Computers, Networking, Websites, Advertising, Marketing & SalesWHAT’S INSIDE

ACRBO MagISSUE 005 | MAY 2012

P20

P26

Question Time:How to become a storefront?

INTERVIEW DEALS MSP Advice

Keith GordonThe Illinois Computer Repair owner tells us how he dropped out of college to start his business

The Official Monthly Magazine of the Association of Computer Repair Business Owners

Exclusive OffersACRBO gives you some great discounts that can’t be found anywhere else!

Get out of Break/FixDerek from Cantey Technologies tells us how to move into MSPs

By Technicians, For Technicians

Useful Tips

IMPROVE YOUR OFFLINE MARKETING

Storefronts | P26

ACRBO Inbox | P4

Website Promo | P21

IN THIS ISSUE MAY 2012

P3 Editors Letter & Top Picks

P4 ACRBO Inbox Dan answers your questions

P5 Gillware - Fixing Dead Drives

P6 Featured Member Profile Keith The Computer Guy

Featured ArticlesP8 ScreenConnect

Advert

P9 Join the ACRBO! Get a premium account today!

P10 ACRBO Deals By Daniel Hand

P11 Computer Repair Business Lessons Learnt By Daniel Hand

P12 Consider Hiring By Christine Roux

P14 Practical steps to move from break/fix By Derek Iannelli-Smith

P17 GFI Max

P18 The Industry

P19 Strategies For The Social Market

P20 Offline Business Promotion

P21 What To Consider With Promotion

P22 ACRBO Marketplace The people and products that helped make this issue

P23 Business Apps By Dennis Drew

P24 RAID Failure Tips By Brian Gill

P26 From Mobile To Storefront

P27 Customer Loyalty

ContentsMAY 2012 | ISSUE 005 | ACRBO MONTHLY | ONLINE

www.acrbo.com2

EDITORS INTROHELLO

Talk to us!

Welcome to this month’s issue of our magazine. This month we bring you some great new articles.

We work hard to put together each issue of this magazine and welcome the feedback and contributions from all our loyal readers.

A publication like this would not be possible without the support of our valued advertisers who provide relevant products and services for our readership.

Please visit our sponsors as they know what you need to help you with all your business endeavours.

Lastly I’d like to congratulate you for investing your time to educate yourself by reading this magazine.

We are proud to be able to help all our readers, and look forward to serving you for many years to come.

Editorswords

Keep your valuable feedback coming. We try to reply to every email, we appreciate your input as it helps to make the ACRBO magazine possible.

dan@acrbo.com

www.Facebook.com/acrbo

“Association of Computer Repair Business Owners”

ACRBO MagazineFredericksburg VirginiaSwansea, Wales, UK

Advertising enquires:Send an email to dan@acrbo.com

Contribute articles:If you would like to be a contributing author for the magazine then send an email to dan@acrbo.com and let us know what you would like to write about.

Copyright 2012 ACRBO. All rights reserved.Reprinted with permission. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translatedor converted into machine-readable form or language without the written consent of the publisher. Articles express the opinions of the authors and are not necessarily those of the publisher

ACRBO MagazineDirector: ACRBO dan@acrbo.comEditor: Jon May jon@thelaptopmedics.co.uk

Contributors Various experts in their fields

The instructions and advice in themagazine is for entertainment purposes only. The creators, producers, contributorsand distributors of the ACRBO Mag disclaim any liability for loss or lack of results from following the advice expressed herein.

www.acrbo.com 3

ACRBO INBOX EMAILS

QUESTION:Should I get certifications or will they even help my business?

What do you suggest?

DAN, ACRBO:This has been asked many times in different tech forums and the answer is never going to be the same.

I personally think self improvement and self education is important.

I think it is actually a benefit especially if you have to submit say a proposal to a business if you can put on there that you do have certifications.

Granted the business in particular may not know what they mean but they will understand “Certifications”.

ACRBO InboxIf you’ve got a question, just fire it over to dan@acrbo.com and we’ll answer

them and include the top three e-mails in each issue.

Getting Qualifiedor focus on experience?

Over The PhoneHow much free advice should I give?

QUESTION:Should I help people over the phone when they ask questions?

DAN, ACRBOReally depends on what they are asking. Sometimes you get those calls and customers think you should just tell them step-by-step how to remove a virus for free.

But, there comes a point when a general question actually becomes you taking time out of your schedule to deal with them.

I personally tell them that their best bet is to bring it in and we can diagnose it to find out exactly what is wrong with it.

We tell them that there are too many variables to properly try to guess a resolution over the phone.

Past customers we will be a bit more lenient with due to already having a business relationship with them.

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“Turn off your cell for a day and regain focus on your life”

YOU’RENEXT

If you would l ike your business to be featured in the ACRBO

Magazine then just drop us a l ine at dan@acrbo.com and we’ l l

get back to you with what details are needed.

It’s free advertising! Get in touch today!

Keith Gordon tell us how he dropped out of college and started his business in Chicago, IL

BIG INTERVIEW FEATURE

www.acrbo.com6

Q Business Name?

