Limiting Your Risks When Upgrading

Obviously, the best type of upgrade doesn’t involve the words “disaster” or “recovery.” Common sense, combined with a little study time and a bit of applied effort, can usually help you avoid the worst catastrophes and the usual pitfalls.

Here are some of the best techniques for ensuring a successful upgrade. Following these instructions can limit your damage or downtime should you encounter an unwanted hitch.

• Protect your data by backing it up first.

• Don’t upgrade in a distracting environment; wait until things are reasonably calm.

• Perform one upgrade at a time and verify that the last one is working well before you perform the next.

• Read the documentation that accompanies the upgrade—especially the special notes and warnings. Check the manufacturer’s or publisher’s web site for additional details or to ask questions before you perform the upgrade.

• Follow the instructions you just read. I know this step seems obvious, but informal studies suggest that even among those PC users who read the instructions, many users continue to perform a task without following the steps they read. Or they omit important steps that prevent easy recovery later.

• If you’re upgrading an operating system or a major component like BIOS or memory, check with your PC manufacturer ahead of time to make sure it’s compatible with your hardware and operating system.

• If you’re installing an operating system or application upgrade, shut down and restart your PC before you start and keep other programs—even those running in the background—closed until you’re done with the upgrade and satisfied.

• Double-check your work before you try to use the upgrade.

• If disaster strikes, don’t exacerbate the damage. Stop and think. Then, if necessary, restore everything back to the way it was before you started the upgrade to see if your system returns to normal. You can always try the upgrade again—exercising great care to follow the instructions—or wait until you get more information before you proceed.

A Cautionary Tale: Leader of the Pack?

Being at the leading edge of technology can be great fun because you know before anyone else how well that new bell or whistle works. Others prefer to stand back and evaluate your dust as you roar forth into the brave new world of the latest software or the hardware still warm from the manufacturer’s production process.

However, leading can turn into bleeding pretty quickly. Being one of the first users to get an upgrade or a new version of something can sometimes have you paying for the right to be a guinea pig of a product that may not have been adequately tested before its release to stores.

As a frequent beta tester (someone who tests pre-release versions of products for computer companies) of operating systems, applications, utilities, and games, I’ve had more than my share of disasters—from needing emergency BIOS replacements and having to format my hard drive twice a week to watching my crisp computer display turn into abstract art. For this reason, I always caution people against beta testing on their primary PCs unless and until they feel they have the technical acumen to easily recover from a testing-induced disaster.

Being a beta tester also makes me wait when a brand-new product hits the market. Rather than rushing out to buy something I really want, I wait. I take several days to several weeks to check out the reports about the product posted online in technical message boards by those courageous test pilots who did rush out to the store ahead of the rest of me. In particular, I read the problem reports and compare the experience the person is reporting against my own system. If any of the circumstances seem to match what I might expect my system to experience, I contact the manufacturer before I proceed.

There’s a delicious side benefit to this waiting, besides making yourself better prepared for an upgrade or totally new product: you can save money! Many products fetch the highest price in the first few weeks after release; this is especially true for hot new games and much-hyped new hardware. I’ve saved as much as 30% off the price—and untold annoyances—by waiting a month or so before trying a new product.