To prevent loss of data we have three words for you: backup backup backup.  Get into a routine of backing up your data particularly items that you would not wish to lose, for example the 1st photo you have of your grandchild, the video of your silver wedding anniversary or your company accounts. If your hard drive fails or your data becomes corrupt to the extent that it is irreparable it may be necessary to reinstall your PC and data recovery cannot always be guaranteed.

To prevent problems we would recommend that you carry out regular software maintenance on your PC. This article gives general advice and recommendations for software to protect your computer.

Laptop batteries are improving all the time, with smaller physical dimensions, less weight and most importantly longer duration.  Many companies are now quoting times in excess of 5 hours with some as much as 10 hours.Whilst the timing is largely due to the test conditions applied, it has to be said that on the whole things are improving.  Most consumer laptops currently have a range of between two and four hours which just 5 years ago would have been 1 - 2 hours.

Maintenance of the battery pack is crucial to its long term health, here are a few pointers to help keep yours in good condition.

When you are setting up your PC it is always tempting to put the tower on the floor to give yourself as much desk space as possible.  Unfortunately from a dust point of view this is the worst possible location.

In Spain we tend to have regular power outages, dips and surges all of which can damage your computer.  We also get impressive electrical storms with lightning hitting the telephone and power lines particularly in August, September and October when the worst of the storms are upon us.