Computer Setup, storing files etc..

[Kawy]

I have two hard drives on my computer, the second drive backs up the first one, in case there is a crash. I also back up the files on cdrw.

[Mark Horley]

We back up on disk every month religiously… copying to cdrw it recognises existing files and just adds new

we have two pc’s running xp on both
networked with the info all stored on one for the sign making and the other stores all contact, quotes, invoice & vat account details
but all info is accessable on both…

[WP_Graphics]

bttt – I feel this is quite important….

[John Childs]

We use a LaCie ethernet disc drive as a server and all our computers use the files on it.

I got nervous about having multiple copies of files hanging around on other hard drives and CDs as it was inevitable that someone would eventually use a superseded file to cut a job wrongly. Hence the need for one central set of master files.

We back up to CD. I did think about using DVDs for this but rejected it as I only have one computer that can read them whereas in the event of total data loss any computer can read and use the files from a back-up CD.

I have to say that our back-up procedure is not that good. The vast majority of our work is repeat stuff and so a weekly, or even a monthly, back-up is not really necessary as there may not be any new files to save. In practice it usually dawns on me one day that we have acquired a few new clients recently and that is when I do it. Hardly satisfactory and not to be recommended and is something I should look at improving.

[WP_Graphics]

I think that having a network with all the files stored on one computer is a fantastic way to do things and is something that I’m looking at.

Reason being that I feel that my computer is very slow now as it’s getting clogged up day by day with new files.

Come on people let us all hear what you have got!!

Gav

[Lorraine Buchan]

I’m just in the process of having a new system installed so that the computers are networked together and also so that other computers can be added in time without too much hassle.

The system will put us into the ADSL world with static IP address and as such we are splashing out on a hardware firewall too.

Back up wise we are simply using a zip disk, all the design work is done on one computer (soon to be two) and all the contact management and invoicing software is on another, We don’t have a huge amount of repeat orders and as such once a job is finnished its archived to CD Rom.
We have all the original disks and back up disks of the softwear and also all drivers in CD Rom. So the only real data that needs to be backed up is the work in progress and all invoices and contact data which doesn’t really take up much space.

[Carrie Brown]

Hi Gav,

When we set up C&S Designs I was asking myself the same questions, Luckily I was very IT capable. (If anyone wants any Q answered on IT or Web based stuff feel free to ask me) I class my self a closet techi!! *LOL* Harddrives and chips stashed away in draws and cookie jars!!!

What I done was to network the PC’s in the office so you can file transfer between them easily enough. On one PC we keep all the sales files (graphics etc..) this gets backed up by a CDR every week. I find it is best to stick to a time say 5:00pm friday every week so you know it has been done. I expect we have all had systems that have crashed causing all sorts of headaches!

The other computers run sage but can access all files on all computers.

How many PC’s do you have?

If you like I can do a simple networking diagram which should make things easier for you.

Kind Regards

Stephen

[Carrie Brown]

Gav,

Just had another thought as you said your computer is acting really slow.
When was the last time you deleted your temp folder?

Also when was the last time you defragged your hard drive, this can slow down your pc by about 70%!!!

You can get an excellent defragger FREE from executive software( its called Diskeeper lite, as its alot quicker than the standard windows defragger), if you like the single user version you can shell the money out for a multiple user version. the url is http://www.execsoft.co.uk

Regards

Stephen

[WP_Graphics]

Hi Stephen,

If you could make a diagram that’d be much appreciated! I currently have two computers: one desktop 1.5GHz and one laptop 2.0GHz (the laptop being the faster as it’s brand new!). I can get hold of another desktop that’s reasonably fast also if needed.

Just want to know the best setup and so I can keep everything free on the computer, the one thing I always hate but end up doing is cramming heaps of stuff onto one system!!

Let me know mate!

Gav

[Carrie Brown]

Hi Gav,

I can do this for you no problem, I take it you wish to have internet access, and your plotter will need to run off one of these machines?

I will try to get a diagram back to you by tommorrow.

Take care

Stephen

[WP_Graphics]

yup, you got it.

I need internet, accounts facility and the use of my PC600 graphtec plotter to run.

Cheers mate!

Gav

[Carrie Brown]

Hi Gav,

I have put a pdf on the following link, have a look and let me know your thoughts. http://www.csdesigns-uk.com/network.pdf

I think I have covered everything you need on the pdf, sorry about the layout but I thought I would get it to you asap.

Any question feel free to email me stephen@csdesigns-uk.com.

[t-winks]

We have 2 hard drives on every computer all files are baked up weekly from c drive to d and once every couple of months we back up onto cd

[Mark Horley]

Stephen just a quick question….

Sorry for jumping in Gav… 😉

Do you need a seperate pc to act a server…or can it be one of the workstations….

