Be sure you read Chapter three about Backups.

I used to think that spending the time to write out a disaster plan was a waste of time. It looked like it was writing down the obvious: you call up the store, order more PC's, and restore your backups. Right?

True. Sort, of. But, the problem is that you can't do it all at once. The major function of the plan is to get advance agreement about the priorities of the various users and applications. Setting priorities under pressure after a disaster is much harder that setting them beforehand.

Don't underestimate the importance of this step. Having a plan is half the battle. Recovery without forethought can be next to impossible - with a plan it is only very hard. It is not necessary to spend enormous amounts of money arranging in advance for backup hardware unless you are in a very specialized business, in which case you probably will already know it. The planning itself may be all you do.

Appendix A is an outline of a disaster recovery plan. Again, the details are not as important as the existence of the plan. Get much user input on these discussions, especially the application priorities. Users might well have different opinions about the worth of some things than you do. They should be involved in these discussions so that they might offer to spend some of their budget on preventive measures rather than other things.

Help the users as they argue about which applications are most important to the company. The last thing you would need in the middle of a disaster recovery is to have some user breathing down your neck about something that was not of great consequence considering the scope of the larger problems. If you have a pre-authorized plan you can refer to then you can help keep things in perspective.

For each major application package you should cultivate an in-house expert. This person should be picked with the help of operating management and should be given extra recognition for the role. Get them extra training. Arrange for them to have time to study books and go to seminars. Give them extra tasks that stretch their knowledge of the product. Publicize their skills within the company and encourage others to seek them out for help. This effort will pay dividends in help they can give to other users and in freeing up your time. You will not be able to be a real expert on every package your firm uses.

It is obvious that the more you learn about PC's the better job you will be able to do. What is perhaps not obvious is that there are quite a few good resources that will help you in your quest for knowledge:

There are many quality magazines that are free to you because advertising revenue pays for them. While the articles are sometimes not of the same quality as those in magazines you have to pay for, the advertisements are usually quite informative. The "bingo" cards allow you to request information from the vendor with little pain. Usually you have to fill out a form to qualify for the magazine. They will want to know how influential you are in your firm. I have never had anyone audit any of the information I sent in. Keep in mind that the magazine doesn't really care. They are just trying to build a realistic profile of their readers for their advertisers.

Check at the local library or ask people that you know are interested in information processing. The free magazines are not in the bookstore or at the newsstand.

In most major metropolitan areas there is at least one newspaper published for the local PC merchants to advertise in. These are available free at all the local stores that advertise in it and at other locations as well. It is also available by mail. These are good sources of local news and advertising.

These are groups that meet once a month (usually) and discuss issues about a particular brand of machine. Many of the people at these meetings are quite experienced and have an interest in helping others. These groups are not just for hackers and neophytes. Some groups are better than others, of course. A listing of groups for any area will appear each month in the local computer newspapers.

In the Dallas/Fort Worth area many of the local clubs hold their meetings at the same time at the Infomart each month. This meeting includes a sales area where many local vendors will sell hardware and software, often at bargain prices. You may be able to find such an event in your area. If not, perhaps you can start one. It has worked out well here.

Most popular software packages will have ten to twenty books published about them that major book chains will have in stock. For the most part these books are not just rehashes of the vendor's manuals, if any were even supplied. They include many tricks, hints, and tips that you will not otherwise get except by experience. Once you have selected your major software packages, buy a couple about each package you choose. Pick the one that seems to best address how you try to use the package and buy enough copies that your users can get ready access. By the way, most publishers will give you discounts of 40 percent or more on any book if you buy more than one. It will be money well spent.

Sometimes amateur programmers create useful programs that they do not care to market. They will place these programs in the Public Domain. They are then free for anyone to make whatever use he cares of them.

Sometimes creators will place a copyright notice on such programs, making them available with the stipulation that you cannot take them and sell them to others. This class of program has become known as Freeware.

Other creators will copyright their programs and stipulate that you are free to try them yourself and pay the creator only if you continue to use them. You are also free to copy them and give them to others. This class of program has become known as Shareware. The best thing about shareware is that it is a very inexpensive, but legal way to learn about different types of software.

