 Emergency Planning For Computers, or, "How Do I Love Thee, Let Me Count The Bytes" By Stephen E. Evans, CPCU, ARM, ALCM |
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It used to be that the phrases "To love, honor and obey", "For richer, for poorer", and "In sickness and in health", were part of wedding vows. Now they may be part of the owner's instructions for our computer hardware and, even, software.
Computers have become such an integral part of our lives that we often wonder how we are able to function without them....and we often go to great lengths to show it. With a little bit of pre-planning and common sense we can take measures to ease a computer malfunction. What follows are some suggestions that may be of help in diminishing down time and finding alternatives.
HARDWARE
Buying a computer is probably worse than buying a car. Both have option lists longer than your arm and both depreciate as soon as you take them out of the showroom. Computers are worse in that a new generation comes into the market in only 18 months. At least with a car it takes a few years. There are many stores that can sell you memory, drives CD-ROM players, mother boards, etc.; but the key is to know what you have. That's the first trick to planning: know what you have. One source of information is the owners manual, which hopefully, will fill you in.
The computer itself may be a source. Many have "system hardware" files that will provide the information if you take the time to make a copy of the information. If you're not fainthearted and can deftly use a screwdriver, taking a physical inventory or even a simple photo, may be of help at a later date. Replacing a worn out component may not be as simple as it sounds, as styles, configurations connectors and even manufacturers, change. You may want to pre-plan and find a local store that can replace or repair damaged equipment
For many components, there is no repair or replace option available. A CD-ROM drive that I had, kept malfunctioning. I had tried to clean it and for several tries it worked but the accumulation of dust finally did it in. I thought that if I could open up the unit I could thoroughly clean it out. What I learned was that you can't even get to the area you need to without breaking the drive and no one on a commercial basis cleans them out: "Just buy a new one, they're cheap". Right. (Hint- be prepared to replace old with new, if it can fit).
I recently ran into a hardware problem myself. My home computer started out life as a"386 25 unit with a "whopping" 128 megabytes of memory, in 1992. Since then I've upgraded it twice. Just recently the spacebar on the keyboard died ( Its amazing what you can't do without a spacebar). In going to a local branch of a computer store, I found out that the style of the plug on the keyboard hand changed and now was smaller and went from 5 pins to 6 pins. Fortunately I brought the offending keyboard with me and could make physical comparisons (another helpful hint). As it turned out, the store was having a sale on keyboards for $9.95. However the connector I needed was $12.95. For under $25.00 the problem was solved.
Computers are designed to work with VERY stable power supplies. Any fluctuations can damage both hardware and software. The easiest way to prevent "spikes" in the power supply is to buy a surge protector for your system. All inputs should go through this device including printers, monitors and modem phone lines. The device acts like a quick response fuse and prevents the over-voltage from hitting the computer and its components. Some of the newer ones have financial guarantees in the event they fail to work properly. The other side of the problem is power reductions (brown-outs) and interruption (blackouts). Computers are very poor in remembering information from an unplanned shut-down. If you absolutely positively have to have continuity, then you want to invest in an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). At the least, they will cut in upon sensing a power drop and allow you to safely power down your system. Units with larger capacity will allow you to operate for a limited time before they themselves run out of power.
On a larger system, you should try to find other local users of the same equipment so that you might "borrow' operating time if it's available. A source of this information could be the manufacturer or seller. This is a form of "mutual aid". There are also companies that sell their excess capacity for emergency use as well and there are companies that also maintain unused equipment just waiting for such occurrences. In this case you pay a monthly reservation fee and if you are the first one to call, its yours. If you're not the first, you may have to wait on line. In both these last two cases the prices can get very high.
SOFTWARE
The simplest thing to do is to have a duplicate copy of your software and store it in a location where it won't be affected by a loss to the computer. Software should also include your own computer's instructions including the registry, which is a master set of operating directions. This is often called a rescue disk and it should be updated as often as you add or change hardware or software.
With the proliferation of large memories, we now have the capacity to store vast amounts of data; but do we make back-ups or duplicates in case our machines "forget" where our data is? The simplest thing to do is make periodic duplicates of important data. This can be done with a floppy disc or the newer ZIP disks with enormous portable capacity or the older tape drives that can do it automatically (and look like a music cassette). In the course of performing numerous insurance surveys, I've learned that making the copies is not the problem: the problem is that our client stores the copy in the same area as the computer itself. If the computer failure is confined to the computer, this is fine, but if the problem encompasses the room the the copies are also gone. The best and cheapest recommendation is to put the copy in your case bag or pocket and take it home Later on, just switch copies when you revise them
Y2K
The "Year 2000 Problem" or, paranoia, has its own set of unique situations and whole sections of the computing industry have been thriving in anticipation of possible trouble spots. If you're uncertain, contact your manufacturers or vendors and ask their opinion. Local service centers can do diagnostic work and there are small additional circuit boards and software that can, hopefully, eliminate the problem. It is disconcerting to see the way the federal government is limiting liability of equipment and software manufacturers for possible damages. I recently ran into my first two "Y2K" glitches. I had to make a doctors appointment for January (2000) and the computer could not recognize the year (yet). A second problem arose with a client status sheet that I receive from another company. It was to show that a report was to be due 1/20/00 but because it recognized 1/2/00 as January 20,1900, it showed that I was overdue by 36,501 days! Fortunately, this is an information file and not an "action" file, so that a manual correction was easily done. It does make for an interesting situation, though.
CONCLUSION
Pre-planning is always cheaper than post-planning. While your system is functioning properly, take the time to make copies of files and inventory the equipment and connectors that you will need. Worry about voltage fluctuations and have available printed copies of operating instructions. If the directions are locked away in a memory that is no longer operating, they won't do you much good. Contact other businesses and see if you can develop mutual aid arrangements.
Lastly, ask yourself, "In the event my system becomes unavailable, what will I do? Are there manual procedures and equipment available? Do I have the ability and personnel to 'do it by hand'?"
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Stephen E. Evans, CPCU, ARM, ALCM, is marketing director for Technical Insurance Services and will be contributing articles to TIS Express from time to time.
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