As I write this,
it’s early December, and try as I might, I can’t remember what my new
year’s resolution was last time around. One thing I can say with near
hundred percent certainty is that whatever it was, I failed to keep it.
Maybe you’re the same. Maybe you resolved to quit smoking, lose weight,
or read more. We all make promises with ourselves, then fail to keep
those promises. Worst of all, those promises might be exactly what we
need most. Consider this: When was the last time you backed up your
computer files? Last month? Last year? Never?Let’s make a new
year’s resolution together, you and I. Let’s promise to back up our
computers. It’s important, I promise. Just yesterday the automatic
backup feature in MS Word saved me about an hour’s work when my computer
froze up. Given that I haven’t backed up my computer in almost a year, I
can’t even imagine how much data I’d lose if I suffered a power surge
or hard drive failure. It can happen to the best of us, and often does.
Even high end hard drive manufacturers report an average failure rate of
between five and eight per thousand every year. That may not sound like
much, but let’s face it, somebody has to be those five to eight people.
Feeling lucky? There are about 185 million household PCs in the U.S.,
according to Computer Industry Almanac, so that means about 150,000 hard
drives fail each year. But even if your drive stays intact, about a
tenth of all computers suffer minor data loss in any given year. A power
surge, the magnets in your home stereo speakers, or even an accidental
nudge can affect data storage. According to a report from the ONTRACK
data recovery service, data loss can be caused by natural disasters (3%
of cases), computer viruses (7%), software problems (14%), and plain old
user error (a whopping 32%). Now, I’m sure you never hit a wrong
keyboard button, but do you have a button on your computer that prevents
a bolt of lightning? I didn’t think so.
WHEREAS our data is
important, and disaster can befall even the most noble and undeserving
of us, BE IT RESOLVED that you and I shall back up our computer files
forthwith.
Amen, brothers and sisters. Now, where and how do we start?
STEP ONE: Choosing Favorites
Not
all files are important enough to preserve for posterity. The most
critical files on a computer are its operating system files. If you’re a
good little consumer, you bought the operating system and kept those
CDs handy and secure from data loss. If you’re not, then remind yourself
to go stand in the corner later. The drones at Microsoft did not work
for years just to watch you steal their work. It’s people like you that
keep Bill Gates from purchaseing his second planet. Now that you’ve been
suitably chastised, either go purchase a legal copy of the operating
system, or include the necessary files in your “must back up” list.
The
same principle goes for software applications. Maybe you bought an ad
and spyware blocker you really like, but the company that coded it has
since gone out of business (perhaps because other consumers weren’t as
scrupulous as you). If so, include the files you need to run the app in
your must list.
Now it’s time to look at the remaining files on
your computer and prioritize. If you’re not a digital packrat like me,
it may be possible to save everything. If so, congratulations. I don’t
have ten gigabytes of portable media at my disposal, so when I back up
my computer, I’ll be leaving a few gigs of MP3s and questionable Windows
Media files at risk. One of the first things I will save is the folder I
use to save my writing assignments, because that data represents money
in my pocket. I’ll back up my email address book, plus my digital
photography and fiction writing efforts. I can live without “Milkshake”
(what was I thinking?), but the guitar piece my friend recorded and sent
to me is going on the list. Your results may vary.
STEP TWO: In Which I Tell You Where You Can Put It
That’s
right, this is the section in which I’ll tell you where to store your
data. It’s not a good idea to put backup files on another drive on the
same computer. That defeats the whole purpose. Duplicating your files on
another computer in the same LAN is almost as risky, because computer
viruses can spread as fast as an imaginary Anna Kournikova JPEG. You
need to find a portable storage medium that can hold all the files on
your must list. Your options include floppy diskettes, portable hard
drives, optical drives, tape drives, and remote servers. We’ll look at
each in turn.
Hard diskettes, the old familiar 3.5” squares, hold
up to 1.44 megabytes of data. They’re cheap, but 1.44 MB is less than
two percent of the ten gigs of data on my hard drive. Even if each of
those files were smaller than 1.44 MB (and each weren’t), I’m not keen
on the idea of purchaseing, labeling, and storing fifty diskettes. Next
idea, please.