A last class of free programs you may run across is derisively referred to as "crippleware." These programs are versions of standard commercial software that the vendors have created that are missing some essential function. For example, a spelling checker might have only part of the dictionary. In other packages you might be able to create works on the screen but not print them or save them to a file. The intent is that you will get to find out what the package is like, and will like the program enough to go out and buy the production version.

In a new, related development, some commercial software vendors are placing their outdated releases in "shareware" status. Since they once charged substantial prices for this same software, you are obviously getting a good deal. It strikes me as being courageous, and a good idea.

You can find all of these kinds of software on the Internet just by searching for those terms along with a description of the function. For example you might search for "+shareware +OCR +download".

Use lots of subdirectories. It will help you find things. A good sized disk can easily have thousands of files on it. Even making two subdirectories can cut your search in half. Keeping the directory names short will keep the path names short. This will ease many of your operations and maintenance chores. This is especially applicable on file servers.

Generally speaking, don't put any files in your root directory that don't have to be there. From time to time check your user's machines to make sure they understand this.

Consider making one main directory for all your data. This may vastly simplify your backup procedures, depending on your backup software. Make subdirectories suite the way you use the system. You might consider one directory for each type of files, for example. Or you might make subdirectories by customers.

Because of the way disk space is allocated on a hard disk, many files will eventually be stored in several little pieces. The disk head movement necessary to access such files slows down your system. Defragmentation utilities make sure that each file is in contiguous blocks of disc space. These tools have several different names such as disk optimizers and disc reorganizers. You should probably run one about once a month on a heavily used system. PC-Tools has an excellent optimizer.

Novell NetWare servers generally do not need defragging. Their operation is such that any fragmentation is usually irrelevant. The same is usually true of any multi-user system such as UNIX. An exception might be found in servers that are dedicated to a single applications involving multi-user file updates. In this case the randomness of references does not occur, and file fragmentation can delay accessing. There is now a Novell certified utility that will defragment file servers. Unfortunately, the server must be shut down for it to run.

A related problem occurs when data base applications randomly insert and delete records in files that are indexed. Depending on the system and the way you use it, the file may become partly (or even mostly) empty. This will slow the system for several different reasons. Usually such systems have an option or utility to pack or reorganize the data file. If no such option exists, then you will need to periodically take a brute force approach: unload the data to a flat file, scratch the indexed file, reallocate the file, and reload the data.

If you are running out of disk space and can't afford more, you should be aware that there are ways to reduce significantly the space that files take. These tools use various techniques to eliminate redundant information. Together they are called file compression. The problem with these techniques is that you trade a little extra processing time for the price of a new hard disk.

There are file compression features in some PC programs. For example, Quatro Pro has an option to compress the files as they are stored, giving them a unique extension, .SQZ.

There are also utility programs that can significantly reduce the size of most files if your favorite package does not have such features. Spreadsheets may get smaller by 50%. Some programs do not compress much but others will compress a great deal. Most of the half-dozen or so popular file compression utility packages are available as shareware. They are widely found on BBS's since compressing the programs and documentation speeds downloading and uploading considerably. There is a side benefit from using these packages. You can combine all the files relating to a particular subject into one compressed file. The resulting file is easier to keep track of than many small files.

The main programs in this category are PKARC, PKZIP, and LHARC (my favorite.) These programs produce files with extensions of .ARC, .ZIP, and .LZH, respectively.

The end point of this compression strategy is a new category of products that compress the entire disk. (More accurately, most of it.) The most well known of such programs is Stacker. ??? These programs will roughly double the amount of data that can be stored on a disk, depending on the application. If your PC is already too slow for your application this may not be a good trade. If you have a faster CPU than you really need, it might be a great idea. As with any other radical technique where a new function is layered on top of DOS, you might find incompatibilities with other packages.

