Disaster-Proof Your PC
Step 3: Disk ImagingAt present, disk imaging is the best all-inclusive recourse for general disaster recovery. Imaging allows you to create an exact copy of your hard drive to instantly restore when necessary – in a matter of minutes. Should your boot drive decide not to boot, if malware ravages your machine or if you just want to quickly restore your system after trying out new software that doesn't suit your fancy, imaging makes it a quick and simple process to wind the clock back to a time when your PC and its software were in pristine condition.  Acronis' True Image 11 Home However, imaging software can do much more than simply create exact point-in-time backups... if you use the right program, of course. For Windows Vista and XP, Acronis True Image 11 Home allows you to backup and restore your documents, music, photos, videos and emails, as well as settings for Microsoft Office, iTunes, Media Player and a host of other programs; it enables you to test new software or browse the Internet in a safe, protected environment (after which you can decide whether to keep or discard changes); and employ included utilities to protect your privacy by safely destroying sensitive data, cleaning up your system or securely wiping the entire hard drive. It performs file and folder exclusion, incremental and differential backup, live backup and automatic scheduling. For similar functionality on the Mac, check out SuperDuper. The imaging process is relatively simple. On a preconfigured system, first create an image of your boot drive or partition to serve as a failsafe restore, should anything go wrong, and save this image to your drive image partition or disk. Then, uninstall all the useless "extras" provided by the vendor. Next, install your default applications and make any preferred system tweaks. Image your boot partition or drive again (you can also create images incrementally as you install software, allowing you to undo a problem installation at any step in the process). This image becomes your default for disaster recovery purposes. As you install new software, change hardware and related drivers, or update the OS, you can create new default images as necessary. Follow the same procedure for your data partition or drive. By the way, when you first install True Image, make sure to create a bootable recovery disc. If your boot drive dies or becomes unbootable, you'll need it. Disk imaging enhances the security of your data, saves you time over the long haul and helps prevent unnecessary emotional turmoil. That more than offsets the extra time it takes up front to incorporate.
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