Back up your data, or whole system
(Taken from the April Edition of the York & Districts Community Matters newspaper)
Over the last few weeks I have seen a number of people suffer from loss of data. This is in spite of the fact that they thought they had a good backup. One business lost four years of data because the backup floppy disk was faulty, or the file was not saved correctly. They had trusted a computer expert to reformat the hard drive and then the backup failed, this then means many hours of re-entering the data (a huge cost to the business).
Individual users are even less likely than small companies to safeguard their data. It often takes a personal disaster to make us appreciate the importance of regular backups.
Think - How long did it take you to gather your collection of browser favourites, and how about the email addresses and phone numbers in your contact list? This is probably matched by the age of your computer. Consider, too, the desktop wallpapers or handy system utilities you've gradually collected over the past couple of years. If you lost all this, how long would it take you to replace it, if indeed you could?
Most of us have a lot more to lose than Web links, contacts and some pretty pictures. If you use your computer for document writing, study or hobbies, chances are you have dozens of files whose loss would cause you grief. If you use it for work, losing your files could even jeopardise your livelihood. So, next time you think you can’t be bothered to back up, consider the pain you'd feel if you suffered a sudden catastrophic loss of your data.
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BACKUP TYPES
Full backup
Provides a complete copy of all files that need restoring. This is essentially a full copy of everything on your hard disk and can take quite a while as well as needing a large storage area.
Incremental Backup
Uses the least time and space as only those files changed since the last backup are copied; allows you to back up multiple versions of the same file. If you need to do a restore then it can be fiddly working out which are the latest versions of files and needs to be done in sequence.
Differential Backup
Takes less time and space than a full backup; provides for more efficient restoration than incremental backups. This usually means that as you go along each time you do a backup the file sizes and storage area gets larger and larger.
Which one is best depends upon your individual situation.
Most people would be fine with copies of all data files and special information as you can readily reinstall your software and operating systems from your originals. For instance on my 20GB hard drive I really only need to back up about 5GB of data and by updating the copy on a predetermined cycle then I’m pretty well covered. I know that my settings and some things would be lost but I can live with that.
Sometimes it is better to make a clone copy of the whole hard drive so you can just use this to get going again quickly. This could be the case in a business dependent upon the computer at all times.
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What equipment do I need? To back up your data you need the following. Backup software. You can create a backup simply by manually copying data, but that's inefficient and likely to lead to omissions. Some, but not all, versions of Windows include backup software. However, the MS Backup program has its limitations. I suggest you buy third party software. There is a variety of packages that range from free to hundreds of dollars and each has their good and bad points. Backup media. You can backup to floppy, removable disks such as Zip and Jaz, CDRW, tape, a network drive, a second hard drive or even another section of your main hard drive. The latter two are the least desirable options because if something goes wrong with your computer, chances are you won’t be able to access your data or your backup. Nothing is more convenient than backing up on a network, but then the backup lacks portability and is vulnerable in the event of fire or theft. For convenience the new external hard drives (especially the fire-wire or USB ones), Handy drive, and Flash Card media are unbeatable. Burning a CD that can be saved off site is also a good idea. The tape drive is the most expensive but is regularly used in larger organisations. The floppy disk is still the cheapest option and if you are well organised is reliable If you have at least two verified copies of the data). The Flash card or Handy Drive can store 64 or 128MB of data (how many floppy disks is that!) and is very simple to use. And one final warning. Do not let anyone touch your system unless you are sure you have good backup material. Ask for a second opinion if you have any doubts at all. It might cost you in the short term but it will save you in the long run.
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