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The Importance of Keeping Your Original Software
by Chuck
posted: 07/21/2008
As a Windows user, you will at some point probably experience a hardware failure, a virus & spyware infection, or a corruption of operating system files leaving you to face the inevitable need to reinstall Windows. Hopefully, you have been backing up your data (read our May 22 article), but what about your programs? Well, do to a limitation in every version of Windows you cannot back up your installed programs and retrieve them later like you can with pictures or music. This means that every time Windows is reinstalled, you must reinstall your programs as well so it is important to keep the original software disks. And depending on the program, you also may need to keep track of any product key required by the program to install.
If you happen to have downloaded the program from the Internet (like a anti-virus program), the best thing to do is create a folder just for your original downloaded programs and to back that folder up like you would your data. If you do this, then whenever you need to reinstall Windows you can recover and reinstall your programs when you recover your data.
So what do you do if you have already lost or misplaced your software disks? Well, some programs have alternatives your can use. For instance, if you lose your Office disks, you can download and install OpenOffice (read our May 23 article), but if you lose your Quickbooks disks you really have no choice but to purchase the software again.
For you Mac users, your options are a little simpler. Most programs on the Mac can be backed up along with your data and restored from your backup (especially if you are running OS 10.5 and using Time Machine). There are a few programs that do have to be reinstalled from disk like Adobe Photoshop, so it is probably best to play it safe and keep you original software disks available as well.
The Importance of Keeping Your Original Softwareby Chuck
posted: 07/21/2008
As a Windows user, you will at some point probably experience a hardware failure, a virus & spyware infection, or a corruption of operating system files leaving you to face the inevitable need to reinstall Windows. Hopefully, you have been backing up your data (read our May 22 article), but what about your programs? Well, do to a limitation in every version of Windows you cannot back up your installed programs and retrieve them later like you can with pictures or music. This means that every time Windows is reinstalled, you must reinstall your programs as well so it is important to keep the original software disks. And depending on the program, you also may need to keep track of any product key required by the program to install.
If you happen to have downloaded the program from the Internet (like a anti-virus program), the best thing to do is create a folder just for your original downloaded programs and to back that folder up like you would your data. If you do this, then whenever you need to reinstall Windows you can recover and reinstall your programs when you recover your data.
So what do you do if you have already lost or misplaced your software disks? Well, some programs have alternatives your can use. For instance, if you lose your Office disks, you can download and install OpenOffice (read our May 23 article), but if you lose your Quickbooks disks you really have no choice but to purchase the software again.
For you Mac users, your options are a little simpler. Most programs on the Mac can be backed up along with your data and restored from your backup (especially if you are running OS 10.5 and using Time Machine). There are a few programs that do have to be reinstalled from disk like Adobe Photoshop, so it is probably best to play it safe and keep you original software disks available as well.
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