2) Think Before You Update

“Once you have a system that is really stable NEVER update stuff for the sake of it particularly if you are in the middle of gigging/touring you don't need the latest you just the the most stable.”

There’s nothing worse than that sinking feeling you get when everything was working fine and now it isnt. It's SO tempting to update software - I think it's apsychologicall thing, if you dont you somehow feel that youaren'tt getting the the best you can. Resist that temptation. Or if you really must, make sure you have a..

3) Send In The Clones
“Always make a bootable clone of your laptop system drive (I use super duper) & give it to someone else in your party to carry as its no good if you lose your laptop & the backup is with it.”

No excuse not to have a backup drive these days, if your drive goes down at 12.30 AM just before a gig, being able to just swap it out is a warm fuzzy feeling and can save you untold grief.

For the Mac, there’s Super Duper, Carbon Copy Cloner
For the PC - Acronis True Image, Norton Ghost, Paragon Backup and Recovery

You should do this whether or not you are going to gig your machine. While your at it, we recommend investing in an external drive dock with USB/FireWire/eSata connectivity so you can pop a naked drive in and backup whenever the mood takes you.

NEXT: 4) SSD Is Best