Computers crash all the time and your computer is not immune. Trust me on this one. Here at Experimax, we have been very successful in assisting our customers recover data and reinstall bad or corrupt operating systems. We perform this operation almost every day so we’re pretty good at it. However… we run into problems when the customer brings us a computer with an encrypted drive. Encryption is like locking your data up in a safe – it's secure against anyone who doesn't have the key. So, encryption without proper key management is risky: if the bad guys get at the keys, they can access your secrets; but if the good guys forget their keys, they can't do any work. More often than not, the later is the case; meaning if you need a repair on your computer we can’t do much in terms of data recovery or simple reinstall of an OS without the encryption key/password. For the sake of brevity here; Encryption is a matter of personal choice, but if you feel you must encrypt your drive, your data, or your email, it is imperative that you 1) write down, or at least remember, your password(s) and 2) perform a regular back-up of your hard-drive. These two simple precautions may ultimately save you hours or even days of lost productivity. Remember… your computer is not immune to failure. When it does, we are here to help at Experimax of Gilbert.