> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://johnoraw.gitbook.io/gettingstarted/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://johnoraw.gitbook.io/gettingstarted/minding-your-data.md).

# Minding your data

There is a famous joke in Ireland. Whenever a child does not have their homework done, they claim that “*the dog ate it*”. This is universally considered to be an invalid excuse!

For a computer student to say their hard disk crashed and that they lost their work, is even worse. Hard disk failure is inevitable, given your specialty, you are supposed to know how to handle data and ensure that a predictable event does not result in loss.

The Institute provides access to One Drive. Before you begin to do any course work, read the guidance from Computer Services on how to use this. Then read Microsoft’s own guidelines, so you know how to recover accidentally deleted files, etc.

Save all course work to this drive, you can also keep ISO files, manuals etc. here. You can also access this information over the Internet and from home.

Do NOT save VMs to the O:\ drive. As a computer student, you should know how to recreate any VM which fails, reasonably quickly.

A last word: we have verified with several veterinary surgeons, dogs do not generally eat USB drives or external SSDs, don't even think about using that excuse!


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://johnoraw.gitbook.io/gettingstarted/minding-your-data.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.