Hints Tips & Rants
by Dale Atchison
Tampa Bay Computer Society

Let's Talk About Backups...

Harking back momentarily to last month's "Hints" column, remember I said a large number of the files I thought were trashed couldn't be restored, because they had come from GiveAwayoftheDay.com.  Here's why:  files downloaded from GAOTD, or similar 'today-only' sites, can only be installed on the same day they are downloaded for free.  If there's ever a need to rebuild your file system — virus infection, hard drive failure, brain fart, whatever — you can't restore those programs from install CDs or download new free copies; they're gone for good.  So, if you have downloaded and installed this sort of promotional programs, or have software installed for which you don't have and can't get the installation media, you occasionally need to backup not just your personal folders, but an 'image' of your entire hard drive.  That way, if you ever need to restore your system from a partial or complete failure, you just...

  1. Boot your computer from the CD you created in advance, from within the backup program, just for this purpose, and

  2. Restore your system from the image file you had saved on an external hard drive, or possibly on a large thumb drive.
Additionally, you should create an image backup every so often, even if you have the install media for every program on your computer, just because you don't want to have to...

  1. Load Windows from your original installation media,

  2. Load all your hardware drivers,

  3. Activate Windows with Microsoft (sometimes easy, but often nearly impossible to accomplish),

  4. Load all your programs again,

  5. Install any Service Packs and Microsoft Updates and Patches which have been released since you bought your copy of Windows, except, of course, for Windows XP Service Pack 3, which you should avoid like the plague,

  6. Check for updates for all your installed programs,

  7. and finally, restore all your documents, settings, address books, and email messages, so that your computer will perform more or less the same as it did before your most recent digital misfortune.
I've used three different free hard disk imaging programs:
Seagate/Maxtor's MaxBlast (126 MB):
www.seagate.com/support/maxblast/MaxBlastSetup.en.exe

Macrium Reflect (28 MB):
download.cnet.com/3001-2242_4-10845728.html?spi=3dbcecb77592cbf69097fa1dff3c3509&part=dl-6288502

Miray Software's HDClone (10 MB):
www.miray.de/download/sat.hdclone.html

Of the three, I prefer MaxBlast, but it has a slight 'gotcha':  it only works if there's a Maxtor hard drive installed in or connected to the system while the program is in use; the Maxtor drive doesn't have to be involved in the backup or restore process, it just has to be connected.  For me, this isn't a problem:  Maxtor is my favorite brand of full-size (3.5" form factor) hard drive, and their 'One-Touch' line is my favorite external drive — I've bought other drives on sale if the store was out of Maxtors, but only when a client couldn't or wouldn't wait till the next batch of Maxtors hit the shelves.  I've made numerous image backups using MaxBlast, and several image restores, all without a hitch.

I've had mixed results with the other two programs.  HDClone made an image to a USB external hard drive, running in Windows, but couldn't restore from it when I booted from the rescue CD — seems I needed to purchase one of the other versions of the program to restore from a USB external hard drive.  Reflect backed up to and restored from that same external drive without a hitch, but the system wouldn't boot using the boot sector restored from the image file — I had to boot from a Windows CD, start the Recovery Console, and run Fixboot and FixMBR to make the new hard drive bootable.  But at least it had restored all my programs and files.

As I said, I prefer MaxBlast.  ...Your mileage may vary.  ...Actor is a non-attorney spokesperson.  ...Ask your doctor if you are healthy enough for disk imaging activity.  ...And all the other standard disclaimers.

Tips.Net

Microsoft Excel Tip:  Rounding to Even and Odd Values

Excel includes two functions that allow you to quickly round a number up to the next highest even or odd integer values.

For instance, suppose you have the value 26.3 in cell A7, and the following in cell A9:  =EVEN(A7)
The value returned by this function is 28, which is the next highest even integer value.

The following function will return a value of 27, which is the next highest odd value:  =ODD(A7)

If the value in A7 were negative, then both the ODD and EVEN functions will return values that are further away from zero than the value used as an argument (but they are still odd and even).

Copyright © 2009 by Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.  Reprinted by permission.
Thousands of free Microsoft Excel tips can be found online at  excel.tips.net


Microsoft Word Tip:  Jumping Back in a Long Document

If you are editing a long document, and you need to temporarily refer to another place in the document, you can use this tip to make yourself more productive.  There are two ways you can jump back and forth in your document:

  1. You can use the scroll bars to view the other parts of the document.  The insertion point (the blinking bar that indicates where your typing will appear) is still at your old editing position, even though it is off-screen.  When you are through viewing the part of the document you needed to refer to, press one of the arrow keys or any printable character (including the Space Bar).  You will be taken back to the exact place you were editing.  Of course, if you pressed a printable character you will need to delete it.

  2. The other method is to use Shift+F5.  This key combination is used to jump to the last three places in the document where you made edits.  (Actually, it is four locations, if you count the one where you first pressed Shift+F5.)  You can press it once, and you will return to where you were most recently editing.

Copyright © 2009 by Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.  Reprinted by permission.
Thousands of free Microsoft Word tips can be found online at  word.tips.net .

I'm over a week late getting this column to the Web.  I held off till I could finish an update of my Monthly Maintenance routine.  Boy, but I am long-winded, even when typing rather than talking:  by the time I was nearly done with the column, it was five pages long, and there was a page or two still bouncing around inside my head, demanding to be added.  So, the wait was for nothing, I'll publish the Monthly Maintenance column in the February issue, with the only other topic in the column being from Tips.Net.  Thanks for understanding.

Till next month...

DaLe aTchiSon

I send these guys a few dollars every month... sure wish you would join me.
And 100% of your labor charges go to this rescue, too.