1 Computer Maintenance Disaster Recovery and Preventative Maintenance Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Course Objectives Define computer disaster recovery plan Design and implement a disaster recovery plan Define preventative maintenance Understand the reasoning behind preventative maintenance Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.2

Computer Disaster Recovery Plan A backup plan that is designed to restore and recover data and computer functionality in the event of a disaster such as a computer or server failure Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.3

Computer Disaster Recovery Plan Plans emerged in the mid-1970s and grew as businesses became more reliant on IT (Information Technology) and computers in the workplace Today, businesses spend upwards of 5% of their IT budgets on disaster recovery planning Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.4

Computer Disaster Recovery Plan What can happen when there is no computer disaster recovery plan? company/customer data is lost company operations may become disrupted operations may never return to the pre-disaster state Statistics: Businesses that encounter a computer disaster without a recovery plan  Half never reopen or close the business within 2 years  Less than 10% of businesses survive without a recovery plan Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.5

What can happen when there is no computer disaster recovery plan? Software Failure: a crash or cessation of processing because of a logic error in a program or key files have become corrupt or damaged 6 Computer Disaster Recovery Plan Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

What can happen when there is no computer disaster recovery plan? Hardware Failure - computers fail in varying degrees of severity. The worst failures impact the ability for the computer to function at all  Hard drive failure - The computer is unable to load the operating system  Video card failure - The screen will be black with no signal.  Other component failure - Software can affect hardware by corrupting its firmware and causing the hardware to overheat and fail. 7 Computer Disaster Recovery Plan Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Preventative strategies: data backup redundant hardware setups security software defragmentation proper cooling Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.8 Computer Disaster Recovery Plan

Data backup: making copies of important data, files, and computer system settings On-site backups Raid 0: The computer has two of the same-sized hard drives where the same data is written to both drives  Is performed through BIOS and operating system settings  Quickest means of recovery when a hard drive failure occurs because of the system’s redundancy Manual on-site backup: Data is backed up to another drive or location at regular intervals Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.9 Computer Disaster Recovery Plan

Off-Site Backup: Utilizes servers or cloud-based systems for backup locations Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.10 Computer Disaster Recovery Plan

Security software: software applications are designed to protect the computer and its systems Antivirus, Firewall, and other security software suites allow for better protection of a computer’s files and systems Defragmentation: the process where files on the hard drive are put back into their proper order, increasing performance and proper file management Proper cooling: heat causes hardware failures. Proper cooling is necessary for a computer to operate correctly Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.11 Computer Disaster Recovery Plan

Detection strategies: software notifications system performance tests user detection Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.12 Computer Disaster Recovery Plan

Computer Disaster Recovery Plan: Detection Software notifications: Operating systems today incorporate some form of software or hardware diagnostic tool to aid the user in troubleshooting the computer They are designed to notify the user of a potential malfunction or to run a check for a fault System performance test: Looking at the activity log is helpful in troubleshooting the computer Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.13

Computer Disaster Recovery Plan: Detection User Detection: The user generally knows what is supposed to happen with a particular software package or operating system. When things don’t work the way they are supposed to, a user detects the problem Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.14

Computer Disaster Recovery Plan Corrective/Reactive strategies identify the problem assess the areas that are affected repair or replace the affected hardware/software confirm through testing that the problem has been corrected Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.15

Computer Disaster Recovery Plan: Corrective Strategy Identify the problem : Is the problem software or hardware related? What is affected : diagnose hardware failures using the utility that comes pre-installed with the operating system. Replace any hardware that might be faulty. Software is usually diagnosed by the user or with the appearance of error messages Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.16

Repair/Replace Software: repair/restore/reinstall software when it fails to function correctly. Hardware: Replace faulty hardware and reinstall drivers as necessary Confirm through testing that the problem has been resolved Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.17 Computer Disaster Recovery Plan: Corrective Strategy

Computer Preventative Maintenance The process and practice of keeping a computer in good working order Involves maintaining both the hardware and the software on the computer Should be performed every 3-6 months Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.18

Hardware Listen - while the computer is running, listen for odd sounds such as clicking or other abnormal noises Clean dust out - using a vacuum, place suction at both the exhaust and intake vents on the computer where buildup is visible  This returns airflow to components that generate heat and allows the machine to run more efficiently while decreasing the likelihood of failure  Canned air is also an option for blowing dust from a computer. Open the case for best results Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.19 Computer Preventative Maintenance

Look at computer specs: make note of the hardware in the machine  As a computer ages, it has trouble keeping up with newer software requirements Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.20

Software Backup: make copies of important files. Can be done on external media, a hard drive, online backup, or to a virtual location like the cloud Check computer security: periodically, perform an entire scan of the computer’s hard drive To perform a scan, open the security software application and select the complete system scan Make note of security software renewal dates. If the subscription has expired, you will not have active protection. 21 Computer Preventative Maintenance Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Software Empty cache, delete any unwanted or temp files - clear the cookies from your Internet browser, delete s, empty the trash, and delete any temporary files by performing a disk cleanup and defragmentation of the hard drive Update drivers – will enhance the computer’s performance and make it more stable Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.22 Computer Preventative Maintenance

A dirty computer will not perform well! Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.23 Computer Preventative Maintenance

The reason for preventative maintenance to prevent unnecessary and premature hardware failures to ensure that software is up to date and functioning at optimal levels for an extra degree of protection in backing up key files and documents to help extend the life of the computer Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.24 Computer Preventative Maintenance

Even computers that are properly maintained and upgraded eventually reach a point where replacement is necessary Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.25 Computer Preventative Maintenance

Independent / Group Work Group 1. Get into your groups. 2. Discuss 3 or more preventative measures you can take to protect your personal computer. 3. Demonstrate one of the preventative measures you chose and present it to your peers on the computer at the front of the classroom. 4. Detail, in writing, the measures your group took. 5. Explain in your summary the reasons behind each maintenance task you chose and why they are important. Individual 1. Detail a “computer disaster recovery plan” for your computer at home. 2. This plan should encompass everything covered in the presentation and be posted by your computer at home. 3. Turn in a copy of the written plan and, optionally, a picture of that plan posted by your computer. 26Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.

Exam Preparation An exam will be given over the material in the presentation Make sure to review your class notes and the slides in the presentation Questions will be multiple choice and true/false Copyright © Texas Education Agency, All rights reserved.27