Imation Declares September 'Clean Out Your Computer Month' Tips and Techniques on 'Digital Maintenance' OAKDALE, Minn., Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Every three months or 3,000 miles we change the oil in our cars, but we neglect to have a scheduled maintenance program for the technology that holds all our personal and business information. Just like a car needs tune ups and oil changes regularly, a computer hard drive needs to be clean and organized to avoid crashes and/or data loss. That is why Imation has declared September "Clean Out Your Computer Month" -- to highlight the importance of regularly backing up your computer and saving valuable data. With the increasing value and size of digital files on personal and work computers -- from financial information and address books to digital photos and family videos -- computer maintenance is as important as car maintenance, but is often more easily neglected. Drawing national attention to the importance of backing up digital information can help people gain a new appreciation and understanding for the impact of potential data loss. "Industry research estimates the average lifespan of a computer hard drive is about three years. That's a short period of time considering all of the valuable documents home and business users save on their PCs and laptops," says Bob Barr, director of marketing, Imation. "Taking a closer look at your computer on a regular basis and moving important, large or unused files to Imation CDs, DVDs, backup tape or diskettes will make your computer run faster and smoother, and your hard drive will last longer. Most importantly, it will protect your valuable files in case of disaster." Files lost to common disasters such as e-mail viruses or hard drive crashes can be recovered from regular backups. To help consumers and businesses save time, money and heartache, Imation offers the following backup tips: -- Create a backup plan. Regularly backup onto optical media such as CD-R or DVD+/-R, or magnetic media such as computer backup tape or diskettes, anything that took time to create, would be difficult to replace, changes often or is critical to your home or business, such as documents, photos, videos, address books, e-mails or financial information. At least once a year, perform a full system backup and create a copy of everything on your computer, including programs, files, configurations and settings, so you won't risk losing individual preferences, Web browser favorites or have to reinstall software. Mark your calendar to remind yourself to regularly backup your computer files and hard drive. -- Name and organize your files. Specifically label your files and include the date the last edits were made. Make a detailed list of the files saved on your CD or DVD and label the discs accordingly. -- Protect your backups. Store your backup media in a cool, dry place, away from your computer and away from the dust, heat and moisture that can harm your files. For more tips on how to protect digital files, including techniques on PC or laptop backup, hard drive cleanup, and finding, organizing and transferring files, visit http://www.imation.com/computercleanout . About Imation Imation Corp. is a leading developer, manufacturer and supplier of magnetic and optical removable data storage media. With one of the broadest product lines in the industry -- spanning from a few megabytes to hundreds of gigabytes of capacity in each piece of media, Imation serves customers in more than 100 countries, in both business and consumer markets. Revenues in 2003 were $1.16 billion. Currently, 58 percent of total sales are from outside the U.S. With more than 300 scientists and over 330 U.S. patents, Imation continues to pioneer today's proven magnetic and optical media technologies. Imation employs approximately 2,800 people worldwide. Additional information about Imation is available at http://www.imation.com/ , or by calling 1.888.466.3456. Imation and the Imation logo are trademarks of Imation Corp. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. DATASOURCE: Imation Corp. CONTACT: Jennifer Letts of Imation Corp., +1-651-704-3558, ; Amy Bear Smith of Fleishman-Hillard, Inc., +1-612-573-3194, , for Imation Corp. Web site: http://www.imation.com/ http://www.imation.com/computercleanout

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