Dell Precision WorkStation 210, User Manual

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D-2 Dell Precision WorkStation 210 Mini Tower Systems User’s Guide
As a last resort, you can back up a hard-disk drive’s contents on diskettes, a method
that is both time-consuming and prone to human error. Also, backing up a full 4-GB
hard-disk drive requires approximately 277 diskettes (when using 1.44-MB diskettes),
334 diskettes (when using 1.2-MB diskettes), or 139 diskettes (when using 2.88-MB
diskettes). Therefore, if it is absolutely necessary to use diskettes as backup devices,
any unwanted hard-disk drive files should be deleted before a backup procedure is
started.
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Some hard-disk drive failures are recoverable. In these cases you may be able to
recover all lost data if the proper utility software is available. Even losses such as
accidentally deleted files or accidental reformatting of a hard-disk drive can be
reversed with these utilities.
If the system is running MS-DOS, many apparent data loss problems are due to
corruption or erasure of the hard-disk drive’s master boot record (MBR), MS-DOS boot
sector, or file allocation table (FAT); that is, accidental deletion of files or accidental
reformatting of the hard-disk drive alters the MS-DOS boot sector, the FAT, and the
root directory.
However, such accidents do not actually erase the contents of the hard-disk drive files
until new data is written to the sectors containing these files. With software such as
the Norton Utilities, Mace Utilities, or PC-Tools Deluxe, the data stored in these areas
can often be restored, meaning that you can recover most, if not all, of the data.
Unlike using the format command on a hard-disk drive, using format on a diskette
completely erases all the data on the diskette unless you use the diskette format
program included in the Mace Utilities.
For a complete description of data recovery procedures and the software needed to
perform them, see
The Paul Mace Guide to Data Recovery
, published by Brady.
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An exhaust fan in the power supply cools the power supply and system by drawing air
in through various openings in the system and blowing it out the back. However, the
fan also draws dust and other particles into the system, causing contaminant buildup,
which results in an increase in the system’s internal temperature and interferes with
the operation of various system components.
To avoid these conditions, Dell recommends keeping your work environment clean to
reduce the amount of dust and dirt around the system, thereby reducing the amount
of contaminants drawn into the system by the power supply fan. In particular, you
should keep the exterior of your system and monitor clean, and you should use a
commercially available diskette-drive head-cleaning kit to remove contaminants inside
your diskette drives.