Networks & Servers

Having one computer for both work and home seems so convenient and cost effective, until you consider that every time you bring your computer home to browse the Web or watch a DVD, your business information is exposed to the risk of data loss, viruses and other potentially harmful applications.

Having two computers for each aspect of your life is ideal, but if you need to make one system serve both business and personal needs, the solution is simple. You can "partition" your computer's hard drive, which can keep your work data separate from your home data by creating two virtual computers within one.

The below steps may sound a little complicated at first, but partitioning your hard drive can be done relatively easily using your Windows XP CD-ROM. (Windows Vista users - a similar article is forthcoming.) And if you have questions, Dell offers online support at www.support.dell.com including a community forum where you can pose questions to other users or Dell experts.

NOTE: As always, remember to back up your data when making changes that involve your computer's operating system. This is especially true when partitioning a disk, since the following procedure will erase data from your hard drive.

1. Insert your Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD or DVD-Combo drive (or insert the first Windows XP Setup disk into the floppy disk drive) and restart your computer.

2. If you are starting the computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM, select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive, if you are prompted to do so.

3. At the "Welcome to Setup" page, press ENTER.

4. Press F8 to accept the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.

5. If an existing Windows XP installation is detected, you are prompted to repair it. To bypass the repair, press ESC.

6. At this point, all the existing partitions and unpartitioned spaces on your hard drive will be listed. Use your ARROW keys to select the space where you want to create a new partition. Press C to create a new partition. If you press D to delete an existing partition, you must then press L to confirm that you want to delete the partition.

NOTE: If you want to create a partition where one or more partitions already exist, you must first delete the existing partition or partitions, and then create the new partition.

7. Type the size in megabytes (MB) for your new partition, and then press ENTER. You can also simply press ENTER to create the new partition with the maximum size.

8. To install Windows XP on the new partition, use the ARROW keys to select the partition, then press ENTER. If you do not want to format the partition and install Windows XP, press F3 two times to quit the Windows Setup program and do not follow the last two steps. In this case, you must use a different utility to format the partition.

9. If you are NOT installing Windows XP on the new partition you created, select the format that you want to use, and then press ENTER. You have the following options:

10. When the Windows Setup program formats the partition, follow the instructions that appear on the screen to continue. After the Windows Setup program is completed, you can use the Disk Management tools in Windows XP to create or format more partitions.

After you partition your hard drive, you'll be able to store your family's information in one partition, while helping to protect your business applications and data by storing them on another. You can also set up different passwords for each partition to help enhance the security of your information.

Partitioning your hard drive has other benefits, too. It allows your computer to organize and find files quickly, since searching only one part of your notebook can take less time than exploring its entire hard drive. And, if the partition where an application is installed becomes corrupted or is deleted by mistake, the information in a different partition will not be lost.

For a small business owner, securing your business data is critical. Creating a partitioned hard drive is a good way to help ensure that the business side of your computer is protected, while you enjoy the family side of your notebook at home

So what helped Sew What? achieve such phenomenal success? A major Web site overhaul and effective search engine optimization strategy.

However, with success come challenges. Similar to what many small business owners face, Sew What? Founder and Owner Megan Duckett realized quickly that in order to keep up with demand and continue to build her business; she had to install a network that could handle her new workload.

"When small businesses like Sew What? experience growing pains they sometimes have difficulty in maintaining the growth cycle — often because the technology they are using is not properly equipped to handle the additional output," said Frank Muehleman, vice president and general manager of Dell Small Business. "Aligning a company's business goals with technology initiatives becomes vital in order to sustaining the growth for the company."

When Megan needed to increase the company's server power and capacity to meet increasing customer and staff requirements, she turned to the PowerEdge^TM  860. This server networks together all of Sew What?'s 11 workstations and allows employees to access shared information, as well as perform day-to-day tasks like maneuvering through multiple programs without delays 24/7.

The server also allows for Sew What? to continue to grow, and, once ready, reach its goal of hosting its W eb site in-house.

The PowerEdge 860 provided an easy to use and powerful solution for Sew What?. The server features the dual-core Intel Xeon 3000 series processors, which offer greater performance per watt. The PowerEdge 860 also runs on Microsoft Windows Small Business Server* operating system, helping to make a network easy to manage.

Most importantly, the server can expand with a company, providing a comprehensive range of essential business capabilities for up to 75 employees, including:

Sew What? has been a Dell customer since its needs grew beyond what they could find at local office supply stores, previously running on an 8th generation PowerEdge server they bought in 2003. In addition to the PowerEdge 860, Megan has also outfitted her staff with Dimension desktops and plans to use Dell exclusively moving forward.

Recently, Megan was awarded the Dell/ National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) Small Business Excellence Award for her innovative use of technology. To hear more about Megan's story, visit www.dell.com/ceaward.

To learn more about Dell servers designed for small businesses and access to tools including Dell's Server Advisor and the new guide for first-time server buyers called Server Networking Basics, go to www.dell.com/smb/enterprise.