Why should I use a NAS?
A NAS is a device that sits on your home network, and it allows your to have a centralized location for all your files to sit. NAS stands for Network Area Storage, and that’s exactly what it does. It is a self contained box that plugs into your home netowrk, normally into your switch or router, and it provides a place to dump common files.
People use NAS devices for storing Photos, Music, Movies, and other programs. Some NAS devices will allow you to have access to the files from remote locations as well.
These devices can be used in a variety of configurations, and normally hold atleast 2 Hard Disks. They will allow for RAID configurations, such as:
RAID 0 – Striping – Faster Data access as data is written across both disks.
RAID 1 – Mirroring – copies the files from Disk 1 to Disk 2
RAID 5 – Striped Disks with Parity – Copies the information across the disks, but keeps one for parity information. Requires 3 disks at a minimum.
RAID 1+0 – Mirrored Data Set which is Striped – Minimum of 2 Disks needed.
Most NAS devices will only allow for 2 Disks (drive bays) to be added to the unit, but there are 3 disk versions which are normally a lot more expensive.
Having a NAs in your network is a great way to not only share files across multiple computers, but also to have a place to store files, so they are not residing on your personal pc. The best application is to use the NAS to store images of your hard drive, so if you ever experience a crash, your data can easily be recovered.
So what do you use your NAS for? Do you have a favorite manufacturer?
A NAS is a device that sits on your home network, and it allows your to have a centralized location for all your files to sit. NAS stands for Network Area Storage, and that’s exactly what it does. It is a self contained box that plugs into your home netowrk, normally into your switch or router, and it provides a place to dump common files.
People use NAS devices for storing Photos, Music, Movies, and other programs. Some NAS devices will allow you to have access to the files from remote locations as well.
These devices can be used in a variety of configurations, and normally hold atleast 2 Hard Disks. They will allow for RAID configurations, such as:
RAID 0 – Striping – Faster Data access as data is written across both disks.
RAID 1 – Mirroring – copies the files from Disk 1 to Disk 2
RAID 5 – Striped Disks with Parity – Copies the information across the disks, but keeps one for parity information. Requires 3 disks at a minimum.
RAID 1+0 – Mirrored Data Set which is Striped – Minimum of 2 Disks needed.
Most NAS devices will only allow for 2 Disks (drive bays) to be added to the unit, but there are 3 disk versions which are normally a lot more expensive.
Having a NAs in your network is a great way to not only share files across multiple computers, but also to have a place to store files, so they are not residing on your personal pc. The best application is to use the NAS to store images of your hard drive, so if you ever experience a crash, your data can easily be recovered.
So what do you use your NAS for? Do you have a favorite manufacturer?
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What are System Restore points?
Have you ever wondered just what a system restore point was, and just why you need them?
Your not alone. A lot of people don’t know how to effectively use them, and they can be a great tool for backup. However; that being said, it should never be your ONLY form of backup of your system. System Restore points should be considered the front line of your backup solution.
System Restore points can be made in Vista or Windows 7 by opening the Control Panel and choosing System.
Image
Select on System Protection
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Here we are able to choose the specific settings of our backup. Choose configure, and Select the following options:
Restore system settings and previous versions of files.
The amount of Disk Space that is used is up to you. I would normally recommend about 10% of your total Hard Disk.
Once these options are enabled, then your system should be backing up the data. The default for the task in Windows is to run at midnight each day.
I do not consider this to be a full backup of your system, however if used correctly, this can be used as one component of a full backup routine for your data.
Have you ever wondered just what a system restore point was, and just why you need them?
Your not alone. A lot of people don’t know how to effectively use them, and they can be a great tool for backup. However; that being said, it should never be your ONLY form of backup of your system. System Restore points should be considered the front line of your backup solution.
System Restore points can be made in Vista or Windows 7 by opening the Control Panel and choosing System.
Select on System Protection
Here we are able to choose the specific settings of our backup. Choose configure, and Select the following options:
Restore system settings and previous versions of files.
