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This is an old post from the Computer Doctor of Maine in Bangor. This could still be relatable to you today, but we can recover your lost data. In addition to this, solid-state drives, SSDs, have been replacing hard drives, for their improved speed, reliability, and at a cheaper price. Nowadays, many more computers use SSDs, but some of your older computers may still be using hard drives. Bring in your computer to the Computer Doctor of Maine in Bangor, and we can recover your data from your failed hard drive. Or, we can replace it with an SSD, greatly improving the productivity of your old computer.

So your hard drive just died, and you didn’t back it up. I’m so, so sorry. You can expect to go through the following five stages once you discover that all of your photos, files, and music are gone forever.

Stage one: Denial
“No. No, there’s no way. This is probably just a software issue, maybe if I try rebooting again it’ll work. I’ve only had this hard drive for two years, there’s no way it just died. I’ll get all that stuff back. This silly computer always freaks out but is fine after a reboot. Even though I’ve tried rebooting five times and it sounds like a fork is stuck in a garbage disposal in there, it’s probably just the CD drive.”

Stage two: Anger
“Are you kidding me, Western Digital? I’ve lost everything! I trusted you, and for what? How does a company that sells such crappy products stay in business? I will murder the first WD employee I see. And what the hell is wrong with me that I didn’t back this stuff up? I am the biggest idiot in the world and I want to punch myself in the face. I hate myself and don’t deserve to be happy.”

Stage three: Bargaining
“OK, so maybe I can download some software and boot this drive as a secondary drive and try to recover some stuff. I mean, I’ll have to go buy a new hard drive and install it and then figure out how to hook this one up as a secondary drive, and I’m not sure where my OS discs are, but hey, I’m a smart guy, I can figure this stuff out, right? Or maybe professional data recovery services have gotten much, much cheaper lately. Yeah, I’ll bet they’re affordable now, they’ve gotta be.”

Stage four: Depression
“All those photos. I’ll never, ever get them back. I’ll never see those faces again. And my essays from college, I was going to share those with my kids someday. And man, all that music, it’s taken me years to collect all that. Why did I even bother? It’s like the last ten years of my life have just been erased.”

Stage five: Acceptance
“Ah, none of that stuff was that important. Most of it was uploaded to various sites like Flickr, anyways. At least the really important stuff. Regathering all that music will be fun, too! And hey, you know what? Maybe it’s good to start fresh every once in a while. And man, hard drives have gotten a lot cheaper since I last bought one. This is really just a good way to put things in perspective; none of this stuff was all that important. Except for those photos. Why the hell didn’t I back them up?”

Below is some excellent information provided by the US Department of Homeland Security US-CERT Security TIP. Although this post from the Computer Doctor of Maine is a bit old, the information is still relevant today. You can bring your personal computer to the Computer Doctor of Maine in Bangor and have us install anti-virus software for you, so you can keep your information safe without the threat of a virus ruining it.

What does anti-virus software do?

Although details may vary between packages, anti-virus software scans files or your computer’s memory for certain patterns that may indicate an infection. The patterns it looks for are based on the signatures, or definitions, of known viruses. Virus authors are continually releasing new and updated viruses, so it is important that you have the latest definitions installed on your computer.

Once you have installed an anti-virus package, you should scan your entire computer periodically.

• Automatic scans – Depending on what software you choose, you may be able to configure it to automatically scan specific files or directories and prompt you at set intervals to perform complete scans.

• Manual scans – It is also a good idea to manually scan files you receive from an outside source before opening them. This includes:
• saving and scanning email attachments or web downloads rather than selecting the option to open them directly from the source
• scanning media, including CDs and DVDs, for viruses before opening any of the files

What happens if the software finds a virus?

Each package has its own method of response when it locates a virus, and the response may differ according to whether the software locates the virus during an automatic or a manual scan. Sometimes the software will produce a dialog box alerting you that it has found a virus and asking whether you want it to “clean” the file (to remove the virus). In other cases, the software may attempt to remove the virus without asking you first. When you select an anti-virus package, familiarize yourself with its features so you know what to expect.

Which software should you use?

There are many vendors who produce anti-virus software, and deciding which one to choose can be confusing. All anti-virus software performs the same function, so your decision may be driven by recommendations, particular features, availability, or price.

Installing any anti-virus software, regardless of which package you choose, increases your level of protection. Be careful, though, of email messages claiming to include anti-virus software. These messages, supposedly from your ISP’s technical support department, contain an attachment that claims to be anti-virus software. However, the attachment itself is in fact a virus, so you could become infected by opening it (see Using Caution with Email Attachments for more information).

How do you get the current virus information?

This process may differ depending on what product you choose, so find out what your anti-virus software requires. Many anti-virus packages include an option to automatically receive updated virus definitions. Because new information is added frequently, it is a good idea to take advantage of this option. Resist believing email chain letters that claim that a well-known anti-virus vendor has recently detected the “worst virus in history” that will destroy your computer’s hard drive. These emails are usually hoaxes (see Identifying Hoaxes and Urban Legends for more information). You can confirm virus information through your anti-virus vendor or through resources offered by other anti-virus vendors.

While installing anti-virus software is one of the easiest and most effective ways to protect your computer, it has its limitations. Because it relies on signatures, anti-virus software can only detect viruses that have signatures installed on your computer, so it is important to keep these signatures up to date. You will still be susceptible to viruses that circulate before the anti-virus vendors add their signatures, so continue to take other safety precautions as well.

This is an old post from the Computer Doctor of Maine, discussing the release of the first Apple iPad. Since then, iPads have become more and more advanced. You can bring your iPad to the Computer Doctor of Maine in Bangor, and we can help with repairs, setup, data transfer, and more.

Phone screen too small to meet all your needs? Laptop or netbook too bulky to carry? You may be ready to delve into the latest tech rage of tablet computing…

Apple had been rumored to be developing a tablet device since the days of its Newton line of PDA’s. With the release of the iPad it has started a juggernaut of tablet development. Much more than a Nook or Kindle, the tablet device has great potential for those who would benefit from what it does well and whose form factor fits in with their lifestyle. Small, light, and dazzling, navigating pages effortlessly with a casual flip of the wrist, tablets must be experienced first hand to really get an appreciation for how they work and what they do. Pinching, zooming, auto screen rotation, multitouch features, while there is a lot of hype, there is just as much function and convenience if you need and will use it.

Sure the uber geek factor is tremendous, pulling out a tablet device in any social or business situation will always generate attention, but it’s when you start harnessing its power and not just checking Facebook that the devices truly begin to shine.