XF86Config
    • samba/smb.conf
    • httpd/httpd.conf
    • httpd/.htaccess
    • rc.d/boot.local
    • rc.d/halt.local
16. Re-setup public_html from saved tar or zip file.
17. Oracle and/or MySQL from install files or CDs.
18. Reloading Oracle sql, script files and procedures .. that were saved??
19. Reloading MySQL sql files and PHP scripts .. previously saved.

Windows 2000

1. Untar your saved copy of your HomeDir vmware directory.
2. VMware install files. Versionn 3.2
3. Win2k Installation CD.
4. Setup GTedit from install files.
5. Setup NetGear Print Server software.
6. Install HP cp1700 printer software.
7. Install Homestite.
8. Install Dreamweaver.
9. Install KoolMoves.
10. Install PaintShop Pro 8.
11. Install Print Shop 12.
12. Install and setup Netscape.

    Now then, have I remembered and listed everything? Absolutely not. For one thing I don't remember a lot of stuff till I use it. The other items are not that important to mention right now. Besides, if you have to restore your system totally... it just won't be the same. However, this can be good cause you can update to newer versions if they are available and do some experimentation. I mean, after all, the system has been trashed anyway, so why not play with some of the things you have learned and/or heard about. It is a time to experiment and play. The only reason not to do this is if you absolutely have to have your system back in operation... for some reason.

A Test??

    Now you have a decision to make. Can I recover? How do I know? Well, the best way to find out is to format your HD and reload your system. If you have listed everything and have the software then there souldn't be a problem. Now is as good a time as any to find out if you have what it takes to recover. Get burned in a controlled crash and recovery rather than an actual crash.