Make sure your computer is located in safe, dry and dust-free area. Responsible computer owners place their work stations in low-traffic, climate controlled areas which prevent physical damage and heat related issues.

* Back up your data regularly to an external hard drive is possible. If you backup to tape then be sure to verify that the backup actually happened by restoring the data off the tape and checking it. A recent study concluded that only 12% of the population backs up their data on a weekly basis.

* Take advantage of installation and diagnostic programs that offer "undo" disks. These can restore systems to their original configuration when you have a problem.

* Prevent power surges from destroying your computer! And be careful with this one - even low-level power bursts can erase hard drive data. Uninterrupted power supplies give some of the best protection from data hard drive recovery situations. So use a UPS on your computer but make sure to test it.

* Beware of email attachments. They can cause you to lose data. Set your email program to save attachments in a unique location so you don't over write something that is called the same thing.

* User error: Utilize features such as "versioning" and "tracked changes" in your word processor program.

* Always keep hardcopies of your documents: It won't prevent you from typing and formatting your document again, but it's better than nothing.

* Store copies of mission critical data off site utilizing a DVD, tape or USB stick.

Following these simple tips now can prevent lots of unnecessary grief in the future. Make sure you utilize the advice so you can avoid a visit to a data recovery specialist.

* Always store your documents in more than one place. Most word processors save your files in the My Documents folder, which is OK as long as you have a copy somewhere else. Most virus or software failures affect the operating system, which causes everything on the drive to be inaccessible. Using an external hard drive for backup is the solution. It will not be affected if the operating system is corrupted.

* Use virus detection programs and keep them updated frequently. Viruses are still deadly to data. We use and recommend Panda Software for anti virus protection

* If your disk drives make any strange noises, skips a beat, hiccups or does anything out of the ordinary then backup it up immediately and have it checked. Everyone will have a hard drive failure at some point in time.

* Don't let static electricity erase data or damage hard drives. Extraneous Static Discharge (ESD) is becoming more and more of a factor with storage media