Keith The Computer Guy.

QWhere are you located?

Chicago, IL.

QEducation?

High School Diploma.

QWhat did you want to be

when you grew up?

I wanted the typical American

Dream job - Doctor or a Lawyer.

QWhat was your worst job?

All of them were great and

taught me everything I know

today.

QWhat was your first job?

Summer Camp Leader with

Chicago Park District

QWho was your hero as a

child?

Malcom X

QHow did you end up

owning your business?

I dropped out of college and had

a lot of spare time.

QWhat is next for your

business?

Setup my business to run

without me and travel the world.

QWhat business book do you

recommend most and why?

Think and Grow Rich by

Napoleon Hill.

The book teaches you how to

create a solid foundation.

Which you need to succeed not

just in business but life.

QWhat advice would you

give someone thinking

about starting a business right

now?

Turn off your cell for a day and

regain focus on your life. Find

a mentor already running a

business or had a successful

business at one point. Remove

toxic people from your life.

QWhere do you want to be

five years from now?

Five years from now, I want to

still be happy.

QWhat are you most likely

doing when not working?

Spending time with my family,

exercising, reading, and

meditating. Anything to get my

mind off the business.

QWho would you rather

spend time with, Bill Gates,

Steve Jobs or Warren Buffett?

I’d rather spend time with Steve

Jobs, I’d learn more about myself

in 1 hour with Steve’s tough love

than 1 year with others.

Featured MemberThis month, Keith Gordon talks to us and gives us a look into his life ...

BIG INTERVIEWFEATURE

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Realizing the market has changed Steve has done a total revamp to the Tech Website Builder and it should be released very soon…

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STARTUPSREMOTE

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There comes a time in the life of every

small business owner when we desperately

need some help attending our clients, yet

are not sure we can afford to pay someone.

This is especially true with Computer Repair

business owners since we not only have to

consider the cost of the employee, but also

the cost of training the person to do things

“our” way.

It often becomes a catch 22 where we

don’t have the time or the money to hire

someone even though we know that hiring

someone would allow us, in the medium to

long term, to have more time and make more

money.

When confronted to this kind of

situation, try thinking out of the box. No,

Monster, Craigslist, your local papers, or your

local colleges are not the only places to find

help. One of the solutions you most likely

didn’t think of is your state’s Vocational Rehab

program, especially it’s On The Job Training

part.

On the Job Training is a special program

that depends from the state’s Vocational

Rehab program and allows disabled* people

to get real life training in a job/career they

pre-qualify for.

It works like any normal hiring: you send

a copy of your job offer to the Vocational

Rehab** local counselors and they encourage

their clients who qualify to send you their

resume. You choose the candidates you

might be interested in, interview them and

hire the candidate of your choice. You now

have a new employee/trainee.

The main difference between this

program and “normal” employment is that the

state acknowledges the fact that your new

employee requires training by reimbursing

you for their salary and compensating you for

the time you spend training the person.

What this means for the employee and

that they can get a training that will enable

them to get gainful employment whilst

earning an acceptable wage that allows them

to take care of their financial responsibilities.

What this means for you, as a small

business owner, is that you can add a person

to your staff AND take the time to train them

to work “your way” without spending time

and money you do not have. You will also

most likely find that your new “employees”

are way more enthusiastic about learning

and working than the employees you recruit

through other venues.

So next time you start wondering what

will come first: a new employee or the money

to pay them, think Vocational Rehab and put

yourself and your potential employee in a

win-win situation.

* Contrary to popular preconceptions,

disabled people are not all blind or in a wheel

chair. There are hundreds of other disabilities

that allow people to qualify for this program.

**You will most likely have to register as

a state vendor. Check the conditions in your

particular state.

EMPLOYEES STAFF

Consider HiringChristine Roux from I.T. By The Sea asks us to take a more unconventional approach to hiring staff and how to offset the cost of

www.acrbo.com12

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• Computer Repair Locator is owned and maintained by the Association of Computer Repair Business Owners.

Get your business listed today at:www.computerrepairlocator.com

www.acrbo.com 13

BREAK/FIX MSP

Moving Towards Being a MSPWe continue our series studying

the practical steps for moving away

from Break Fix to Managed Services,

of which I outlined 5-steps.

This month we focus on another

foundational premise; Use a PSA

platform. I am ruthless when it

comes to vendor management and

excellent customer service. The

companies I mention below have

persevered for me in two separate

environments.

In summary from original article;

Use a PSA (Professional Service

Automation) platform. Many

small business owners complain

about the costs for the biggie

software companies (Autotask or

Connectwise), however, it is really

costing you if you are not using

them.

I have used both, and prefer

Autotask for the functionality and

Connectwise for the training/

implementation support (CW –

Modern Office is AWESOME).

Talk with the vendors and they

will get you started. Think this

through; because once you select

one, migration to another platform

is NOT SMOOTH despite what the

sales guys say.

