There are many ways you can lose information on your computer. It could be because of a power surge, equipment failure, a virus, lightning, floods or simply because your child has been playing the keyboard like a piano! It can be expensive and time-consuming but at least it’s possible to replace hardware and reinstall software. Unfortunately this is not the case when it comes to your data- unless you have a Backup.
If you run a business on your computer, it’s even more important that you backup your data. In a recent survey done by Harris Interactive, it concluded that 35% of computer users never backed up their data, and of those that did 75% only did so once a month. A recent Gartner report also shows that only 1% of small businesses back up daily.
Data Backup Options
There are a number of backup options to choose from. If possible, choose one where the backup data is stored away from the house or office.
- Copy your data to another partition on your hard drive.
Your hard Drive can be divided into multiple partitions eg Drive C: and Drive D:. Use a seperate partition to store a backup of all of your data. This can be an easy way to create a backup but there is the risk that if one partition dies on your hard drive – all partitions will.
- Copy your data to another hard drive or flash drive connected to the same computer.
Flash, External and Internal Hard Drives are no longer as expensive as they once were and these days it is not unusual to have an additional hard drive installed on your computer. Copying data to another drive is usually a simple process but if it is in the same location as your computer, there are risks.
- Copy your data to another computer.
If you have a second computer in a different location or even a laptop, copy your data onto this. It is preferable that the computer is stored away from the house or office.
- Copy your data to removable media, such as removable hard drive, CD/DVD disc, ZIP disk (s) etc.
This is a pretty safe option as the CD or hard drive can easily be stored away from the office or home.
- Use Online Storage.
There are many online backup companies offering limited free space with some limitations. These offer upload and download options and claim to be a secure and safe location to store a backup of your data. Check out the following examples:-
http://www.xdrive.com/using.jsp
http://www.mediamax.com/
http://www.freedrive.com/
Steps to Backing Up your Data
- Make a list off all of the files or directories you want to backup. Include documents – business and personal, photos, emails, music, Your e-mail address book, your Microsoft Outlook calendar, Your Internet Explorer bookmarks
- Create a directory on your computer and name it appropriately ie Backup Data
- Keep a Copy of all files and directories to be backed up in this directory
- Outlook mail, address book and calendar are usually stored in C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. Copy this directory into the Backup directory.
- Copy the Backup directory regularly to your chosen Backup media. It is recommended to do this monthly or more often if you are backing up business files that change regularly.
- If using Windows XP Professional, use the Backup Utility
- TEST YOUR BACKUP. Always check that your backup can be restored and that all files have been backed up in full.
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