PC Fear Factor Computer Buying Tips Your New Computer

Chapter 3, A Disaster Prevention Plan For Your New Computer: Before You Buy, shows you how to avoid a computer disaster before you purchase your computer.

Chapter 4, A Disaster Prevention Plan For Your New Computer: Before You Try, shows you how to minimize the chances of a computer disaster during the useful life of your computer.

Chapter 3 Overview

This chapter and Chapter 4, "A Disaster Prevention Plan for Your New Computer: Part 2, Before You Try," are intended for readers who plan to purchase a new computer in the near future. From the moment you say, "Dear, let's buy a new computer," to the moment you put that new computer into service, the decisions you make and actions you take have a profound impact on how disaster-free life will be with your new computer. These two chapters teach you how to minimize your risk.

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People buy new computers for many reasons. Perhaps your old computer died or has an underpowered processor by today's standards. Perhaps you want the latest hardware and software technology—a DVD writer, Windows XP, a larger hard disk, or more memory. These are all very nice things.

But in my opinion, the nicest thing about getting a new computer is that you get a clean slate, or as Billy Crystal put it in City Slickers, a "do over." You get the rare opportunity to reap the benefits of being a good, competent system administrator from day one. If you take advantage of that opportunity, your new computer—your new unstable equilibrium—will be less unstable and less prone to computer disasters throughout its useful life. And if disaster strikes, you will be prepared.

Most people don't give these tasks a great deal of thought. They go down to their local store, buy a computer that is on sale, bring it home, set it up, and start using it. If they have no use for their old computer, they sell it to a friend or donate it to a local school.

It is precisely because most people don't put much thought into these three tasks that they are likely to experience computer disasters. In this chapter and Chapter 4, I provide you with a disaster prevention plan for your new computer by defining a structure and process around the tasks of buying a new computer, putting it into service, and disposing of your old computer.

In this chapter, I focus on how to avoid a disaster before you buy. I explain why so many people make fundamental mistakes in the way they go about purchasing a new computer and how these mistakes lead to computer disasters.

This chapter explains why technical support and service/warranty should be the two most important purchase criteria for people who are not computer experts. It reveals, to the surprise of many I am sure, where you are most likely to get the best support for your new computer.

You will learn how to prevent your data and identity from being stolen if you need to take or ship your computer offsite for repair, and you will learn how to configure your new computer to accomplish these five objectives:

Finally, I discuss the merits of having identically configured computers if you plan to purchase more than one computer.

Chapter 4 Overview

Congratulations! If you are reading this chapter, you have just purchased (or are about to purchase) a new computer.

Stop! Don’t use that new computer just yet. I know that you’re itching to enjoy the blazing speed, Windows XP, and all the other great features on your new machine but please hold off until you read this chapter. Otherwise, you will rob yourself of the opportunity to give yourself a “do over” if things go wrong.

The biggest mistake that most people make when they buy a new computer is to begin using it immediately, without implementing a disaster prevention and recovery plan.

In this chapter you will receive detailed, step-by-step instructions on how to put your new computer into service, and how to prepare your old computer for disposition if you are selling it or giving it away.

Note: This chapter is based on the assumption that your old computer is a Windows 95, 98, or Millennium system and that your new computer is a Windows XP system. For that reason, any instructions and screen shots (pictures of screens) in this chapter that pertain to your old computer reflect the functionality and user interface (look and feel) of a pre-Windows XP system (I used Windows 98), and any instructions and screen shots that pertain to your new computer reflect the functionality and user interface of Windows XP.

Although your computer is always vulnerable to disasters caused by viruses, hackers, hard disk crashes, human error, and fate it is most vulnerable to disasters during the first month of ownership. Here is why.

You will probably make more changes to your computing environment during the first month of ownership than you will over the rest of your computer's useful life. During the first month, you will add dozens of software applications, add peripheral devices, set up your email accounts and Internet connection, delete preinstalled applications you don't need, and so on. Any single change that you make can cause dozens of changes to be made automatically behind the scenes. The risks inherent in making hundreds of changes to your computing environment are amplified due to the fact that you are in a great hurry to get things done. You want to minimize your down time while transitioning from your old computer to your new one, and your haste to complete the transition process can precipitate a disaster.

Well, have no fear. In short order I will teach you how to prevent most transition related problems and how to recover should the transition process go badly.