Were looking to expand our set up… and it frightens me to think we need an extra PC…

Thanks Gav…

[Carrie Brown]

Hi Mark,

You don’t need a seperate pc to act as a server. you can run your operation from one pc but as with everything if you have one pc doing one job it’s far quicker than if it’s 3 or 4.

The term server that i used was basically 1 standalone pc that would hold all busines critical file on(sales system, sage, etc.. ) this just makes it easier to back up and find files.

So you can start up with a network of two pc’s , one holding the data, which you can still operate the accounts on, and one connected to the plotter. both pc’s can file swap, use the internet, printers etc..

It’s only when you get to 10-20 pc’s in different offices it gets a bit more difficult. But just shout if you need any advice though.

Regards

Stephen

[Mark Horley]

Thanks for the quick reply stephen… thats how our system is at present

I didn’t what to spend money 🙁 then find out I should have done it a different way… at more expense…

Also I didnt want files being ‘all over’

[Rodney Gold]

At the VERY LEAST use a removeable drive in your computer , in fact get 2 physical drives.
Use a program like second copy to mirror your main drive.
Swap removeable drives and do the same to the other drive.
2nd copy writes all changed files to the removeable overnight or whenever you schedule it
Take one drive home and swap over every week , you will at WORST have lost a weeks work if something bad happens amd have off site storage and backup.
Our systems and data and drawings are our life blood , It’s foolhardy NOT to spend on backups.
CDR’s have limited storage and backing up a whole hard drive to them is very time consuming etc.
Our users on our network can draw files off the server , but I prefer them to work locally and save to the server and the local drives.
In your case I would link up 2 puters , use one as print server (what your various print devices are attached to) and as a backup device (it doesnt have to be potent or even have a screen)

[Rodney Gold]

To lorraine – We run ADSL to our servers and it enables all users to have email , internet etc.
You can get away with a cheap old puter box running linux with a freeware firewall like Smoothwall – no screen , no mouse , no keyboard , just 2 network cards. This is VERY robust and for it was a lot cheaper and more effective than a dedicated hardware firewall.

[Carrie Brown]

Rodney, it all depends on the money you wish to spend, most small companies need the basics which can be expanded on. I do agree with you the, quicker or less time you spend backing up, defragging etc the more time you can spend on other important issue’s like getting money in.

Thanks for your input 🙂

Stephen

[Lorraine Buchan]

The decision to have a hardwear firewall was due to the fact that laptops would be at times plugged into the network, and that we will shortly be looking to get another computer added in.

The thoughts on this were that with additions of laptops trying to access the server computer and other computers on the network, that people would just alow access to everything hence making a firewall on the individual computer completely pointless, or alternatively blocking everything again which will defeat the object of a network and sharing files

[Rodney Gold]

Hiya Lorraine , I Think we are a little crossed up here , the firewall Im thinking about is merely tween your network and the ADSL router , otherwise you gonna get hacked cos you are connected to the internet 24/7 ??This goes directly to the server and just stops any unwanted inbound traffic (amazing the no of attacks per day)

The whole network is then totally immune to attack and you can set whatever security permissions and sharing options via the Operating System which would be win 2k or XP Pro I asume?

[WP_Graphics]

Stephen,

What do you know about this new wireless technology for setting up a wireless network? Is this basically replacing network cables? What is the transfer time for files, reliability etc…?

Gav

[Rodney Gold]

We use a wireless setup from one premises to another , but it sucks.
Claimed line of sight is 300-500 ft , but that is a total lie , we have about 50ft line of sight.
Transfer rates are ok , but not the fastest. It was also pretty expensive , R6000 (about GBP450) + Cables + waterproof boxes etc for one transmission line
The other option we had was to dig up the road and put an armored cable down (not possible) or use a dedicated telcom line which is way more expensive.
The wireless thingy we implemented is illegal without getting permission to use it , and trying to get permission was a nightmare in bearocracy thus we decided to put it up and deal with any consequences if they ever arise.
Cables and a switched port hub or a non switched hub are cheap and relaiable and fast , thats the way to go if at all possible.

[Carrie Brown]

Hi Gav,

Sorry just got a chance to reply to your last post. A wireless network is fine but a standard cable network will be quicker as you can send more data in one go.

But as rodney said they are more expensive.

To be honest I would opt for the cable one as long as you don’t mind tacking the cable tidy out the way.

Let us know how you get on.

Stephen

[Mark Horley]

Rodney…
I need a little help…and I reckon your the guy to help….If you don’t mind

I have just upgraded one of our PC’s

We now have…
1 workstation with accounts/admin/sign making
1 workstation with sign making but with an additional hard drive
both linked through a switch

What I want to do is every file that is saved (on either PC) a mirror copy done on the backup hard drive (Automatically)

We run XP on both

Can you please explain in non IT language…if possible…

If you can help…Or anyone else can that would be appries…appreic…Welcomed….

