We just had full moon, and it seems like it brought a ton of new Data Recovery jobs into the MacMedics offices. Spooky!

Now that it’s Halloween, I offer you the perfect metaphor for your Mac’s (or iPhone’s) Back Up. Don’t play “Trick Or Treat” with your valuable data.

When we have clients show up at our Mac Lab with data we can’t recover it just breaks our hearts. We’ve got a great track record for Recovering AND Rescuing data for folks, but there are cases we we can’t help with. We will refer these jobs off to Clean Room recovery firms, and often they can save your data in exchange for fees as high as $2500. But, not all data can be saved, and about 10% of the cases we refer, there’s not a positive result, and that data is gone forever.

As soon as you buy a new Mac, or get an old Mac’s hard drive repaired, you need to have a back up program running. On any Mac that is running Leopard (10.5) or Snow leopard (10.6), use Time Machine! It’s very, VERY powerful, and has been used to save lots of our client’s data.

The important thing is to PLAN AHEAD. Your back up is not complete if it’s not:

1. Automatic (Use Time Machine and this point is covered)
2. Redundant (Double your back up with a clone of your data and this point is covered)
3. Off-Site (Take your double back up off-site or get Mozy and this point is covered)

See how easy it is to be 100% covered! Now think of how much better you’ll feel knowing this little project has been taken care of and that your back up has been certified! If you need help getting a back up in place, we can help. On-site, In-lab, or even Remote Desktop Support, we’re there, and we’ll help get your back up configured and tested!

While all of us at MacMedics are HUGE fans of Time Machine, it’s not 100% infallible. MacMedics recommends that you ALSO back up your hard drive via a “clone” use Super Duper or Carbon Copy Cloner, as that way you can “test” your back up to insure you have a good, bootable copy. With a “clone” back up AND a Time Machine back up, you’re covered for TWO types of back ups, and you’re DOUBLING your chances for a successful recovery.

This might also be a good time to enhance your back up plan by adding an off-site back up. MacMedics is now a Mozy partner, so click here if you’d like to sign up for that (this like usually has the current Mozy discount coupon codes on it as well). You can get a free account that will back up 2 Gigabytes of data. It’s silly not to take advantage of that. We had a client in with a bad MacBook hard drive just a few days ago, and she was mostly backed up, but she was working a major project for her employer that had huge amount of Excel data in it. All she wanted was that one folder. Sadly we could not get it for her. If she had set up Mozy, even if she did not have a back up drive *a common problem for portable computers), her data would have been “automatically” backed up AND “off-site” thus completing two points of the golden triangle of data protection. Best of all, it would have been 100% free!

We also work with CrashPlan for on-line backups, so if you’d like to check out their current off-site back up plans see this link.

We have tons of posts on Time Machine and we even have a free White Paper on it If you’d like a copy, let us know. If you’re not using an automatic backup, your data is at risk!

Also, don’t forget that hard drives don’t last forever. Our rule of thumb for hard drive retirement is as follows. In Apple laptops the hard drive should be proactively replaced after 2 to 3 years years. In Apple desktops the hard drive should be proactive replaced after 3 years. You can find out more about this on our website http://www.HardDrivesDie.com.

There’s one more thing I would like to mention here. iPhones and iPod touch models also need to be backed up. All you have to do is to sync with you Mac from time to time. People are starting to treat these portable Apple products as stand alone devices, and when you think about it, many people are generating data on their iPhones and iPods just like they do on a computer.

You’ve got photos, e-mails, text documents, bookmarks, files, contacts, calendars, and videos that all can be generated or sent to your mobile device. All you have to do is connect to iTunes, and it will back up your device.

There are not too many ways to get mission critical data off a dead iPhone. We can often do it, but the data is all stored on the logic board of your iPhone or iPod touch. If it gets wet, gets dropped, or gets lost or stolen, then there goes your data. If we can’t get your logic board to fire up, then we don’t have access to your data.

Don’t take our word for it. Here’s three recent comments from clients MacMedics has performed Apple warranty repairs for:

1. As always the people at Mac Medics were right on point and offered the best quality service. I have never been disappointed with any visit to them and would highly recommend them to anyone who needed service.

2. They went beyond just repairing the problem. They made recommendations and then provided solutions as to how I might prevent the possible consequences of the problem in the future. I am highly satisfied with every aspect of their service.

3. This MacMedics location is unbelievable….repaired in under 24 hours. Called me to come pickup and explained all repairs and warranty issues.They are definitely the hardest working group in your network. I can’t say enough abut their professionalism and attention to detail.

MacMedics is a 100% Apple Macintosh-only, award-winning consulting and service firm founded in the Annapolis area in 1989. As Apple Authorized Value Added Resellers and Apple Authorized Service Providers, MacMedics is able to provide full-spectrum Apple-centric and specialized consultation and service to wide array of industries, agencies, and organizations.

