I should have backed up my computer!

Lost your data? It happens every day to businesses, to government and academia, and to individuals.

We know. We see it all the time.

And despite your protestations that "I backed up my files -- just not this month", you could be in a world of hurt if your hard disk dies.

The reason? It could take a day or more -- or it could prove impossible -- to fully restore your computer to its current condition, even if you have a backup of your data files.

• You might have to reinstall your operating system from scratch. (Where's that install key?)
• You might have to reload one or all of your application programs. (Can you put your hands on the original CDs, downloads, and license keys -- right now?)
• You might have to recreate settings and logins and capabilities, and renew your licenses, from scratch.
• Then, once you got your operating system up to date with the latest security patches, you'd need to follow through with software updates for your application programs.
• Finally, if you were sure that a virus, worm, or spyware program wasn't the cause of your data loss in the first place, you could safely reload your data files, assuming your backups are complete and current.

If time is money, restoring from backup could cost you a bundle.

Your best preventive tool is a comprehensive backup plan. We can help you put one in place.

We are here to help you and your business. If you have no backup plan in place, contact us now and let us help keep your important files safe and sound.

Landmark's PC Backup Systems

What if you could back up everything in ten minutes -- your data files, your settings, your programs, in fact, your entire hard disk?*

And what if you could work from the backup, in a pinch, even if your primary hard disk is dead?

Do we have a backup for you! It's fast, it's inexpensive, and it has saved Landmark's clients from disaster many times.

It's surprisingly simple and amazingly affordable.

We provide a second hard disk in a removable tray. Pop the tray into the computer, boot the computer using a customized CD or diskette which we provide, run the simple backup program, and then remove the tray and put it in a safe place. You're totally backed up.

Landmark's backup system has several advantages over tape backup or copying files to CDs or DVDs:

• The tray and its mounting hardware are inexpensive; most models are $35. Additional removable trays for more in-depth backup cost even less**.
• We can use your old hard disk if you take the opportunity to upgrade to a larger, faster hard drive. That gives you a brand-new primary drive with a new warranty, and takes the pressure off the older drive, which will only be used for ten minutes a week (or month, or day, depending on your frequency of backup).
• If your computer suffers a catastrophic hard disk failure, you can use the backup drive as your new primary drive until you replace the dead drive.
• The backup system does not rely on your operating system at all, so if your Windows has gone belly-up, you can still restore from backup. Ten minutes and you're back up and running.
• Unlike tape backups and compressed image backups, all backed-up data is saved in its original form and is accessible on a random-access basis. If you've lost a file, just insert the backup tray -- without even rebooting (Windows XP and 2000 only) -- and drag a copy of the file from the backup to your primary hard drive.

Why backing up to a second partition is not safe

Look carefully at the photo, and particularly the enlargement of the main chip in the corner insert. That's a crater! The controller chip on this hard drive literally blew up, leaving our client with no access to his files. Yes, we were able to recover the data by replacing the hard drive's circuit board. But some clients are not as lucky, and their data disappears in an instant -- forever.

Backing up to a second partition on your only hard disk is better than not backing up at all. But a worm or virus -- or a catastrophic hardware failure -- will still leave you without data. You should always have a backup on removable media or a removable drive.

We do data recovery, but we'd hate to have to do it for you! If you have no backup plan in place, contact us now and we'll get you going with an inexpensive, easy-to-use and safe backup system. No Landmark clients have ever lost data because their backup systems did not perform properly.

* Backup times depend on several variables, including vintage of your computer, processor speed, amount of data on the hard disk, and the efficiency of both the hard disk and drive controller. Landmark backup systems currently in use are backing up small business servers in as little as 2-1/2 minutes. On older systems the process can take as long as 35 minutes. The median speed is about ten minutes.

** We also offer USB (Universal Serial Bus) and Firewire (IEEE-1394) versions of our backup system. They cost a bit more because they require a more substantial housing and an internal power supply. Even with an external USB drive, you can work right from the backup drive if your primary hard disk is dead.