Everyone with a computer has problems from time to time, so, in response to demand, Talk of the North brings you a computer help column where a qualified PC professional will try to answer your queries. Whatever the computer problem, Manuel Medina aims to give the right advice.

This week he stresses the need to back-up your files.

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Manuel (No Fawlty Towers jokes please). I am a qualified PC technician and have my workshop in the premises of Ajaki.net Ciber Cafe in Alcudia.  We are situated next to the Auditorium.

Is your PC running well? If so, good. Now is the time to do a BACK-UP.

A good home insurance policy will cover all your lost goods, and in PC terms the only way of insuring that you protect your data is to back-up everything to CDs, DVDs or external drives. Then if your hard drive does give up the ghost you still have the data to re-install onto another hard drive or PC.

In the workshop this week a fantastic machine was brought in, very expensive, no cost spared, top of the range, in a word “Great”. It was a complete media centre with a 400 gig hard drive and a recovery section, which assists the recovery of the operating system. This machine was capable of recording a TV programme whilst you watched another, could store all your cherished photographs, all your music, videos of family, friends and places visited, etc.

The hard drive, however, had died losing all the above. 

It is not the repair cost that hurts it is what cannot be replaced.

The Key Words then are BACK UP, BACK UP, BACK UP!!!!

Through this column I would like to help you solve your PC related problems.  Please send an email to me at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   and I will address one or two of the problems in the next issue.