MacMedics offers their progressive style of on-site Mac service and repair to most of the Mid-Atlantic region via their three offices located in Baltimore, Washington DC, and Philadelphia, PA. MacMedics services all Macs, Macintosh servers, and Mac networks in professional, government, educational, and home environments.

Here’s ten reasons to come see the friendly folks at the MacMedics Mac Lab in Millersville or Lanham:

1. No appointments are necessary at MacMedics: Just walk in and our Apple Certified Techs will take great care of you.

2. No lines: We’re always busy, but there’s almost never a wait to speak to a MacMedic Tech.

3. Quick Check In: Tell us what your Mac’s issue or problem is, and we’ll get right on the case! We’ll call you to talk in detail when we have an idea of what’s going on with your unit and what ALL of your options are. MacMedics offers an initial Macintosh Dialogistic for your computer at no charge. If we have to dig deep with part testing or advanced software testing our fee is only $49, and only if you choose NOT to have your machine repaired.

4. No lugging your iMac, Mac Pro, or G5 through the mall: Our front door is less then 10 steps from our parking lot. You can bring your Mac in, or come in and get us, and we’ll carry it in for you.

5. Quick Turn-Around: Our goal for in-lab service it to have it done in less then 72 hours. Many repairs take less time, and if that’s the case then your Mac will be back to you even quicker.

6. Hassle free warranty: Got a Mac that needs out of warranty service? The Apple Store only offers a 90-day service warranty. MacMedics “Hassle Free” warranty is a full 1-year!

7. Need a new Mac? We’ve got them: Come pick out what you want, and we’ll be happy to help with no sales hype! MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, so you can get the equipment you need coupled with the very best advice from the experts at MacMedics.

8. Full Service for iPhone & iPods: While the Apple store might do a whole unit replacement or offer a small discount for buying a new unit, MacMedics will fix just the problem your iPhone or iPod has, thus saving you money. All iPhone and iPod repairs MacMedics perform come with a full one-year parts and labor warranty.

9. Same day service for iPods & iPhones: In most cases if you drop off your iPod or iPhone in the morning, we’ll have it done later that same day!

10. Advanced, complex, or difficult repairs are performed at MacMedics every day: If you’ve been quoted an exorbitant amount of money to have your Mac fixed at the Apple Store, MacMedics can help! Liquid damage, fried logic boards, SuperDrive replacements, broken LCDs or MacBook Pro glass, and severe Macintosh case damage are all offered at MacMedics and often for hundreds of dollars less then Apple (or anywhere else!).

MacMedics recently completed a triple PowerMac G5 retirement at a local Baltimore hospital. All three machines were in place and up in running in under 3 hours. If you’re a PowerMac user AND a professional graphic designer, MacMedics is now officially recommending that you retire your trusty G4 or G5. (See pictures of Dana loading up for the install below.)

This is a great time to upgrade a small or large Mac workgroup, as Apple Finance is offering 0% leasing until June 30th. If you’d like details, see this PDF. MacMedics will also issue a credit good for dollars off your Mac Pro or iMac purchase or lease when you trade in your G4 or G5.

Don’t forget that if you’ve had a Mac in service for more than three years (any Mac), it’s time to retire and replace your internal hard drive! If a new Mac is not in the cards for you, do yourself a favor by being proactive, and retire your hard drive, before it kicks the bucket. We have a whole web page all about hard drive “retirement”. Check it out at http://www.HardDrivesDie.com. (We recommend hard drive retirement after 2 years of service in Apple laptops. Also don’t forget to check to see if you have the dreaded Seagate 7.01 firmware drive. If you do, replace it now!! Get details here.)

Here’s some of the highlights from the letter that we’re sending to MacMedics clients about G4 and G5 machine retirement and replacement:

1. Your PowerMac will NOT run the next version of Apple’s operating system, Snow Leopard, which is due out later this year. While this is not an issue now, it will be one that will catch up to you quickly. You might want to take this fact into account when considering when you might replace your machine. Snow Leopard will only run on Intel Macs.

2. If you are using your computer professionally, and it’s your main tool for graphic design, then you should consider having the fastest computer you can afford. Your time is valuable, and with a Multi Core Intel based Mac you will be able to work much, much faster. The performance score for a G5 1.6 Ghz is 1000, while the score for a Mac Pro can be as high as 14904, and an iMac can be as high as 3873.

3. If you have not already done so, and you are planning on continuing to use your current Mac, your hard drive should be replaced proactively. Visit our web site www.HardDrivesDie.com for more info on this topic.

MacMedics is an Apple Authorized Value Added Reseller, and as such we can help you buy a new Macintosh when you are ready to do so. We wanted to let you know that we are now advising MacMedics clients that are designing on G5’s that it IS time to start planning for an upgrade. With Mac technology improving more and more quickly, and with file size and file complexity growing just as fast, it is pushing our clients into new computers faster then ever before.