Yeah, Maybe Not...

...fdisk. That's pretty much the last thing you want to do to your computer. Even if it is being very unstable, there has to be a cause. If that cause can be rooted out, then more power to you. Besides, once you run fdisk, it's either lots of hours reinstalling everything on your computer or it's lots of hours using my partition rebuilding tool to get back the data. :) Either way, it's lots of hours. The best thing that can ever be done with computers is to BACK THEM UP! I can't say that enough. Sooner or later, you're going to have to restore your computer. It's just that simple. I don't care who you are or what kind of computer you run, they are all subject to various types of failures that could lead to data loss. So, unless you can re-create that class project from scratch, or that photo album you spent years on, I'd suggest that you back up your data. I spent two weeks restoring data from a corrupted hard drive in my wife's computer last summer because of a lack of backing up. :)

There are several way to backup your data. (By the way, unless you have a nice sophisticated computer system, only back up your data. It doesn't do you any good to try to back up your operating system and applications.) I like using the following to back up my data:

1. Network disk storage. I have a local Linux box that I back up to from time to time. This is commonly called NAS, or Network Attached Storage.
2. Writable CDs or DVDs. Simple, easy-to-use.
3. Removable (USB or Firewire) hard drive.
4. Removable (case-mounted) hard drive.

These are in no particular order. However, I do tend to use numbers 1 and 2 more often than 3 or 4. That network disk is a lifesaver!

Also, keep in mind that the best way to run your computer is to either a) install more than one hard drive and only install your operating system (Windows, MacOS) on one disk and use the other for your data, or b) partition your single hard disk into more than one partition and do as is said in (a). If you don't feel comfortable doing such things as this yourself, I or any other geek friend would be glad to do it for you. :)

Anyhow, I'm rambling. If you enjoyed this little trip through the techno jungle, my name is Jason and this has been the World Famous Jungle Cruise. If you didn't like it, then my name is Patrick and this has been the Submarine Voyage.

Tootles!