Where has all the space gone on your computer?

You want to find out how much space your music collection is taking up?
You want to find out why you can no longer fit downloaded movies onto your harddrive?
Here is the answer...

You laptop or PC has a certain amount of hard disk space which you can store files on. In a standard computer you can find out how much that is by clicking on 'my computer' and right clicking' on the 'C' drive. Select 'properties', and you should now see the size of your hard disk and also how much free space you have available.

But if you want to find out where the space has actually gone on the computer, which files and folders are what site... then you need "TreeSize Free 2.3" This is a small program that's free to download and easy to use.

Once you have downloaded and installed it, you run the program and it will start to give you the size of each folder. Each folder can be expanded in Explorer-like style to see the size of its subfolders.

Something to note: You will not be able to open files from this program, and the program doesn't remember the data it collected so you have to run it from scratch every time you want to see the size of your folders but this is no big deal as I don't expect that this is something that you would need to do often, the process doesn’t take long and it can run in the background whilst you do other things.

How to get this program:
1. Go to http://download.cnet.com/
2. Enter "TreeSize Free 2.3" and scroll down to find it amongst the results
3. Press 'download'
4. Save it somewhere and run it to install it

Keeping Microsoft Windows updated is easy, free and important

For Windows users, you should regularly install Microsoft suggested critical updates!

If you have a Windows operating system installed on your computer you should ensure that it is set to receive automatic updates as they are released. These updates are released as security and performance issues are identified on a regular basis, so receiving the updates is a very important process.

To ensure you have the latest updates RIGHT NOW, you can go to http://update.microsoft.com/. You will first be asked if you want to do an express or custome installation of any critical updates. I usually select 'custom' so I can review all of the available updates. By reading their descriptions I can decide whether I need them or not.

Once you have selected one of the buttons a scan of you system will start automatically which will identify all available updates to your system. You should install any critical updates and sort through the optional updates to see whether you really need them or not.

The same concept applies to any other programs THAT YOU TRUST. If you know that the program is safe, it is advisable to now and again check for any updates as these are usually released by the developers to fix any issues that have been identified or to add new features.

Remember this is all free.

The importance of data backups!!

If you lost all of your business information, would you be able to continue serving your customers? Would you lose money? Could your staff continue working? What about if someone stole your laptop and your personal photos from the last 10 years were on it, could you replace them?

The importance of backing up your data can not be overestimated. This is a key message that we at B Technologies continue to remind our clients about but still we are sometimes faced with the difficult task of trying to recover data after a laptop is lost or stolen, or a virus or a power surge destroys PCs or a server.

There are many ways to lose or damage your data and the impacts can vary greatly. Often our clients have contractual obligations about their own customer's information so losing this information can have legal ramifications.

The message of this blog entry is this:
- If you do not already have data back up for your business or home, you must talk to a professional to organise some level of protection. We can tell you what you need to protect yourself against and what options you have available to you. There are many back up options available, some cost as little as a few hundred dollars but they are worth their weight in gold.
- Do not wait until it happens to you and its too late. Believe us when we say that backing up your date is one of the most important things you can do. Too often we work with clients who try to pick up the pieces once it’s too late. Even if recovering lost data is possible, it some cases it can end up costing thousands of dollars.
- Make sure you ensure that the back up procedures are followed. Some businesses have great back up systems in place but the back up is left at work, so if a fire destroyed the building, the data AND the back up is lost. Whatever back up procedure you finally decide to go with, stick to it. Often your business represents your livelihood.

If you haven’t got protection in place to protect your data or if you would like us to review your current arrangements and assess whether they provide an adequate level of protection, contact us now on 1300 885 200 or email us at info@btechnologies.com

P.S. We also have an article on our website that goes into much further detail on this topic