The benefit of a PSA over your

current solution is that both the

packages I mention above are based

upon ITIL Standards, a must in the IT

service industry.

I will outline this article in

the following format – Costs

(Expenditure), Functionality

(Productivity), Support (continue

learning), and Migration.

Costs (or Expenditures):

Autotask (our current #1

choice) – Has been expensive in the

beginning until we had an on-site

champion (super admin for a site).

Let your employees watch the video

tutorials.

Although the training system in

place with our second contender

has a better HR type of tracking for

training to include short 10 question

tests for certificates, Autotask does

a good job of maintaining their

knowledge and dissemination

base. Another cost with Vendor

Management as good levels of

support are obtained is down time.

We have NEVER experienced

disconnect from resources, however

there has been limited functionality

as database updates were applied.

We have always had access to our

contacts and timesheet data.

A valuable asset to reliable

stability in a mid-size SMB provider

role. Well done Autotask. We also

have activated (additional cost) all

the mobile apps, extensions (patched

into our Managed Workplace Service

Center), integrated billing (intronis,

warranties), and looking to our

next rollout of 2012, mobile device

management!

ConnectWise (Used previously

for eight months) – Pricing was

similar for CW as it is for our number

one recommendation! Transitional

training was phenomenal with an

account manager follow ups! I felt

a little more connected with CW’s

customer service.

I was given portal access off

the bat also for clients. Further, the

layout was all run from a successfully

initiated client app. Modules had

additional costs (a big + with CW

QuickBooks plugin was included in

base package at no additional cost –

a tempting enticement).

Coding for cross partner

management was not up to the same

level of AT and it did not pull device

info either. Software distribution

and scripting was also a little more

cumbersome, but then again, I have

been AT for quite a while!

Functionality (Productivity):

Autotask’s functionality is LIVE,

meaning it is constantly morphing

to keep up with the changing

technologies. There is great cross-

platform integrations, and the

‘coders’ really know their stuff!

Our managed services alerts

are generated into tickets and

placed in workflow policy queues,

Derek Iannelli-Smith from Cantey Technology gives us part two of his guide to practical steps for moving away from break fix to managed services

www.acrbo.com14

BREAK/FIXMSP

Moving Towards Being a MSPscripted, disseminated, accessible

through outlook, mobile phones,

tablets, cloud services and hosted

product s for full process ITIL service

management! One of the most

helpful apps from AT (a major black-

eye for CW!) is the outlook client

plugin which allows full integration

into received emails, calendar items,

tasks, processing of tickets, notes,

projects, account notes, etc.

The AT Extensions library is

full of productive live features for

Managed Service Providers! We fully

integrate our online backup and

managed workplace connections to

their respective accounts which also

create track able resources through

ticketing and history.

Further, device discovery (a

process of pooling all resources from

an active client site where an Onsite

Manager is installed) brings every

device with all of its info directly into

Autotask as well.

So for instance, when I receive

an alert, it is specifically for a device

included in the account, and we have

all the ‘spec’ data to accompany the

device as well has history – a valuable

asset for the onsite or remote tech!

ConnectWise has one of the

best training and HR functionality

out there. You can schedule training

for all levels of employees and roles,

and also track their training as well.

One of the best items on training

is their bird’s eye view called The

Modern Office.

It truly transformed my mindset

when it comes to how to view

the IT service industry. It is this

commitment to investing in their

partner’s (making them more

profitable) that is quite intriguing.

Some heavy hitters use CW (from

last month’s article – VA was my

first exposure of being a recipient

of CW PSA) and seeing it used and

implemented was also a benefit.

Another valuable asset and

AT’s black-eye is the QuickBooks

extension that is already include in

the provisioning without altering

the workflow. There are many

days I wish that the Training and HR

functionality were prevalent in the

AT interface.

Support (Continued Learning):

Autotask in the beginning

had also a great transitional training

program, assigned an account

manager, but after the initial rollout,

it seemed like it all shut down.

I don’t get invitations for

webinars, lessons learned, or

best practices from AT. I really

appreciated that in the beginning

and think it should continue.

They would say the end-user

forum is the place for that. I really

don’t have time to hover in forums

like some MySpace (yes I chose

an outdated social network venue

to emphasize the hassle of it)

addict waiting for an update for an

important question.

The secondary logon for support

ticketing is good from a piece of

mind stance, in that I can track

all my open issues and update

them directly, however, there is no

consideration for scheduling when

they want to answer your problem.

I cannot tell you how many times

I have had to request that a support

question resolution be scheduled

because I was in the midst of a job

and they decided to call and were

‘ready’ to resolve the problem.

If you don’t solve it then, it gets

nebulized (meaning a hassle to

track down for follow up and they

get snippy because you cannot

drop what you’re doing to address

issues). We recently had an issue

that went on for five months and

they attempted to play the card

that because I continually updated

the ticket, that it got re-rolled back

into the workflow and ‘unable to

resolve’ because I updated the

status (to show that it had NOT

been addressed). One of the recent

changes I have seen is following up

by email being better for resolutions.

