Windows 8 In Depth

Preparing for Trouble

Computer problems, like the proverbial death and taxes, seem to be one of those constants in life. Whether it’s a hard disk giving up the ghost, a power failure that trashes your files, or a virus that invades your system, the issue isn’t whether something will go wrong, but rather when it will happen. Instead of waiting to deal with these difficulties after they’ve occurred (what we call pound-of-cure mode), you need to become proactive and perform maintenance on your system in advance (ounce-of-prevention mode). This not only reduces the chances that something will go wrong, but it also sets up your system to recover more easily from any problems that do occur.

A big part of ounce-of-prevention mode is the unwavering ...