64. Protect your data during a power outage

I'm sure that many of you have been victims of data loss due to a power outage. In some cases, devastated by this event. Most people that need certain safe guards from power outages use a Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS). It used to be that a UPS would only be used at places such as data centers or critical business applications. Since the cost of a UPS has come down considerably over the years, this is now a cost effective solution for personal computers too.

A UPS is nothing more than a battery backup. So, knowing that the UPS is giving you 'battery' power during a power outage, you know that you are not going to be able to continue working on your computer, but you will have enough time to save the work that you've already started. That is its sole purpose.

If you have unsaved data and are away from your computer during a power outage, you can configure your 'Power Option' settings to ensure that your computer will go in to Hibernate mode before the battery backup power is gone. Once a computer enters Hibernate mode, it takes all of the data that is in memory and stores it on your hard drive. Here is how to configure this setting:

1. Go to Start>> Control Panel>> Performance and Maintenance>> Power Options.
2. In Power Option Properties, select the Hibernate tab.
3. Place a checkmark in the checkbox titled: Enable hibernation. Click Apply
4. Click the Power Schemes tab.
5. In the Power Schemes drop down menu, select Max Battery from the list.
6. In the "System hibernates" category, select a time that is less than your maximum backup battery life. Click Apply
7. Exit all windows.