Remember, I said I am ruthless

when it comes to support, so

although it may sound like I am being

critical, it is actuality something AT

has learned to accommodate with

us.

ConnectWise support is

fantastic, I cannot remember one

negative instance in which I got

rolled through a red-tape situation

www.acrbo.com 15

BREAK/FIX MSP

or dodging the problem.

CW is very proactive when it

comes to support. Appointments

were scheduled, emails promptly

answered, and repairs where rolled

out live as they came out. This is a

dramatic difference to AT.

One thing they are committed

to is the IT Service Model and it

is evident. I only just recently

unsubscribed from all the

newsletters, university updates, and

webinar invitations.

Migration:

Autotask is a bear to migrate

to as is ConnectWise. Neither is

compatible with each other despite

what the slick sales person says. For

instance, when I migrated to CW

from AT, the only data able to come

through were the freshly exported

Outlook contacts I had (accounts)

and all the ticketing information was

lost.

I spent a couple of months in off

time running a dual environment just

to transition information (copy and

paste) into CW. My understanding is

that the transition from CW to AT is

the same.

Which is why the strong

recommendation to choose one and

commit to it, but also understand

the costs in doing so and accept it

up front as part of the transition.

Knowing this on the front end for

me would have prevented much

high blood pressure medication.

The AT plugin for Outlook

increases the expediency of the

migration however in being able

to import client data from emails,

tasks, calendar items, and device

discovery. The other black eye for AT

is that it is not even same database

compatible.

When I transitioned from my

previous company and had extensive

AT data, they could not merge the

data into my new company existing

AT data.

That too took a few days of

cleanup and maintenance, and at

one point we even heard from the

AT rep, that this was a failing feature

that even they were aware of that

needed much work.

So on that note, migration

is a festering wound for both

companies, but part of an honest

assessment article regarding PSA’s

and especially the ‘big boys’.

Summary:

I would not change my

choice with ATP, it has always been

my first choice despite the issues, but

that is not to say that the benefits of

CW (training, HR Functionality, and

proactive support) would not be an

even better asset to ATP.

If there was a way to merge

these two areas, ATP would have a

conglomerate on the PSA industry

I am convinced. So there you

have it, cost – is about the same,

functionality – ATP clearly is the

leader.

Support – CW is better at this

hands down and Migration is a sore

spot for both. So why use a PSA?

It implements a system to your

business model that is backed by

leading industry standards.

It gets you, your techs, and the

business executives on the same

page regarding business objectives,

but finally, one place for all business

functionality versus running twelve

different software packages to

achieve the same outcome. I would

even dare to say, that without a PSA

you are not tracking everything you

can due to the diversity of software

and applications. Having all of this

in one place is a huge benefit and

ROI. Having a hosted PSA (like the

ones I mentioned) also provides

uptime, availability, and productivity

for all roles in your business at all

times, and is not limited by client,

host, application, server etc. With

ATP all you need is an internet

connection on any device and you

can work and bill. CW is a little

more limited through its client

installed app. Finally, I cannot stress

enough the investing in of on-site

champions (ATP terminology) which

means training, and unbillable time

as you get them up to speed on

full functionality of the PSA you

choose. Otherwise you will spend

costly time that is non-billable and

inconvenient, I have to say, my boss

at Cantey is one of the few who

understands the value of training

but also through gritted teeth,

probably like many of you. Your

admin choice is going to have to be

a committed individual who shows

initiative and is business model

focused versus rolling out the new

widget or workflow. Maintenance

of your PSA is also going to take time

for it to be customized to making

your business profitable. My PSA

champion experience I know was

one of the resume items that got me

my current job. It is a valuable asset

that should not be overlooked.

Next month, the topic of tapping

into an MSP Education System.

Good luck to you and let me know

if there is anything I can do to help

you.

www.acrbo.com16

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Competition

A report from A.T. Kearney found that more than 90 percent of businesses using social media marketing do not actively respond to communicate with their customers, despite evidence that active engagement helps businesses improve sales.

While brands are reaching more and more consumers via their Facebook pages, companies are not realizing the full potential of engaging and interacting with these brand fans.

In December 2011, consulting firm A.T. Kearney analyzed the conversations happening on Facebook between 50 of the world’s top brands and their fans, comparing their interactions to those in December 2010.

The study found that in 2011, 94% of the 50 top brands’ Facebook pages directed users to a one-way communication page, such as a tab or a closed Facebook wall that didn’t allow consumers to initiate a

conversation.

This was up from 91% of the top 50 brands’ pages in 2010.

Additionally, 56% of those brands did not respond to a single customer comment on their Facebook page in 2011; the same percentage of nonresponses as in 2010.

Time to look at your business model and see exactly what you are doing with social marketing

Social Media LessonsMost business are failing to respond on social channels and this can damage future brand loyalty and revenue

www.acrbo.com 19

PROMOTION OFFLINE

There is much buzz regarding the importance of promoting your business online, advice on this topic is offered everywhere. Some say the best way to increase sales is to have a website for your business. Some stress the importance of using social media, while others say the best method for promoting your business is the use of article marketing.

