How often do you back up?

darktrader

Browntoa wrote:

I'm reasonably savvy with computers but even I took a few days to realise that my new PC had a buit in function to make a full set of recover CD's and DVD's as the paperwork totally neglects to mention it !!

I wonder how many other people have the same option on their PC and are blissfully unaware !!

Most new PCs are going this way. To save the money on the disks. So when I was setting up a brand new PC for a client that had a minor problem no recovery disk meant it had to go back to the store.

AND recovery disks DO NOT back up the really important stuff, ie your data.

darktrader

flea72 wrote:

never, still cant find an way to do it easy on XP - where have they hidden the one touch backup button?

If you have XP Pro

Start - run - type in ntbackup.exe

If you have XP Home

Do this first...

Insert the XP Home CD-ROM.
Navigate to the VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP folder.
Double-click the ntbackup.msi file to install NTBackup.

Then Start - run - type in ntbackup.exe

cmallaby

What really do you need to backup?

Only thing i do is email it to myself (hotmail have 250mb free space) all i'll need to back up is documents/pictures. MP3s are easy to get and software too.

HC_2

Yes, I sometimes use Gmail for a short-term back-up.

But if you had a big problem you'd lose all your settings and preferences. That might sound trivial, but it's a real hassle to lose sent and received emails, email address book, browser Favourites etc.

cmallaby

Well Hotmail's sorted :P cause unless the whole of Microsoft dies u can't lose any of them !

MrWolf_2

I have an external Hard Drive that plugs into the USB port of my PC. I only back up my files. The OS is easy to re-install if I need to. Or will be already installed if I need to buy a replacement PC. I back up all my MS Office documents, Export my contacts and other items from Outlook to a .pst file and back that up. Plus all my digital photos (around 4000 of them now!). I use a program called allwaysync that only copies across new files or ones that have changed since last time. Click Here for the Free Download. :money: It's free for home users but I paid for thr pro version (REALLY CHEAP!!) I back up much more than the 20 000 files per month that the free version allows.

I then keep the drive in a locked drawer at work. So if my house burns down I have all my important information safe. The data is much more valuable than the PC.

(It's only polite to say thank you )

gunneradt

cmallaby wrote:

What really do you need to backup?

Only thing i do is email it to myself (hotmail have 250mb free space) all i'll need to back up is documents/pictures. MP3s are easy to get and software too.

backing is more important these days as we tend to keep digital photos, websites that have been built, emails, address books and programmes of course on our pcs.

I have 2 external hard drives with all my files backed up and I also backup my whole computer every 2 days using acronis true image so that the whole config can be restored in a flash.

you cant be too careful.

swizzle_2

How do I back up? Can I puy it on a cd-rom, which cd-roms are best to use, sorry, but a bit thick at this stuff!

Thanks

LULUBELLE_2

Buy youself a USB flash drive - tiny little thing that can hang on a keyring, get them from 64MB right up to 2 GB. Try THIS little baby, it's a great make and a great price and free delivery. You'd always have your info with you - perfect! :beer:

swizzle_2

When I get one- what do I do with it?