[ZXR-750]

Those of you who run just one PC, the option is easy. Get a copy of Norton (or is it Symmantec nowadays?) Ghost, and install a second hard drive.

This serves 2 purposes:
1 – Back up of your day’s work.
2 – If your C drive should fail, you can be fully operational again within 10 minutes of having your drive replaced. It creates a full “Image” of your hard drives, so you can recover to the point that you ran Ghost yesterday.

Install Ghost, and create a small batch file, so that you can dump a complete image of your C drive onto your “spare” D drive.

If you are unsure what I am on about, copy this, and save it as “ghost.bat” on your desktop.

=============
rem – Ghost Backup Routine from c-partition to d-partition
rem – With image date rotation (from oldest to newest).
if exist d:\save5.gho goto full
if exist d:\save4.gho ren d:\save4.gho save5.gho
if exist d:\save3.gho ren d:\save3.gho save4.gho
if exist d:\save2.gho ren d:\save2.gho save3.gho
if exist d:\save1.gho ren d:\save1.gho save2.gho
:full
@echo “You have 5 Ghost backup files on your hard drive”
@echo “Would you like to remove the oldest one?”
choice
if errorlevel 2 goto end
:del1
del d:\save1.gho
if exist d:\save5.gho ren d:\save5.gho save1.gho
if exist d:\save4.gho ren d:\save4.gho save5.gho
if exist d:\save3.gho ren d:\save3.gho save4.gho
if exist d:\save2.gho ren d:\save2.gho save3.gho
if exist d:\save1.gho ren d:\save1.gho save2.gho
C:\progra~1\norton~1.0\ghost.exe -clone,mode=pdump,src=1:1,dst=d:\Save1
-z2
:end
=========

You can just run the batch file at close of play, and if your PC fails to start in the morning, you don’t need to worry anymore!!

The above batch file will allow you to store up to 5 “images” of your C drive on your D drive – Basically, you can rescue up to a weeks work in 10 mins…

If you have more than one partition on your boot drive, just let me know, and I will add to the batch file for you…

You can also set it to Image network drives, if you have more than one PC, and it doesn’t matter if you run a client-server or peer-to-peer network – You just need to tweek the batch file to suit your needs…

I’m a closet techie too 😎 😉

[ZXR-750]

OR…

If you don’t feel confident using Ghost, or don’t want the outlay, you can use good old XCOPY, which is part of the Windows OS…

Something dead easy to remember…

xcopy c:\windows\*.* d:\windows /r/i/c/h/k/e/y/s

or:

xcopy c:\windows\*.* d:\windows /r /i /c /h /k /e /y /s

will work too.

/R – Overwrites read-only files.
/I – If destination does not exist and copying more than one file, assumes that destination must be a directory.
/C – Continues copying even if errors occur.
/H – Copies hidden and system files also.
/K – Copies attributes. Normal Xcopy will reset read-only attributes.
/E – Copies directories and subdirectories, including empty ones. Same as /S /E. May be used to modify /T.
/Y – Overwrites existing files without prompting.
/S – Copies directories and subdirectories except empty ones.

You may not need all the switches, but you go to admit that its alot easier to remember if you do.

Create a batch file called “backup.bat”

If you don’t know how to create a batch file, just open a new text file, copy all the bold text into it, and “save as”… enjoy 😎

[ZXR-750]

Sorry – Its late… 🙄

That will only back up your windows directory…

You would need:

xcopy c:\all_my_hard_work\*.* d:\all_my_hard_work /r/i/c/h/k/e/y/s

or:

xcopy c:\all_my_hard_work\*.* d:\all_my_hard_work /r /i /c /h /k /e /y /s

Where “all_my_hard_work” is your image directory (hot)

[Ondra]

Backup?

Solution A)
Most of the new motherboards support RAID technology (Redundant Array of Indendent Discs) on the chipset. The first – very inexpensive – level called as well mirroring requires only one more hard drive of the same capacity. I recommend to use the same model of the discs on separate IDE (or SCSI) channels to get the max. speed.
(+) … you got immediate backup of everything being processed on your computer – including the system. Easy and comfortable.
… costs: 1 hard drive + optionally 1 IDE cable 😀
(-) … you do not avoid problems with e.g. overvoltage

Solution B)
Independent ethernet based backup systems – like e.g. Discobolos that can be controlled via web. In fact those are RAID systems with higher
speed and reliability which are fully programmable
(+) you can backup multiple from machines and set the time objects to backup
(-) price of the basic model = price of one working station

…. Sorry for my poor English 😳

Ondra

[Steve Broughton]

Ondra Hi don’t apologise for your English there are some here with worse than you (Robert 😆 😆 😉 ) and anyway its at least 1000% better than all of our Czech 😀

[ZXR-750]

Ditto as far as the English is concerned. We have “local people” near a couple of towns away, who haven’t mastered English yet either!!

😆