Reformat and reload stepper motor hard disc drives once a year. The mechanisms in these drives are subject to wear such that they tend to drift out of alignment with use. A low level format will correct this problem. Such drives can be identified because they have an odd number of heads. ???

If you accidentally delete a file, STOP. It can be recovered. Erasing a file does not actually delete it. It merely marks the name to show that it is a deleted file. (It overwrites the first character of the name.) Any other file written to the disc may use the space. If the space has not been used yet then, you're in luck. Special utility programs can find these entries and make them visible again. If you are using DOS 5.0 or later then UNDELETE comes with it. If not, see Norton Advanced Utilities, PC Tools, Mace Gold, etc.

If you format a hard disc by mistake, STOP! It may be recoverable. Formatting a hard disc that is already formatted does not write over the disk drive, it merely blanks the directory and FAT's. Complete recovery is normal possible if certain steps have been taken. It may be possible in any case, and it is almost certain that significant portions can be recovered. DOS 5.0 and later include such a feature. For earlier releases see PC Tools, Mace Gold, Norton Advanced Utilities, etc.

Crashed hard discs can (often) be recovered. There are services in most major cities that can often recover much of the data from a hard disc that has had a head crash or other damage. This service now runs $500 to $2,000 with no guarantees. This price puts the bother of backups in a whole new light, doesn't it. Of course, if you have no backup, it may well be worth it. They appear to be doing well, I might add.

Airport X-ray machines in the United States will not cause you to have problems with damage to data on disks. (Overseas units are not as well regulated or inspected, but they still are likely safe.) However, beware of the metal detectors, including the hand-held ones. They are magnetic. They are likely to harm disks. Leave floppies in your carry-on luggage or in the laptop you are running through the X-ray.

If you are using a DOS release prior to 3.0, the FORMAT utility will format the hard disc if it is the default drive and you do not give an explicit drive designation. (In 3.0 you must specify the drive, and if it is a hard disc you must verify the operation.) Renaming the program makes it less likely that this can inadvertently happen. Create a FORMAT.BAT file that says:

FORMATX A:.

This will automatically format a floppy, which is probably what you really wanted to do anyway.

They are very cheap. The output of an hour's labor stored on a floppy is certainly worth more than the price of the floppy. Don't try to reuse them for too long. While they are fairly rugged if not mistreated, they will not last forever since the disk drive head actually makes contact with the surface of the floppy as it rotates.

The price of preformatted diskettes is not much greater than unformatted diskettes. If it increases the likelihood that you or your staff will back up their hard disks regularly it will be worth it.

If you spill your coffee on a diskette, don't despair. Cut open the inner envelope (i.e., the black [usually] thing.) Wash the diskette gently with soap and warm water. Allow it to dry. Place it in another (opened) envelope. Copy it once and throw it away. Alternatively, hang it on the wall to help remind your users to be more careful.

Sometimes the diskette may get slightly stuck to the surface of the envelope, especially if it has gotten heated. Hold the diskette by one corner and tap any edge of the diskette flat on the desk once or twice fairly smartly like you might tamp a deck of cards on end to square up the cards after shuffling.

Another trick is to open the drive door lever, push the disk back in, and retry the operation. Once the drive starts spinning, close the door lever. This often makes the operation succeed. (It may be impossible on some drives, especially with high density drives.)

360K drives generally have a black front and 1.2 M drives generally are tan. PC's and XT's usually have only 360K drives. AT's and 386 machines usually have 1.2 MByte drives. Double density disks almost always have a "hub ring" around the large hole, and high density ones do not.

If you are going to use a 360K floppy on a high density drive, format it on a 360K drive. You will then be able to read and write the disk on either type of drive fairly reliably. You can format a 360K on a 1.2M. Unfortunately, it will not be as reliable because the narrower head on the 1.2M drive will not make as strong a signal as the 360K drive needs and will not completely cover any information previously written by a wider 360K head.

