What can go wrong 1 Protecting the hardware

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What can go wrong 1Protecting the hardware

• My disc wont work..
• Im sure I saved the file there
• The computers blown up
• Should there be smoke coming out of there ?

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Presentation outline

• Errors
• Power failure
• Hardware failure
• Natural disasters

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The most dangerous object

• The User
• responsible for 80 of all data loss
• responsible for 70 of all hardware failures
• usually involving coffee cups and/or carrying
  things
• responsible for many software bugs/errors
• it helps to read the instructions

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User Error

• The most common cause of lost data is user error
• Often caused by
• Poor training
• Poor clerical procedures
• Poorly designed software
• Overconfidence - a little knowledge is a
  dangerous thing
• Mistakes

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How can we reduce this

• Good basic training
• Set procedures for backing up data, transporting
  discs etc.
• Good user interface design
• Software that protects the user from themselves -
  Are you sure you want to reformat the hard
  drive ?
• Direct input devices e.g. bar code readers

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Power problems

• Power glitch - spikes and surges
• Often caused by
• Electrical supply variation
• Lightning
• Can cause
• loss of data in RAM
• machine to reboot - loss of all data
• hardware damage in extreme cases

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Protection

• Most commercial systems use
• Surge protector
• Cheap (a few pounds)
• Easy to fit
• Becoming common in homes
• esp. in rural areas
• N.B. will not protect against RAM data loss

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Surge protections and UPS

• To protect against longer power faults including
  power failure and brownouts
• Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
• Contains battery
• Maintains supply for a few mins
• Allows user to save and shut down
• some systems include automatic shutdown software
• fairly expensive (500)

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Hardware problems

• Most computer hardware faults occur in the first
  few hours of use
• Eventually all hardware will fail as it wears out
• Most failures just inconvenient - no sound, no
  image on monitor
• But Hard Drive failure loses data

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Back up data

• Only solution
• Back up data on regular basis
• Full back - all system data
• Incremental - only data that has changed since
  last backup
• need to choose media for back up - tape, CD, DVD
  etc.
• need to choose location for backup -offsite,
  fireproof safe etc.

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Natural disasters

• Becoming more of a problem with increase in
  computer use
• Flood
• Fire
• Earthquake - not many in UK
• Again backup of data only solution

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Other Hazards

• Accidents - coffee cups, clumsiness
• Vandalism - public access terminals particularly
  e.g. ATMs
• Sabotage - Disgruntled employees, Info. War
• Bomb Damage - e.g. City of London bomb
• Theft - very common

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Conclusion

• Hardware failure/destruction costs businesses
  millions each year
• Some businesses never recover from data loss
• Small and medium size companies most at risk
• Most have no safety net procedures

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The End

• When was the last time you backed up your Hard
  Drive ?