Do You Know the Fastest Way to Backup a Computer? Learn Now!

do you know the fastest way to backup a computer learn now

It’s an all-too-common scenario: your computer has just crashed and you have not taken the time to back it up. Or perhaps your building caught on fire and destroyed some computers. Maybe you simply spilled water all over your laptop and now the computer will not turn on. In many situations, the data is recoverable, but it is a real risk that the data will be gone forever. Why risk it? This scenario is definitely avoidable, as long as you know how to backup a computer.

Backup a Computer

Backing up a computer does not take as much time as you think, in fact, it takes no time at all, other than the time to set it up. So, how do you do you accomplish this? Automated software to backup a computer is the answer.

We provide Disaster Recovery and Backup Plan services for businesses. Whether you just need a stand-alone service or a complete IT support plan, we have your back. Small businesses or large business, we can provide a solution for you. Once we have your backup set up, it will be out of sight and out of mind. Your backups will continue on a regular schedule and we will be able to monitor them for any changes or errors.

You need the piece of mind that all of your data is safe during an unexpected disaster. As a company from South Florida, we are very familiar with the damage large storms can create. Contact us and we can help you backup your data in a safe and reliable manner to prevent future catastrophes.

Learn How To Free Up Hard Drive Space On Your Business Computer

learn how to free up hard drive space on your business computer

It’s an all-too-common problem: your hard drive is out of room and your computer is running slowly. Often it sneaks up on you, and now you have to figure out how to free up enough space to keep working efficiently. There are a couple of solutions to get you back on your feet, as well as stay ahead of the problem in the future. Here are some tips to free up hard drive space.

Free Up Hard Drive Space

Begin by running Disk Cleanup, this application is built-in to all Windows computers. You can easily find this application by searching “disk cleanup” in the Start Menu. Disk Cleanup lists a couple of examples of data that you can delete from your computer with a single click. Maybe you still have the data of an old installation of Windows still on your hard drive. Or, if not done regularly, your Temporary File directory could easily be the culprit. File sizes are conveniently located next to each description so you can see what is hogging the most space. Select what you want to remove and click Delete files. Most likely, this will fix your issue. But how do you keep from running out of hard drive space in the future?

There are many free tools available that help you visualize what types of files are taking up the most hard drive space. For Windows, your best option would be the free WinDirStat application. This app helps you easily visualize what files and folders are taking up the largest space, with a multitude of sorting options and percentages for perspective. For a Mac, your best option is a similar offering known as Disk Inventory X, also free. Checking these applications periodically will help you identify storage issues before they affect your productivity.

Contact us for a more in-depth look at freeing up your hard drive space.

Investing in Network Cable Installations Will Save You Money and Avoid Future Costs

five key tips for network cable installation

The general news media often comments on Moore’s law which essentially declares that chip speeds will increase every 18 months or so. Computer users will replace their devices every five years or so and in businesses with the capital to do so, every three to four years. The network infrastructure equipment such as routers and switches will see similar replacement strategies. Cabling, however, is often overlooked. After all, it is behind the wall, under the floor, above the ceiling tiles. Copper is copper and who bothers to think about metal?

Good cabling installations are an essential component of a powerful, reliant, fast network. They allow devices to be connected to the network from disparate locations within a facility. They are fixed in their locations and rarely break. When they do, they can be difficult to identify as the problem, more difficult to locate and time-consuming and expensive to repair. Identifying a single cable in a bundle of 25 or more and replacing it from the IDF or MDF to the local jack takes time.

Cabling of a facility is usually a one-time event that is expected to last 10 or more years, but what about the changes that have occurred in technology and computer use during that time? The advent of the Internet has now moved to the advent of cloud computing. We often concentrate on the uplink and downlink speeds while neglecting to look at the data transfer rates from our routers to our MDF switches to our IDF switches. These can choke the data transfer speeds of the best internet connections.

Modern Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephony that travels on your data network adds to the equation as quality of service concerns can be created through bad cabling or cabling that has aged. Cable installations that were done many years ago may not take advantage of advances in fiber optics and gigabit speed capabilities.

New facilities that are being planned have the opportunity to take advantage of current best in class technology and planning for future technologies and expansions. Proper planning for these activities by knowledgeable professionals can help to ensure that expandability, documentation, and best practices are applied.

Existing facilities with ongoing business operations can apply the same principles of design and implementation as new facilities to future proof their design. A few considerations should be discussed in the design phase:

  • Will you be integrating new wiring into the older design, if so what effect will that have on performance?
  • If you are creating a new installation how will you handle the cutover period?
  • Do you plan on doing cable abatement (removing the old cable)?
  • Will you introduce a new network schema at the same time?

A full service IT support organization with a strong cabling and network architecture practice can help guide you to the proper architectural design, implementation, and installation to ensure that your new cabling helps to provide the five nines reliability of the POTS model that is inherently expected by your customers.

If you are in the Miami/South Florida area contact 4 Corner IT, for information about current cabling practices, network cable installations and any other IT support needs.

Computer Tip: Learn How To Keep Your Outlook Inbox Clean

computer tip learn how to keep your outlook inbox clean

An Outlook inbox that is constantly full is frustrating, and can make it more difficult to notice important emails. How do you maintain your Outlook inbox without spending hours each day? Microsoft Outlook has a couple of built-in features that help you quickly and continually keep your inbox clutter-free.

Outlook inbox

Folders

Perhaps the easiest and quickest way to begin cleaning up your inbox is by using folders. This will help you separate each topic in your inbox and make them easier to access. Right-click on your main email account folder in the sidebar and click “New folder.”

Rules

OK, so now you’ve created all your necessary folders, but you are still required to drag each email into their respective folders; this is not ideal. You need to set up some rules. Perhaps you get plenty of unimportant emails from a specific address every day. You can set up a rule that automatically pushes these new emails into the folder you specify. You can accomplish this by clicking on the “Rules” tab of the Outlook menu, and clicking “New rule” and following the instructions (directions are very similar for most email applications).

Search

Now that you have your folders and rules set up you need a way to access these emails quickly, other than simply clicking on each folder. In your inbox, you can input a search term in the search box and select “Search All Folders,” that way your search will include all of your folders. You can also set Outlook to search all folders by default by going to the Search section of the Option menu, and in the Results tab check “All Folders” under the heading “Include Results Only From.”

Now you are all set! Enjoy your clean and efficient email inbox. Contact us if you have any additional questions about Microsoft Outlook.

Everything You Need To Know About Remote Data Backups

everything you need to know about remote data backups

Remote data backups, also known as ROBO backup, is the practice of securely storing mission-critical data in remote offices. The advantage of this approach is that it allows an organization to keep all of its data in one place. Remote file backup services allow you to log into a remote drive and through an online interface upload a company’s data. The entry point of storage space for most remote data backup services is 5GB. A potential drawback of remote data backup is data transfer speed. The process can take very long if you’re tied to the maximum upstream speed of your network.

Remote Data Backups

Recent research demonstrates that 60% of a company’s data does not lie in databases and servers covered by Data Recovery Programs. These days cloud backup is a popular remote backup and recovery solution. Backups are kept in a remote office and replicated through cloud storage.

ROBO backup services can reduce storage capacity demands, keep productivity high in a company and meet strict service level agreements. They are a guarantee against fire and theft, and they allow remote access to data from any location, and permit selective files restoration. A company can create copies on tape for disaster recovery. They also allow instant recovery anytime to help you save time and money needed post disaster. They eliminate effort involved in recording, maintenance, and rebuilding of files in case of disaster. By freeing people from these obligations, a company can streamline their staff.

If you would like to learn more about remote data backup please contact us.