By Dan Pacheco
Special to The Washington Post
March 27, 1998; Page N46

Windows 95 Tip

Create an emergency recovery disk and stash it away in a place where you can find it. This is the most important thing you can do. Why? Sometimes crucial system files get corrupted, accidentally deleted or moved; if this happens, your computer won't boot. An emergency recovery disk contains copies of those files. Just put this disk into the floppy drive before turning on the PC and you (or a computer specialist) will at least be able to get the machine running so you can find out what's wrong. Do this: Find an empty floppy disk, open 'My Computer' and right-click 'A:\,' then choose 'Format.' Make sure 'Copy system files' is checked in the dialog box that appears. When it's done formatting, load the Windows 95 CD-ROM and use 'My Computer' to browse to the folder D:\other\misc\eru. Double-click Eru.exe

I. Complete system backup: Every few months

Since a total system crash is rare compared to random flukes with individual files, you only need to do a complete system backup every few months. This will preserve the general structure of Windows 95 and the programs that run on it, saving you time you'd otherwise have to spend reinstalling every single application.

1) First, buy either an Iomega Zip or Jaz drive. An external Zip costs around $150; an external Jaz will set you back $300. Which one to use depends on how much stuff is crammed onto your hard disk. A Zip disk holds 100 megabytes, and a Jaz disk holds 1 gigabyte — the equivalent of 10 Zip disks. To check the size of your hard disk, double-click "My Computer," right-click "C:\" and choose "Properties." Above the big pie chart will be two numbers; if the number on the right reads "megabytes," buy a Zip drive; if it reads "gigabytes," buy a Jaz.

If you are using a Zip drive, you most likely need to buy extra disks — one for each 100 megabytes of disk space. Expect to pay $50 for three-disk packages. (Jaz disks, by contrast, sell for $125 each.)

2) Line your disks up and label them "Backup" along with numbers starting with 1. Then start the backup. Avoid Microsoft's built-in Backup utility, since it often has trouble locating additional Zip and Jaz disks. Instead, use Iomega's One-Step Backup, which you can install from the "Zip Tools" disk that came with the drive.

II. Personal File Backup: Every week

It may be a pain to install Microsoft Word from scratch, but at least you've still got the original CD-ROM. The same can't be said for your e-mail or your documents — so if you do nothing else, make sure you save copies of your personal files early and often, preferably every week. For this kind of back up, a Zip drive should suffice. Label a Zip disk "Files," "Important Stuff" or "Erase and Die!"; then copy the following files over:

a) Your documents. This includes personal banking files, important spreadsheets, letters, memos, diaries—anything that would make you cry to lose. If you don't keep things like this in one folder — such as Windows 95's "My Documents" — now may be a good time to start. Then you can just copy that entire folder and its nested subfolders, rather than hunting down each file.

b) Your e-mail. If you're using Eudora, look in C:\Eudora, then select every file that ends in .mbx (short for mailbox). If you're using Netscape or one of Microsoft's mail programs (Internet Mail and News or Outlook Express), it's easiest to use the "Find" option on the Start menu; search for a folder called "Mail," inside which you should see all of your correspondence.

c) Your bookmarks. Again, break out Win 95's Find utility and look for "bookmark.htm" (if you use Netscape Navigator or Communicator) or a "Favorites" folder (if you use Internet Explorer).