Before Patch Tuesday, a to-do list to avoid problems

Before Patch Tuesday, a to-do list to avoid problems

You could call Patch-Tuesday Eve today. This is the day before Windows machines receive the updates that Microsoft offers. What should you do to prepare?

It depends on what kind of computer user you are.

If your files are stored in the cloud

You keep everything in the cloud, you use a Microsoft account, you don't mind reinstalling your OS if you need to. Your data is protected by a username and password, and if you are notified, your data is protected by two-factor authentication.

Before Patch Tuesday, you might decide that you don't need to back up your computer system since you know that if something happens to your computer, you can reinstall the operating system and simply reconnect to your various storage services. online. Have verified that all the services in the cloud that the USA have enabled the control of archival versions, so that if necessary, turn to an anterior version of an archival, can you hacerlo.

After Patch Tuesday, if you experience problematic updates that affect access to your files, click Start, Settings, Update & security, View update history, and click "Uninstall updates." Reboot and block the update. (If the computer won't start, you'll need to reinstall Windows by booting from a flash drive with an ISO of the version of Windows you're using.) You will then use your username and password to reconnect to your data files. You will also need to know how to find the necessary hardware drivers. Ideally, you'll have tried this process ahead of time and know where to find a missing driver on a vendor's website.

If you are this type of user, your biggest concern would be the loss of Internet connection. Most businesses will have invested in a backup Internet connection and a firewall that can automatically fail if something goes wrong. (If you are a home user, you can use your phone's hotspot to access the Internet.)

If your computer crashes completely, you can also, in a pinch, use another device, like a phone or tablet, to access your files, emails, or other data you trust.

If your files are stored locally on your computer

So do you keep everything on your computer? You are not using a Microsoft or Google Drive account. Before Patch Tuesday (like today), you should back up your local computer; this way, if you need to recover, restore, or even reinstall the operating system, you can regain access to your data.

If you experience any side effects on Patch Tuesday as stated above, you can uninstall the updates, reboot your device, and then block the update. Alternatively, if you are unable to boot your system, you should know how to do so using the backup software's recovery process and initiate a full restore from a backup. (Ideally, make sure you have a full system backup before installing an update.)

In this case, the most important thing to worry about is the health of your hard drive. You'll need to make sure you have an image backup and have a process in place that creates multiple backups using external hard drives in turn. If something goes wrong, you can recover your system. (You might consider keeping a spare SSD stashed away, so that if something happens to your hard drive, you can easily replace it and restore it from your backup.)

As mentioned above, if your computer crashes completely, you can use a phone or tablet to access email. But to access your files, you will first have to wait for the recovery process to complete. You can also use another computer to mount your backup image and save the files you need to a flash drive, then use that other computer until your main PC is fully restored.

Whether you store files in the cloud and locally

If you're that kind of hybrid computer user, like many of us are, a backup is always important. The most important thing to worry about is knowing where your sensitive information is stored, where the backup locations are, and then documenting the best way to get it back.

If something happens to your computer and you need to reinstall your operating system, or decide to buy a new computer, document your options so you can access your data as soon as possible. Usually, in the short term, you access files remotely, rebuild your computer, and sync your files regularly.

The bottom line here is that in each of these scenarios, having a current backup, whether stored in the cloud or on a local drive, gives you options in case something goes wrong. And this ensures that you no longer have to worry about Patch Tuesday problems; you may be disturbed, yes, but you won't be completely out of commission. Your data will always be there for you.

Copyright © 2022 IDG Communications, Inc.