The amount of Disk Space that is used, is up to you. I would normally recommend about 10% of your total Hard Disk. Once these options are enabled, then your system should be backing up the data. The default for the task in Windows is to run at midnight each day.
***NOTE***
I do not consider this to be a full backup of your system, however; if used correctly this can be used as one component of a full backup routine for your data.
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Even professionals make mistakes
Yep, you guessed it, I made a bit of a mistake earlier today, and I thought I would share my experience with you.
I was making a new avatar for a social site, and I was chatting with a friend of mine on skype. So there was mistake number 1, I should have been focusing on what I was doing at the time.
While editing the image to make it smaller, I mistakenly clicked on the save button and not the save as button. Now, my large nice image has been replaced by a much smaller one. This is where I start swearing at my computer right?
Wrong. Why? because I use Windows 7. Windows 7 and Vista have a built in feature called shadow copy. This allows you to restore files from a previous version. In order to restore the file all I need to do is follow these steps.
Right click on the file and choose properties. A dialog box like this will pop up:
Choose the Previous Versions tab
Now I can select the old version that I want to restore from. Simply choose the file that you want, and hit Restore
Those of you that are paying attention will notice that the old version is from Feburary. Yes, that’s a little old, but in this case its fine. The reason that this file is so old is because the shadow copies are only created during a system restore point. By default this option is turned on, but you can manually invoke it so you have more backups of your data.
I will teach you how to setup this option in my next posting.
So remember, that even the professionals make mistakes. The difference is that we know how to recover from them.
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Need a way to covert a PDF to Word?
The other day I needed to be able to convert a PDF to a word file so I could edit the text. I tried the adobe software but the formatting became all messed up and I thought that there had to be a better way.
I did some searching and now you get to benefit from my time. I found a great tool that does a better job of keeping the formatting intact. Just like the next user I am a little leary of installing unknown software an this removes that problem as well.
I found a website that will allow you to upload the file and do the conversion online. It did a great job of keeping the formatting and it allowed me to get the word version of the file.
The website is pdftoword.com simple enough? Atleast it has an easy to remember name!
Just upload the file that you would like to make into a word file, and it will perform its magic. Once it is complete, you get an emailed copy of the Word file.
Try it out, and let me know what you think!
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Categories: Tips and Tricks Tags: computer, internet
How do I defrag my harddrive?
People have asked me in the past why their computers run slow. Beyond some of the other reasons that I have given you in past articles, another is not having run a ‘defrag’ on your hard drive.
But what does that mean? and why do I need to do it?
Basically what happens to your computer is that files are saved on it in order. So as you uninstall and add new programs, all the data that is written to the hard drive is written to different areas or sectors of the drive. This means that all your data is jumbled up, and rather then it being in a nice pile its spread out all over the place, and your computer has to spend time trying to find where the next bit of information is.
When you defrag, you basically grab all the little bits of data, and organize them into nice organized piles again so your computer knows where everything is.
How do I run this defrag?
Luckily Windows has a tool built in for just this purpose. It’s not the best tool available, but hey you have it installed, and it works, so lets go with that.
Here’s where you can find it:
- Start
- All Programs
- Accessories
- System Tools
- Disk Defragmenter
When this program opens it will give you a few choices, the first thing we should do is analyze the disk. After Analyzing, the program will report back to let us know if we need to defrag. Most of the time, it will need it.
Click on the Defragment Disk option, and the process will begin. Now if you have a lot of data on your drive, and if its really defragmented, then it will take a while to complete this process.
Once its completed, you should see a little bit more speed out of your computer.
***Special Note***
Windows 7 has the ability to schedule your defrag. You can set your PC to defrag in off hours, so it will not interfere with your day-to-day operation of the PC. I highly recommend setting up a weekly schedule for running your defrag. This way your PC will stay optimal and you wont have to think about it. Just set it and forget it!
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