Survive Hard Drive Failure

Most people don't backup their computers at all. Those who do, only backup the files they don't want to use. But this doesn't enable you to keep computing if your hard drive fails. At best, you'll have to install a new hard drive, reinstall all your programs, and restore your backup files. At worst, you'll have to purchase a new computer. But there is a better way.

If your computer has a second hard drive, you can purchase software that will clone (or make an exact copy of) the contents of the primary hard drive onto a secondary hard drive. Then, if the primary hard drive fails, you restart the computer, go into your BIOS settings, and change the boot order of your drives so that the secondary hard drive is the primary boot disk. (I know that sounds complicated, but it's actually quite easy. Other BIOS settings, however, can be more challenging.) Then exit the BIOS, and your computer will boot from your secondary hard drive, enabling you to get back to work with only 5 minutes of effort.

With two hard drives installed, it's important that you clone the primary hard drive to the secondary one periodically. With the right software, everything is copied  even Windows and all the updates you've downloaded since you got the computer. I use Acronis True Image. It is simple to use, and I have had no problems with it. It saved my life about a year ago when the primary hard drive failed on my desktop computer. However, it is the only disk cloning software that I have used. There are others on the market.