If you think it's better to be safe than sorry, read on. Hurricane Irene is upon us. As much as we'd like to hope that nothing bad will happen, it might be better to plan for the worst and then be pleasantly surprised. If computers are integral to your business it is certainly worth following these very simple steps to minimize catastrophe. In fact, even if you're a home user and the computer is nothing more than entertainment or a convenience, you mights still head this advice.
I and the rest of the Tech Team at Stafford Associates are preparing ourselves for Monday morning. We anticipate that most problems are going to be computers not turning on or not booting. Here is how you can easily avoid this problem.
First of all, a backup of all data should be part of your everyday routine and should be nothing new. If it isn't, I cannot stress enough how important it is to keep regular backups. Now is a good time to start.
Computers are very sensitive to power fluctuations. Most commonly, a blown power supply will result from severe power fluctuations. By powering down your computers and servers properly and then unplugging them from the wall will prevent any power related problems. Even if you have a battery backup (a UPS- Uninterruptble Power Supply), it is still advised to shut your computers and servers off to prevent any sudden power failures. I would unplug everything. If it isn't part of the power grid, nothing can affect it.
Secondly, unplug network connections! If Cablevision gets hit by lightning or experiences a power surge, that electricity will be distributed thoughout their network, to your cable modem and then possibly through your network. This can result in blown system boards. This will also prevent your computer from starting again and be a very costly repair.
Telephone lines are suseptible in the same way.
Label wires if you need to because come Monday morning, you'll want to plug everything back in again in the same way it is plugged in now. Basically, you want to disconnect yourself from the outside world. This may include regular power plugs, Coax Cable (the kind that cablevision uses for cable TVs and their cable modem), ethernet and telephone. Wireless, in this case, is safe. But I have seen several computers get fried because ONE computer remained plugged in while the other computers were part of the same network. If in doubt, unplug it. You can always plug it back in.
If you follow these instructions, you might save yourself $1,000s of dollars in repair work and days of down time.