Environmental Factors

Systems often fail because of problems in the "environment."

•        A cord  laying across a traffic area gets stepped on frequently, and a wire  breaks.  This leads to the intermittent failure of a network  workstation.

•        Funny symbols appear on the monitor whenever the  dispatcher calls a service vehicle on the radio.

•        Data is distorted  when playing the stereo (the network cable runs by the speaker's  electromagnet).

•        When dusting the computer, someone spills coke in  the keyboard.

•        There are demons in your shop by the name of Murphy.  They loosen  cable connections, pile dirt around the cooling fan in the  computer's power supply, and chew wires in your cabling so the mice  can use them for nests.

•        You have a compressor that shrinks the  video display everytime it kicks on.

These all affect your data.  You can eliminate many problems by doing the following:

•        Make sure your cables are well grounded, attached to the wall, away  from magnetic fields, and have nothing pressuring them.  

•        Have your  computer system on a dedicated power source. This means, you should  have a line from your main switch box with its own breaker, which is used only by the computer.  Check you daily voltage with a monitor.

•        Use an Uninterruptable Power Source if you are liable to have  failures, or brown outs.  

•        Check your cables regularly.

•        Empty your  mouse traps.  

•        Keep the drinks away from the keyboard.

•        Cover your  equipment at night.

•        Wash your computer cases down weekly with a dampened cleaning  cloth.  Automotive liquid cleaners do a nice job on the cabinet.