Without exception; every business should have a website. It’s a must. I also know that article marketing absolutely will give almost any business a huge competitive advantage. The avenues for promoting a business online are almost endless, and most should seriously be considered. While there are many excellent opportunities to promote online, business owners need to be very careful not to focus all their sales generating efforts toward the Internet.

Many business owners make the mistake of investing way too much energy toward an online presence, and overlook the powerful effectiveness of offline promoting. It’s essential to have a well planed offline business promoting strategy in place, one that utilizes simplicity

and clarity at its core.

The best return on investment for almost any business is offline promoting. When you present your business offline in the most professional way possible and in a manner that’s completely acceptable to your potential customer, all of your online efforts are sure to produce much better results.

Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t take a huge marketing budget in order to get potential customers to want to do business with you. What

really attract customers are the little things, the simple things that business owners often overlook.

Many times an excellent outcome can be achieved by simply going back and fine tuning these little things. There are so many overlooked opportunities to put your business in front of your potential customer’s eyes that cost very little or nothing at all.

Consumers are very intuitive; they pay close attention to every little detail about a business. All a business owner needs to do in order to achieve excellent sales results is to view their business exclusively through a potential customers eyes; 24/7/365.

Today’s consumer demands simplicity and clarity before, during and after the sale. They have many choices when it comes to patronizing any business. They decide if they want to do business with you; or not! They are the boss.

Promoting Your BusinessDan Hand explains how to increase your brand exposure offline in the traditional methods used successfully for previous generations

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PROMOTIONOFFLINE

Marketing your business online will give your company a competitive edge and wider access to your target audience - without spending a ton of ineffective advertising dollars.

Today, most people will search the Internet first, even when they want to find a nearby shop or restaurant - so it’s important that local businesses increase their online marketing to reach these people.

A website is a logical place to begin your online marketing. Websites should look professional, be easy to navigate and all of the links should work.

When marketing your business online, you should describe the products and services you offer and provide contact information and make it easy to contact your business with a phone number that they don’t have to search for on your website along with a contact form vice just an email address.. Optimizing your writing to use keywords will ensure that your website appears in the search engine results.

Many business owners are challenged by the concept of creating a website and adding pertinent content to it. If that is the case it is easy enough to find

someone out there that can create a professional looking website for your business.

Some of the things that are needed are:

• MainPage• AboutUsPage• ServicesPage• ContactPage

Those are the basic pages you will need. Of course you can add more like a “specials” page or even a blog. Keep in mind if you add a blog to your website you will be expected to keep it up to date. Nothing looks worse then a blog on a website that was updated months ago.

As long as your website is built properly you can always add more to it as time goes on.

Web marketing is about ensuring that your Target Audience recognizes your company’s name, giving people a reason to return to your website and helping your prospects (website visitors) make a buying decision that includes you!

Building name recognition (branding) online can be done by using Social networking (twitter, facebook, linked in etc), paid search engine advertising (pay per click), banner advertising

on other websites, submitting your information to online trade organization directories and even by registering with web map services as a local business that will be displayed on maps searched in your area.

Email marketing is a tried and testing online marketing method. After ensuring that you have your customers or prospects permission to send email, spend time creating emails that are unique enough to make them stand out from all the other mail in your customer’s email box. When using email marketing, it is best to send a newsletter that has useful information and / or a coupon or discount voucher. It is important that you follow all government regulations regarding email marketing, which includes removing customers from your list promptly when requested.

Some of the best information for online marketing has not changed in many years and follows the same basic principles as marketing your business offline. Marketing your business online requires you to have a clear plan, research your market, product and competition and, of course, excellent customer service.

What To ConsiderDan Hand explains what to consider when creating an online prescence and how to market your company the right way

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Quotable: I have an almost religious zeal - not for technology per se, but for the Internet which is for me, the nervous system of mother Earth, which I see as a living creature, linking up. ~Dan Millman

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MOBILE APPSADVERT

Business AppsPut simply, an app makes things easier; they make accessing

information quicker and more convenient for the user

The app market caters for everyone, apps can help customers find you, find out more about your business and interact with you. Businesses are now putting faith

in apps to generate revenue, raise brand awareness and increase user engagement. I compare it to the internet came about and people were wondering “Do I really

need a website?” The same can be asked of apps, and to me the answer is yes. If it’s affordable and doable why not implement it into your business.

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$50 for the Android app, $125 for the iPhone version, or $150 for both(Prices reflect ACRBO membership discount)

Contact Dennis Drew dennisdrew@gmail.com for more information

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RAID TIPS GILLWARE

in a previous issue of this magazine, i shared some observations, based on thousands of successful data recovery cases, about how to set up a rAiD-5 so it would be less likely to leave you in a lurch. if those tips are too late to be of immediate use, here are my suggestions for what to do after your rAiD-5 has failed and you are hoping to recover its data.

