Appendix C Maintaining The System; Data Preservation; Scheduling Backups; Backup Devices - Dell 4100 User Manual

Appendix C
Maintaining the System
P
roper use of preventive maintenance procedures can
keep your system in top operating condition and minimize
the need for costly, time-consuming service procedures.
This appendix contains maintenance procedures that you
should perform regularly.
D
ata Preservation
Everyone inadvertently deletes files at one time or
another. Also, hard-disk drives can fail after extended
use, so it is not a question of whether you will even-
tually lose data, but when. To avoid such loss of data, you
should regularly make backup copies of all hard-disk
drive files. Frequent, regular backups are a must for any-
one using a hard-disk drive.

Scheduling Backups

The frequency with which backups should be made
depends on the amount of storage space on a hard-disk
drive and the volatility of the data contained on the drive.
Heavily used systems require more frequent backups
than systems in which files are seldom changed.
Dell recommends that you back up the hard-disk drive at
least once a week, with a daily backup of those files
known to have been changed. Following these guidelines
ensures the loss of no more than a day's work in the event
of a hard-disk drive failure or if you inadvertently delete
one or more important files.
As further insurance against data losses, you should keep
duplicate copies of the weekly and monthly backups at an
off-site location. Doing this ensures that you lose no more
than a week's work, even if one of the on-site backups
becomes corrupted.

Backup Devices

Tape drives are fast, convenient, and affordable devices
that can back up data at rates of up to 1.6 megabytes per
second (MB/sec) (sustained, with data compression) and
can often run unattended. Dell offers tape drives with
storage capacities in the range of 4 gigabytes (GB) to
32 GB per tape cartridge and recommends these drives
and their associated backup software for use as system
backup devices.
C
leaning System Components
An exhaust fan in the power supply cools the power sup-
ply and computer by drawing air in through various
openings in the computer and blowing it out the back.
However, the fan also draws dust and other particles into
the computer, causing contaminant buildup, which results
in an increase in the system's internal temperature and
interferes with the operation of various system
components.
To avoid these conditions, Dell recommends keeping
your work environment clean to reduce the amount of
dust and dirt around the computer, thereby reducing the
amount of contaminants drawn into the computer by the
power supply fan. In particular, you should keep the
exterior of your computer and monitor clean, and you
should use a commercially available diskette-drive head-
cleaning kit to remove contaminants inside your diskette
drives.
Maintaining the System C-1