If you try to format a 360K diskette to 1.2M you will usually get errors even if it had never been formatted. Even unformatted diskettes have a signal recorded on them by the testing equipment. You will then not be able to format it at 360K either. This format fails because the 1.2M tracks are so close together that the 360K drive will pick up signals from two tracks. If you do format a diskette to the wrong density and get errors, get a bulk eraser like that used for tape recording and erase the diskette. You should then be able to format it to either density. You probably will be able to use either type of diskette in either mode.

I'm sure that you know all the rules about the care of floppies, but don't assume your users know how to treat them. Actual user errors inspired all these suggestions:

The 3.5 inch media are more expensive per byte than the 5.25. The high density drives store 1.4 MBytes. High density 5.25" drives store 1.2 MBytes. This is not a significant difference. The 3.5 inch package looks a little more durable, but then it has moving parts to break. The cost is still minor, so remember to think of them as supplies.

Do not try to reformat 720 KByte media to 1.4 MBytes. It may appear to work but the results will be disastrous on the 3.5 inch media. Forget those hole punches that allow you to "fix" the diskette so the drive will think it's high density.

Keep at least one machine that has both 3.5" and 5.25" drives. Because the 5.25" drive has been around for so long, some software still comes only on 5.25" drives. Plus, your users, suppliers, or customers may have this size drive and may need to take files back and forth.

If you have AT's or better, check out DOS 5.0 or DR-DOS. They have both made great strides in solving RAM CRAM problems, the latter more so than the former. They allow you to utilize some of the Extended memory to load parts of DOS and some device drivers into the areas between 1M and 640K that are reserved for devices that might not be present.

If you have a machine smaller than a 286 check out the utilities QEMM or 386 To The MAX.

Don't put ANSI.SYS in your CONFIG.SYS file unless you know you need it. Some things about the DOS manuals are unclear. One thing that isn't very clear is that almost no useful program uses the ANSI.SYS driver. This is an anachronism left over from the days when DOS ran on simpler and smaller machines. There are some clever uses that people have made of this facility. One that I really like will put a small Texas flag at the >C prompt. Cute, but really useless. You probably do not need ANSI.SYS. Believe it or not, there is a special type of virus that makes use of this facility. While I don't spend much energy worrying about viruses, why expose yourself needlessly.

If you are on a LAN, set BUFFERS=1 in CONFIG.SYS. If you use little local disc access you are wasting the buffer space on file server operations because it has a disc buffering operation of its own.

One of the worst things for electronics is heat. Heat will dramatically shorten the lifetime of any electronic component. Make sure that you don't block the vents on a PC. If you mount the PC in a desk or other enclosure, make sure that enough air can circulate through to keep it cool.

At least once a year get a vacuum and clean the dust out of the fan in the back of the power supply. Heat is very hard on PC components.

If you put the PC on the floor, watch out for rug lint. The PC pulls air in the front. A fluffy rug will give off lint that can accumulate in a disc drive and cause excessive drag or overheating. I have a friend that got a very good buy on a machine that had such a problem. The cure was trivial in his case, but not for the guy that sold it.

I don't know of anyone who has lost a single byte of data to a virus although I have read of first hand accounts of installations that have. I suspect that most times people say they had trouble with a virus they really had some other problem that they did not understand. Viruses get the blame because that is more palatable than admitting to an error.

There are several free or shareware virus checkers. There are special versions for LAN's. Run a few once. Try again a few weeks later, and then maybe once a month at random through the office. It will be worth doing for everyone's piece of mind. In addition, if you did get hit by a virus that did some significant damage you might be considered liable if you didn't run some virus scans. Because of all the publicity about viruses the "Due Diligence" concept might apply.

I recommend Central Point Anti-Virus and F-PROT, a very fine shareware package.

You may be aware that on a PC you can generate any character by holding down the ALT key and pressing the keys on the numeric pad to enter the decimal equivalent for the character. The character value 255 will display as a blank. If you use this character as the last character of a file name it will be inaccessible to most users.

When you turn the PC back on, the switching generates voltage spikes in the machine. The machine is generally not prepared for these spikes. It is more complex than this, but the gist of it is that switching it back on is worse for it than leaving it on. The amount of power drawn by a PC that is not doing anything is small, about like a small lamp.