Don’t Panic, Don’t Start Pushing Buttons

When a rAiD device is inaccessible, it is common for iT professionals to feel somewhat responsible. Sometimes a client is screaming at the top of their lungs that their whole business has ground to a halt without this array and that they are losing thousands of dollars for every hour of downtime. Worst case scenarios – such as losing a client or facing litigation – can creep into the iT professional’s psyche. The urge to get it up and running quickly can be overwhelming. it’s important to try to relax and to avoid actions without fully understanding their consequences.

Respect the RAID Card

The rAiD card, assuming it isn’t smoked, likely knows a lot more about the situation than you do. if you try to initiate a process and the card replies that that action can cause catastrophic data loss, believe it and don’t do it.

RTFM

All rAiD card manufacturers produce high quality manuals that explain the interworking of the card and give useful tips on configurations and troubleshooting. They typically take 30-60 minutes to read and will give insight into

the sometimes archaic and non-descriptive error messages and warnings. if you didn’t read the manual when you installed it or didn’t install it in the first place, read the thing! if someone threw it in the trash, you can probably find it in ten seconds using your favorite search engine.

Understand RAID-5 Concepts

While outside the scope of this document here’s a short tutorial on how rAiD devices work and how your data is stored on them.

http://www.gillware.com/rAiD5.php

Understand What a RAID Rebuild Does and Doesn’t Do

A rebuild doesn’t repair anything in the file system or make data accessible that previous wasn’t. Any data that’s missing will not magically appear after a rebuild. it doesn’t fix any corrupt files or partitions. it won’t make your server boot if it wasn’t booting in the first place. it does take the current state of affairs on a degraded array and restore redundancy. A good rule of thumb is to never initiate a rebuild unless all your data is currently accessible and 100% functional. Another good rule of thumb is that unless you’ve physically replaced a drive there probably isn’t much point in doing a rebuild in the first place. Presumably, the rAiD card took a drive offline because it was troubled. if you force it online and make it the rebuild target, there’s a decent chance the rAiD card is going to kick it offline again soon anyways.

Unless the array is accessible and all of the important, recently updated data is proven valid, never run any rAiD rebuilds. A rAiD-5 rebuild

will simply take the current state of affairs on a degraded array and restore redundancy by doing XOr calculations on the degraded set and writing those calculated values onto a the new, healthy drive you just inserted when you replaced a failed one. if the current state of the union is the array is not mounting, the server isn’t bootable, or lots of the recently updated files are appearing corrupted or inaccessible, a rebuild may actually render this state of the union permanent. While the array will no longer be degraded, the newly redundant array is full of corrupted garbage.

Test Your Backups on a Different Volume

i can’t tell you how many times we’ve had clients notice two hard drives in a rAiD-5 failed and simply replaced both drives (annihilating the previous volume) because they knew they had a solid recent backup. After the annihilation they restore hundreds of GB of data from the backup onto the new array. Then they realize that the backup was corrupted, incomplete, or many months old. This scenario is easily avoided by testing your backup on a storage array that has nothing to do with the hard drives inside the original failed array. Don’t make a rush decision to restore to the only available working drives. instead, explain to the client your game plan is to source a new array, test all the backups, and then deal with the dead array.

Never RMA or Re-Use Drives from the Failed Array until the Backup is Verified

While it may seem like common sense to many, i’ve seen many scenarios where we call a client mid-

RAID Failure TipsBrian Gill from Gillware gives us some tips on how to prevent and deal with common failures in rAiD arrays

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RAID TIPSGILLWARE

recovery effort asking them where the other drives are. They inform us that the drive was dead, not even detecting in the controller, so they sent it back to the manufacturer for their warranty replacement. We shouldn’t need it, because it’s a rAiD-5 and we only need N-1 drives. Then we let them know that one of the drives they sent to us actually was taken offline by the array many months ago and the drive they returned had died most recently because their array has been running degraded for months. The process of retrieving a drive that has been returned to a manufacturer is horrible and usually fruitless.

If the Drives Are Detected, the RAID Card is Probably OK

When a rAiD device has failed, a common response from the manufacturer is to send a replacement rAiD card, often at a large expense to the consumer. But if the drives are detected, the rAiD card is probably OK. in other words, if it’s telling you stuff, it’s probably fine. if you can’t get the drives to detect, it’s possible the rAiD card or the motherboard has issues.

Don’t Assume a Hot-Spare Didn’t Engage

We’ve seen many scenarios where an iT professional has yanked a hot-spare to use in a new storage array, fully confident that it never engaged and is blank. Again, verify your backups are current and consistent on another volume completely unrelated to the failed array before utilizing any of the failed array’s drives, including hot-spares.

