To review:

1. Move your .DAT file(s) from their appropriate directories and place them in a new, safe directory.

2. Rename the corresponding .BAK file(s) so that they are now .DAT (ADDRESS.BAK would become ADDRESS.DAT).

3. Change your Custom HotSync option to "Desktop overwrites PalmPilot".

4. Perform a HotSync.

5. Have a cigar.

Preventive medicine
As easy as using your backup files in an emergency is, you really shouldn't have to do it at all. In fact, I'll tell you the easiest thing you can do right now to make managing your data a less dramatic event if something goes wrong. Make a periodic backup of your user name directory. Don't worry about doing it very often, but the more often you do it, the better off you'll be on a rainy day.

Simply find your user name directory in your PILOT or Pilot Desktop 1.0 folder and make a copy of the entire folder either elsewhere on your hard drive or on a completely separate disk (remember, hard drives like to crash too). I would recommend doing it as often as once a week, if you like. You should also do it anytime you have made any significant changes to your data, say, if you just came back from a convention with tons of new contact information that you would die without. Just make sure to perform a HotSync first before making your copy.

If you do run into a jam with your data sometime in the future, all you would have to do is:

1. Replace your user name directory in the PILOT or Pilot Desktop 1.0 folder with your backup user name directory.

2. As described in the section above, change your Custom HotSync option to "Desktop overwrites PalmPilot".

3. Perform a HotSync.

4. Cigar, anyone?

Don't worry if you never have to use your backup user name directory. But just like having a fire extinguisher handy in the kitchen, you are better off in an emergency to have a backup in your keep.

PalmPilot acupuncture
Let's go back to that little lie you told your boss about your PalmPilot device crashing. Okay, maybe it was true. Maybe something funny really did happen and all the button-pushing or Graffiti-scribbling in the world isn't doing a thing for you. Did an application crash? Has your organizer "frozen" on you? Has it fallen asleep and won't wake up? Is it just generally cranky? Well, a quick and safe thing that you can do is poke your PalmPilot in the back.

Acupuncture? No. It's called a "soft reset". If you turn your PalmPilot organizer over, you will find a little hole labeled "RESET" located near the serial number. Unlike acupuncture, you do not want to stick anything sharp (like a needle) in the reset hole. Instead, use the official PalmPilot Reset Apparatus: take a paperclip from your desk drawer and un-bend it so that one end sticks out free. Using that end, insert it into the reset hole and gently press the button inside. When you do this, you should see the "Welcome to PalmPilot" screen.