Fred, rule number one is to back up e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g you store on your computer.
I try to develop a somewhat organized file structure (well, at least I can make sense of it!
) and then I try to back the files up onto CD-ROM's a couple times a week. The discs are cheap insurance.
The first 'real' race car I was ever involved with was an A/Econo Dragster another fellow and myself built in a one-car garage. The other fellow was the owner and driver. He was also an electronics technician, over at Purdue University, so there were always a lot of electronics projects going on in the background. We were modifying old, 23 channel, crystal-based CB radios, long before the PLL radios hit the market. The delay boxes that are so popular with the bracket racers? I wish we would have thought enough of the idea to promote it, because were running one back in the mid-70's. We set an 1/8 mile NHRA record with that car and the mulitple spark discharge box on the car was a home-brewed item. And we were triggering the box with a crank trigger that used an LED and a photo-transistor, instead of magnets. This guy was beyond sharp, when it came to electronics.
Anyway, he left Purdue to start building his own computer systems and grossed over a million dollars in sales, in just a tick over ten months in business. One guy, building computer systems in a single room in his house and he was pulling down that kind of money.
Whenever I needed a computer, I would give him a nudge and tell him to build me a new box. I never once specified a single component, but when he would tell me to come pick up my new system, it was always loaded to the gills.
He passed away a few years back (stinkin' cancer!) and when I needed a new system, I was lost. I tried an HP and had really rotten luck with it (It had Windoze ME on it, which was likely the source of all the problems), so I bought a Sony VAIO, 4 years ago. That box is still chugging right along and was livened up a bit when I removed Windblows and installed Ubuntu Linux on it, a couple months back.
The system I'm running now is a Dell XPS-410 and this thing is a tank. Every time I look over at this hoss, I can hear Seger singing
Like A Rock. I'm really pleased with Dell's pricing and their delivery times, so in another year, I'll be looking to buy another one from them.
I think you can be pretty confident with your Dell, but be sure to back up everything you want, every chance you get. If you have everything archived, that will assure nothing will ever go wrong with your computer.