Be Extremely Wary of Forcing Drives Online

Until a backup is verified, i’d almost say never force an offline drive online. The array likely took it offline for a reason: it was failing! Unless you know exactly when it was removed, and know for a fact that zero critical files were updated after that fact, it’s just a bad idea. if a drive failed many days or months ago, all data of relevant

size will be “corrupted” since the “stale epoch.” The newly updated data won’t actually be “corrupted,” a more appropriate term would be “incomplete.” Say you have a 3 drive array and the stripe size is 64kb. Now, you force a drive that failed months ago online. Any file bigger than 192kb is virtually guaranteed to have stripes of its binary run list residing across all three drives. Any file bigger than 192kb that has been created or updated subsequent to the initial drive failure is guaranteed to be full of “holes” and essentially useless. There would be a 1/3 chance that the actual file definitions of any file created or updated since the failure would be corrupted or missing. Often in these situations the operating system will notice these inconsistencies in the file system and run a “helpful” check-disk subroutine to “repair” these problems. These were not corruptions to be fixed, these were inconsistencies due to plugging a stale drive into the array. These “repairs” will permanently destroy valuable current data across all member drives, not just the “stale” one.

Never Guess what the Parity, Rotation, Stripe, or Offsets were and Force a New Configuration.

if you are not completely certain (because it’s documented in a log file or the technician setting it up was meticulous) then the odds of you guessing parity, rotation, stripe or offset configurations correctly are tiny. Guessing incorrectly can be catastrophic. The operating system may notice array or file system “corruption” and start running “repairs” which will be catastrophic. The file system indeed is corrupted from the operating systems point of view. The problem being it only appears corrupted because you have the wrong configuration. After these “repairs” are complete, even if you guess the correct configuration the second time around, it will be too late to salvage any of these file definitions that were “repaired.”

Never Plug in Independent RAID Drives “Individually”

it is alarming the amount of folks we talk to who have removed all the individual members of an array and plugged them into USB chassis to run data recovery software to try and recover data. Not only is this a waste of time but it could be highly destructive. The operating system has no concept that it is looking at 1/4 of a rAiD. it may automatically “fix corruptions” in the partition table, indexes, or master file table. There’s a high probability the drive will show up as unallocated or available space, and some misinformed iT staff will actually “initialize” the independent drive with a new volume in order to “access its data.” These drives weren’t corrupted in the first place, so “fixing” the “corruptions” will typically lead to massive data loss. running off-the-shelf data recovery software on 1/3 of a 3 drive rAiD-5 will yield 1/3 of the file definitions, none of the run-list entries will be correct (file definitions only make sense in the context of the full partition), and the only data yielded will be extremely tiny file definitions where the data was “resident” to the file-definition itself (tiny ini files or log files).

Summary

Don’t panic. Approach these situations with full knowledge of how rAiD-5 works. if the rAiD configuration utility warns you that you are about to destroy all the data with a particularly action, don’t do it. You should read and understand the rAiD manufacturer’s manual before doing anything. You should only rebuild to a newly added drive if the volume is currently peachy but running degraded. Don’t re-use any of the drives in the failed volume until verifying your backups on a different set of hardware. if more than one drive is offline and you do not have a good backup, remove the drives from the array and contact a data recovery professional to assist you.

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STRATEGY STORE

From Mobile To StorefrontSo it has now been 2 months since

I made the move from being primarily a mobile and on-site tech to a shop-owner, businessman, entrepreneur, sponsor, and member of the downtown community.

What I mean by that long-winded introduction is what I would like to share with you today. These are all labels that you get when you take the step from home office to storefront.

I started out fixing computers for friends and family over 10 years ago. It was my frustration with a local computer repair shop which led me to go back to school, and learn how to do this.

I really enjoy fixing computers, working with them, and making them work for people. I am also blessed to have the opportunity to write this article in the ACRBO magazine, and to share my experience with fellow shop owners on the podcasts that I help with.

If you are interested they are Podnutz Daily, Podnutz, Android App Addicts, at ponutz.com and The Unbootables which can be found at geeksters.tv. If you are considering taking the next step in your business to open a store I would like to share some of the process that I went through recently.

While working on a computer problem

for one of my commercial customers, I overheard him discussing a lease with another businessman from our town of Rock Falls, Il.

This gentleman owns a former gas station that he has turned into a smoke shop (a store to buy tobacco, and every accessory you would need to consume it).

He wanted to rent the vacant store next to my customer’s furniture store to have a computer shop. My customer told him to go away and that it was not for rent right now.

After the guy left my customer told me that he didn’t want to rent it to him and give me competition. I said “It’s fine rent it to him” I felt confident that he would not hurt my business. As I left that day I kept trying to figure out if I could make that storefront work for me.

I knew that the rent was much higher than I could afford, but I wondered if the added business of a great location like that would make up for it.

This space is one business away from the busiest intersection in the county, and it has a stoplight that makes people look around.

The next time I was at this customer’s furniture store (Fixing a serial controlled

LED sign) it was about 2 months later, and the same gentleman was in there again and they were finalizing a lease agreement.

Now I started to feel kind of bummed because the “what ifs” really set in. I didn’t let it bother me too much and I went and visited this new shop about a month later to see if we could work together in any way.

