207
If Something Goes Wrong
Develop good computing habits
from optical discs. External optical disc writers are also widely
available.
Follow these steps to back up your computer or files to optical
discs, or a storage drive:
You cannot back up the computer while running on battery power.
Connect the AC adaptor before continuing.
1 Prepare your backup target by connecting it and/or inserting a
blank optical disc in the drive.
2 Click Start.
3 Click Control Panel.
4 Click Backup Your Computer under System and Security.
5 Follow the on-screen instructions to backup your files.
For more help, click Start, Help and Support, and search for
“back up files.”
General tips for installing hardware and software
Here are a few tips to help ensure safe and easy installation of new
hardware (printers, pointing devices, external hard drives, DVD
writers, scanners, etc.) and software (applications like Microsoft
®
Office and Adobe
®
Photoshop
®
, or utility software such as special
toolbars for your web browser).
❖ Create a restore point (refer to “Saving system configuration
with restore points” on page 205). Before installing anything,
use the System Restore utility to set a restore point (see the
section titled restore points). If anything goes wrong, you will
then be able to easily restore the Windows
®
operating system to
the state it was in prior to the installation, undoing any changes
that the installation process introduced.
❖ Back up your critical data (see “Backing up your data or your
entire computer with the Windows® operating system” on
page 206).
❖ Have your factory Restore/Reconfiguration CD(s) on hand in
case you need any files from them (available on certain
models).
❖ Do not guess—follow directions carefully! It is often necessary
to run an installation utility first—before connecting a new
hardware item to the computer. If the device is connected first,
it may be very difficult to complete the installation
NOTE