restore

Four hours. That's how long it took me to prepare my new notebook computer for the workaday world. And that includes restoring all my data files and e-mail.

I've got the process down to 12 steps:

Step 1: Establish a network connection. My computer is pretty useless without an Internet link. (Well, less useless than it was before Google Gears arrived; more on that in Step 12 below.) I discovered this fact last fall when I was networkless in the wilds of southeastern Maine. Getting on my home's wireless network was a breeze using Vista's Network … Read more

As its name suggests, Prevent Restore keeps others from restoring deleted files by filling in unused sectors on your hard drive. It worked as promised, but it took a long time to do its job.

Each time we tried to access the program through the desktop icon, we received an error message. We were able to bypass it and move on to the user interface, but it was a mark against the program. Prevent Restore comes with a wizard that makes it especially easy to get started. First, it asked us to select which disk we wanted to run the … Read more

Upon restoring iPhones and iPod touches, some users have experienced a problem where the device will not startup past the Apple logo.

Apple Discussions poster Solivern writes:

"Hi all, I was trying to restore the iPod's os because I'm selling it and wanted to clean it up, and the iPod just froze with the apple logo on the screen. If I restart, it just goes back to the apple logo and freezes there. The problem is now I can't even get iTunes to recognise it, so I can't even re-restore it."

For some users, … Read more

I bought my 2.33GHz MacBook Pro about two years ago, shortly after it was introduced. It came with a 160GB hard disk, but that wasn't really enough for all my stuff, particularly when I wanted to add a Boot Camp partition for Microsoft's Windows Vista.

So last July, I upgraded to a 250GB drive, a process I described here ("A new hard disk for my MacBook Pro").

That drive started feeling a little tight within just a few months, chiefly due to videos downloaded from the iTunes Store. Although I rarely buy videos from iTunes, … Read more

Freeware driver back-up utility DriverMax gets a full point upgrade, but the big feature promised for this version doesn't seem to be quite ready for prime time. DriverMax Agent, which is supposed to bulk out the program with a customizable driver update check, currently only works on the Windows Vista 32-bit operating system. Sorry, XP users.

The irony of this product update coming during a week when Redmond has spectacularly backtracked on Vista isn't lost on me.

The agent does seem to work well on Vista, in so far as I can both manually check if my drivers … Read more

SyncBack is a straightforward backup utility that makes it a snap to safeguard and synchronize your files. Surprisingly flexible for a free program, SyncBack can save your files anywhere: on external hard drives, in ZIP archives, write them on CDs (using UDF), or transfer them via FTP. Recovering from a drive loss is also cinch, with a convenient restore tool that replicates folder trees along with the files in them.

It lets you define multiple scheduled backup jobs so you can just set 'em and forget 'em, too, allowing users to create specific backup jobs for certain folders or file … Read more

How many times have you deleted a file, emptied the Recycle Bin, and then had that sinking feeling in your gut. You need one of those files. Or maybe you just had a hard-disk crash, and suddenly all the files have disappeared.

I'll tell you how to recover your files, and show you how to do it, in this video.

For this example, I'm going to use a USB drive. But the same thing applies to most data drives. If your disk is still readable by the computer, you can recover all kinds of cool stuff.

See when … Read more

Editor's note: This article was updated on February 21, 2008. The original was published on February 28, 2007.

Like its mythical namesake (dramatized in Lego), whatever crawls out of a digital Trojan horse will be a nasty surprise. A Trojan horse usually takes the form of an innocuous software program that unleashes a flood of malware or viruses after it's installed and run. Since attacks and ease of removal vary--an ad generator is easier to remove than a stealth rootkit--there's no one-size-fits-all solution. However, there are some common spyware removal techniques that can help you pick your way through the wreckage.

Reboot Windows in Safe Mode

What is Safe Mode? Safe Mode is a diet version of the Standard Mode of Windows that your computer ordinarily runs. Rebooting in Safe Mode loads minimal programs and disables most device drivers that manage hardware like CD drives and printers. The result is a more stable iteration of the Windows operating system that's better suited for disabling malware while you perform a system scan.

How do you use it? If you can, follow the necessary steps for a safe shutdown process and then reboot. When you restart Windows, as the screen begins to load, press F8 repeatedly until the Windows booting options appear. Select "Boot in Safe Mode" from the menu of options. Once in Safe Mode, you should be able to run your installed antispyware software with less interference from the malicious software that the Trojan brought onto your system.

System Restore

What is System Restore? System Restore strings out a safety net if everything goes kaput. Under default Window settings, System Restore saves a snapshot of your computer configuration once a day and on major upgrades that can be used to replace corrupted files. In the event of a Trojan attack, System Restore can revert Windows to a previous, uninfected state. It won't restore everything, like changes to your user profile, but it does reinstate biggies like your Registry and DLL cache.

When do you use it? When purging your computer of spyware, System Restore has an optimal time and place. You wouldn't want your computer including corrupted files as the reference point of the day, so it's important to disable System Restore before you start cleaning. You can reactivate it once your system is spick-and-span.

How do you use it? The paths for accessing System Restore differ by operating system. In Windows XP, disable System Restore by right-clicking My Computer and selecting Properties. Under the Performance tab, select File System, then the Troubleshooting tab, and finally check Disable System Restore. You'll be prompted to reboot. Follow these steps to uncheck the box before restoring your system.

To use System Restore after scrubbing your computer, choose Accessories from the program list in the Start menu. You'll find System Restore under System Tools.

This comprehensive article from TechRepublic demonstrates how to create and use System Restore in Windows Vista.

Scan with antivirus/antispyware apps Downloading diagnostic and removal tools with an infected computer is a huge time sink--spyware can cripple your speed and Internet access. The Trojan's payload could prevent EXE files from downloading or launching. Also, malware can affect the performance of installed security software on your PC. If you store your antivirus/antispyware programs on a CD or flash drive, however, those malware-busting apps can commence their swashbuckling unhindered.… Read more

If you rely solely on System Restore for your Windows backups, you're asking for trouble. Yes, the restore points created automatically by XP and Vista, and those I create myself, have saved my system from a failure on many occasions. But too often I've attempted to turn back the clock only to be informed that my computer could not be restored, or some similar error message.

Troubleshooting System Restore defeats the purpose, though it can be done; here are some instructions from Microsoft for doing so in Windows XP. If you use Vista, you've got much better … Read more