When I walked in I was greeted with the smell of smoke, the place was dark, and there were about 50 used computers sitting everywhere. The computers were all used Pentium 4 or older, there was one computer on with a chair in front of it and a 8.5 x 11” sign that said “Internet Café”.

As I looked around I noticed that they not only had a computer shop here, it was also a place to buy tools, and cigarettes! I talked to the owner and introduced myself.

As far as working together he said that if I brought anyone into his shop he would give me 20% of the sale. I knew that was never going to happen so I left and never went back.

Three months later that computer shop is out of business, and I am back at my customer’s store fixing an email problem. He then offers me the chance to rent that store. I was probably as broke as I had been in 7 years at this time for whatever reason, and I still had memories of how nasty that place was.

I let him know both of these facts immediately, and he said he would work out a good deal with me. The next day after talking this over with my wife, I went and took a tour of the shop. It was mostly empty, still smelled like smoke, and was pretty gross even though the guy who took me over there said that they had cleaned it up.

It was actually a lot bigger than I had remembered, and it had a nice backroom and a full basement. I looked it over and I could see it had potential but it would need a lot of work, paint, carpet, and money.

The landlord then made me an offer to rent it that was much more than fair to me, and I took it. Luckily I have friends who refurbish old houses every day, so they did not really see my shop as a huge challenge.

They really made it sound like it would be easy to make this a great place. I stayed in that building until midnight for

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STRATEGYSTORE

From Mobile To Storefront

about 4 weeks straight nearly every night destroying, cleaning, painting, and building things.

If anyone visited that computer store, and stepped into this office now they would not be able to tell that it is the same building.

I am staying busy now, and though I don’t have as much foot traffic as I had expected, I have picked up quite a few new customers every week since I opened on March 1st.

This was my official opening day, but I was working on computers all through the construction, and the moving. The last piece of the shop went together 2 weeks ago when I finally got my sign up out front.

I have had two write-ups in the newspaper since I took over the building and I have been sponsoring a youth softball team, and I also sponsored a river clean up last weekend.

This is all of the advertising that I have done so far, and I plan on a ribbon cutting, and doing a Chamber of Commerce “Business After Hours Event” later this summer.

There is always something to do here, and I have been so busy that I have

honestly not even finished cleaning or mopped the back room yet. The front of the office I have kept very open and clean. I don’t have much inventory to show off.

I am keeping a few things that I know I will need for sale such as power supplies,

hard drives, and ipod cases. A good friend and computer business owner Liam Tidwell has really got me into fixing iPhones and cell phones, and I have to say this income stream has helped a lot getting started.

I have let all of the cell phone shops know that I am available to fix broken screens, and other problems. This office can also be seen from the window of a new Verizon store which makes directions to me easy.

I can already see that I will need to hire someone, because currently whenever I have an on-site job I just put up a note stating that I am helping another customer.

I would like to offer pick-up and delivery service, because many of my customers are elderly, but I don’t want to miss anyone who is bringing their computer in.

I don’t think that this has been an issue yet, and because of this problem I do not yet have posted hours on the building. I will try to do an update in the future and let you know what I learn as this goes along.

Eric ArduiniSilicon Wrenchwww.siliconwrench.com

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STRATEGY LOYALTY

Loyal customers are the foundation of almost every business. Going the extra mile to provide outstanding customer service is the first step to customer loyalty. But there is more. Of course - your products and services in general need to be good. If you offer lousy uptime there is not really a reason to be loyal when being a customer. You just don’t deliver, period.

Here are a few more suggestions to gain customer loyalty.

1) Be smart. Be smarter than your customers are. Make sure you and your staff always (no exceptions) have more answers than your customers have questions. Most people are very loyal to expertise and proven skills.

2) Pay Attention. Pay attention to what your customers really want from you and what they really are hoping to find. If you see a pattern

- follow it and adjust accordingly.

3) Attitude and outfit. Show positive attitude. Always be on time; never ever run late when a customer is involved. Be professional, act professional. If you meet with a customer - don’t look like coming from working in your yard. Don’t over-dress either.

4) Dump any strict policies. Don’t make customers think, that doing business with you is a risk. Be generous and flexible. Every situation is unique - so can be your decisions. If a customer is not satisfied, give them their money back and try spinning this into a learning experience.

5) Don’t hire unlikable people. Nobody likes to give money to someone they don’t like. Even if your staff might never really talk to customers and only communicates via email or on the phone - a

personality will always shine through. A customer will feel after a while, who he is dealing with.

6) Don’t be pushy. Don’t try to push a customer to something they don’t want, they don’t need or they are not sure about. Show options, be patient. Customers like that more than a stupid sales pitch.

7) Offer superior products. Add a little more too each product or service than necessary.

None of these things alone with get you loyal customers, but a combination of things will make it very difficult for a customer to leave. If you get a customer to this point, you are able to ask for a higher price for your products and most of them will be happy to pay a little more so that they can continue to enjoy the service and the products that you provide.

Customer LoyaltyRetain customers and increase your profit by making your customers loyal

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