Most computer experts rely on removable hard drives
for memory backups. The most popular of these drives are the Zip drive
from Iomega and the ORB drive from Castlewood. They’re relatively
inexpensive and hold up to two gigs of data. Basically, you’ll save your
data on a Zip disk, then transfer it from the disk to the portable
drive. The catch is that removable drives fail about as often as regular
hard drives. They may even be more susceptible to damage from dust and
rough handling. A sub-option here is to use a permanent hard drive as a
removable drive. At up to two hundred gigs, conventional hard drives are
bigger than removable drives, and prices have dropped enough in recent
years to make this idea practical. Whatever kind of hard drive you
decide to use, make sure to keep it isolated from dust, magnetic
charges, and static electricity.
Optical drives use a laser to
store information, rather than a magnet. Even if you’re not a tech
junkie, that’s probably enough information to give you a clearer idea
what we’re talking about: namely, CDs and DVDs. Less common are EO
(erasable optical) and WORM (write once, read many) media; they’re less
common because they cost over $1000 per drive. CDs, on the other hand,
cost less than a buck and can hold up to 650 megabytes. DVDs hold up to
five gigs and cost about fifteen dollars apiece. Most computers nowadays
have either a CD or DVD writer (or both), but write times can be slow.
My CD writer, for example, works best on the 300 kilobyte per second
setting—if then. I’ll be using the remote server option. At $250 and up,
tape drives are more expensive and slower than hard drives or optical
media, hence less common, but also extremely reliable.
Remote
servers are third party companies that store data online for a fee. This
is a great option for broadband Internet users, especially people like
me who don’t own a reliable data writer. SkyDesk runs Backup.com,
Back-Up Solutions maintains BackUpHelp.com, and Iomega hosts iServer
(Iomega.com/iStorage). XDrive.com, once a free service, now charges ten
bucks a month for up to five gigs of storage. Promotions and other rates
change, so it’s a good idea to shop around before selecting a remote
storage service.
STEP THREE: Git ’er Done
Now it’s time to
put the files you want to save on the storage medium you’ve chosen.
There are several ways to do this. Your CD writer, for example, may come
with proprietary disk writing software. That application may even
include a backup option. If it does, and you’re more familiar with that
software than Windows features, then that’s the way to go. Otherwise,
backup is still relatively easy on all MS operating systems since
Windows 98. Windows 98, Windows ME, and Windows XP Professional include a
built-in Backup utility. To run it, just click on Start, then Programs,
then Accessories, then System Tools, then Backup. How easy was that? If
you’re using the XP Home edition, you may need to add the utility
manually. If so, insert the Windows XP CD into your disk drive and wait
for the “Welcome to Microsoft Windows XP” screen. (You may need to
double-click the CD icon in My Computer.) Then click on Perform
Additional Tasks and Browse This CD. In Windows Explorer, double-click
the ValueAdd folder, then Msft, then Ntbackup. Double-clicking on
Ntbackup.msi will install the utility. Once it’s installed, you can also
run the program by clicking Start and Run, then typing msbackup.exe
(Windows 98 and Windows ME) or ntbackup.exe (Windows XP) in the Open
field. Click OK, and you’ll be off to the races.
Incidentally,
the Windows XP Backup utility also includes a bonus application called
the Automated Recovery Wizard. This creates a bootable floppy that
initiates backup if the hard drive must be replaced. Other options for
“disaster recovery” include BackUp MyPC from Stomp (StompInc.com, $79)
and Norton Ghost 9.0 from Symantec (Norton.com, $69.95). Ghost actually
allows users to duplicate the contents of their computer over the
Internet. Both have earned stellar reviews from top PC magazines.
Don’t
let another month go by without protecting the files you value most. My
girlfriend justifies her messy car by saying she “lives out of it.”
Well, I live out of my computer. It’s not just my office; it’s the home
of cherished memories in the form of pictures, MP3, and other data
files. I’m resolved to keep it safe.
About the Author
Christian Carvajal is a writer for
http://www.all-cheap-laptops.com - a site that provides tips and
tutorials for individuals interested in purchaseing and upgrading laptop
computers. |
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