Q. I'm a professional photographer who recently bought a $600 portable media player to store my photographs for work and personal use. Three weeks after I bought it, I hooked it up to my television to show photos, and it crashed. I lost 352 images of my vacation and a fashion shoot job. It's very traumatic. The device is made by a company in Irvine, so I went to its offices to complain, but no one would come out to address me or offer to fix the device. Finally, I returned it and got a refund, but this has been very traumatic. Shouldn't the manufacturer have helped me?

- Brad in Laguna Beach

A. When something breaks, it's understandable that the first reaction is to return it. But in the case of computer equipment, don't be so hasty.

First, you should have asked about data recovery. Just because you think your system "crashed" doesn't mean it did. Now that you've returned the media player, you'll never know if a technician could have helped you.

Try the store where you bought the media player. They'll likely offer some type of tech assistance or they can recommend someone to you. If not, call computer service firms in theyellow pages or a service such as the Geek Squad at Best Buy.

You also could have tried to salvage your images through one of the various data recovery programs out there. Register photographer Michael Kitada swears by ImageRecall. The software is available online for about $39.95 at www.flashfixers.com.

If you rely on tech gear - digital cameras, computers, editing equipment, media players, etc. - to earn your living, consider insurance.

Each business is different and so is each business insurance policy, said Pete Moraga, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Network.

A lot of these policies cover viruses, cyberterrorism and other intrusions such as trojan horses that make accessing vital company data difficult or impossible. Such policies can also cover "crashed" computers or loss and corruption of data.

Moraga said you will have to ask your broker or agent for a policy that specifically protects you against equipment malfunctions. Some other things to consider:

A general liability policy covers third-party lawsuits, for example, if a client sues you over the images you lost. You can also buy a cyberrisk policy, earthquake protection and network services insurance. If you have a home- based business, you'll need a separate business policy because your homeowners insurance won't cover you.

The backbone of insurance is risk assessment, so don't be surprised that an insurer will want to know if you back up your files, use surge protectors and store your equipment in a clean, dry and safe place.

"If they don't," Moraga said. "That's going to be one point against them."

And, besides guarding your equipment and your finances, insurance can go a long way in protecting your professional reputation.