The other problem with turning off machines is related to heat. Different materials expand at different rates when heated. Repeated cycles of heating and cooling cause mechanical stress in connectors, etc.

CRT's will burn the phosphor on the screen if you leave them on, especially if one pattern stays on the screen (e.g., your main menu screen.) Turning down the intensity of the screen at the end of the day is the best thing to do, especially if you have no screen saver invoked.

Printers that have a motor that runs continuously should be turned off at night, and especially on weekends. If there is no such motor then you might as well leave them on as they draw very little current. Printers are not as sensitive as CPU's about having the power switched off and on. Indeed, many manufacturers of smaller units suggest you turn them off when adjusting the paper.

Clean the CRT's monthly - your user's will like it. The CRT uses fairly high voltages. These generate a static charge on the face of the CRT. This charge attracts dust like a magnet. The dust will impair the image. Because it builds up slowly, your users may not notice it until you clean it.

Clean floppy disks every three to six months. It is just like using a head cleaner tape on a cassette tape. In normal use the oxide scrapes off the diskette and clogs the head. (The head in a floppy contacts the surface of the disk.) The cleaning will remove the built-up oxide. Do not clean more frequently since the cleaning itself is abrasive and will wear the head.

Vacuum inside the PC annually. Dust lets static build and impedes cooling air flow. Also vacuum the keyboards.

Unfortunately, there are not very many good ones. The throwaway mind set of today's society extends to the PC world. Most repairs are made by isolating the failing unit and swapping it for a good one rather than diagnosing the failure and replacing a bad chip. The idea of running diagnostics is to identify parts that are becoming weak and replace them before they break for good.

CHECKIT is one of the best I have seen for commercial use. It probably will tell you more than you can stand to know. There are a few good diagnostics for hard discs - most notably Mace Utilities, Norton Advanced Utilities and PC Tools. You will need to have a good knowledge of how DOS uses disks to get the most out of them, but they can be used successfully by less knowledgeable people.

Ground yourself before touching the PC cards by touching the machine and the desk before you insert or remove any cards. This will prevent static charge through the card. Static can easily be 10,000 volts. This can destroy expensive chips.

Do not run your keyboard through a dishwasher. Some keyboards can take it but many can't. Water does not necessarily hurt electronics parts. Plastic parts may melt. Many hardware vendors use dishwashers in refurbishing operations.

Forty or more PC's will justify an in-house service technician. This assumes that your alternative is to have them under a maintenance contract at about $30 per month each.

The airflow is designed to come in the front of the PC and exit the back. Not replacing the strips will divert this flow. Excessive heat buildup will shorten the lifetime of the system, especially the hard disk drives. In addition, the open hole would allow access by vermin that like the warmth and will nest in the machine. This may not be a problem in your office, but I assure you that this not a fabrication!

When you are removing or inserting cards in a PC keep your fingers off the card edges. Fingerprints are virtually impossible to remove. Even though the contacts are gold plated and will not themselves corrode, the oil and other matter in the finger print can inhibit good contact. If you suspect that a board is making bad contact, try cleaning the fingers with an eraser.

They are quite cheap and they may help you avoid very expensive lightening damage. Unfortunately it is hard to know exactly what you are getting since it is all inside a little box that you can't easily open. You plug them in and the computer runs. How do you know if it is anything more than an extension cord? Compounding this problem - no two manufacturers seem to talk about the same things when they give the specifications of their unit. Pick a supplier you trust and give him your business.

Include protection on the phone line if you plug the computer into it. Lightening does not care what kind of wire it is running on. Even if it comes in on the modem, it can take out the whole PC.

By virtue of how it works, a UPS or other power conditioning system will make the power worse for other devices on the same circuit. By this I mean anything plugged into the same wall outlet or into any other outlet on the same circuit breaker. I do not mean those things plugged into the UPS itself. Especially watch out for modems, printer sharing devices, multiplexers and other ancillary equipment that might be plugged into the same socket where you plug the UPS into the wall. Plug them into the UPS or into a separate circuit.