How often do you back up?

mtilmin

Everyday!

i learned the hard way about 2 years ago And never again will i do this.

i now use mozy pro from Mozy.com

I heard people have ruined from heir inventions, to ideas, to a business.

It's really really really important to back-up.

What methods do you all use for back-ups? are you doing incremental or full-backups. I'm always open for new or better ways to do it.

tradetime

I use FD-ISR and an Acronis Image for system, backup to an external drive. And Karen's Replicator foe data backup. I back my system up before any new install or program update, and file backup daily.

bizwiz

Yes I do every week. There are lot's of nasty stuff in the internet and it pays to make a backup.

Kamran

can I just ask, when you mean "back up" do you simply mean "saving your my documents, pictures, videos, etc to an external source" eg exteral hard drive, disks, cds etc.?

thanks

spud17

Kamran wrote: »

can I just ask, when you mean "back up" do you simply mean "saving your my documents, pictures, videos, etc to an external source" eg exteral hard drive, disks, cds etc.?

thanks

Yes, but read the other sticky HERE

haverhillhammer

I back-up my computer on an hourly basis.

h5djr

I have a Tranquill PC running Windows Home Server that automatically backs all both our two PCs every night. It will also back up our laptops if we leave them connected to the wireless network over night.

michmop

Hi,

Unfortunatley i am another one that has not got a clue about backing up files etc...

I would hate to lose all my web addresses i have saved in Favourites....
Apart from writing them all down...
If i back up will it also save these???

Thanks for reading :-)

superscaper

michmop wrote: »

Hi,

Unfortunatley i am another one that has not got a clue about backing up files etc...

I would hate to lose all my web addresses i have saved in Favourites....
Apart from writing them all down...
If i back up will it also save these???

Thanks for reading :-)

Take a look at the "Backing Up" thread for general overview of backing up . If you want to make absolutely sure your favourites/bookmarks are saved then you can save/export them as a separate file. The procedure will depend on which browser you're using (if using IE7, click on add to favourites icon and select "Import and Export").

h34v3ns3nt

For a start lets just get this clear 'AN EXTERNAL USB/FIREWIRE HARDDISK IS NOT A BACKUP SOLUTION' they are prone to failure as much as your computer is!! They have moving parts just like the harddrive inside your computer has. Whats more worrying is, external drives are getting big. They can now store around 1TB (1000gb) of data, thats a lot of data to lose if it fails. The only true viable solution is to backup to DVD/CD or tape. No moving parts and a long shelf life if kept in cases.

You will need some form of CD/DVD writing software, I use 'Ahead Nero' although there are some free alternatives out there. Windows XP does have a built in CD writing ability, just fill a folder and click on 'write to CD on the left'

Here are some steps you can take to backup your precious data.

1. Invest in a CD/DVD writer or a 'Superdrive' on a MAC if you dont have one already
2. Invest in some 4.7gb DVD-R media or 80min/800mb CD's, there are plenty of sites online to get these, I like SVP
3. Create empty folders (directories) on your PC, call them what you want 'DOCUMENTS 1' 'PICS 1' and so on.
4. Fill the labelled folders with data, for a DVD fill it to '4.2gb' for a CD '700mb'. To check how full a folder is, right click on the folder then go to properties, it will tell you how much data is currently in the folder in the window that pops up
5. Launch Nero or equivalent application, browse to your now filled folder and click burn.
6. Let the burn complete, then put the DVD/CD back into your computer and check you can read the DVD/CD. If all goes well you have a readily available backup of your data which can be accessed on any computer without additional software. Easy to restore (just drag the files back onto your computer). Shove it in a case and leave it to gather dust.
7. Create a logical labelling structure for your DVDs/CD's, ie 'DOCUMENTS 1', 'DOCUMENTS 2' and so on. Remember just create the folders first then fill them with data to the sizes I mention above
8. For increased efficiency in finding a file you have backed up to DVD/CD you can catalogue your DVDs/CDs using software, I use CDWINDER this handy software effectively remembers all your files on a particular disk, should you need to restore a file you know you backed up, without trauling through all your backup DVD's/CD's you can run the search in this software and it will tell you what disk your file is on.

One other thing to mention, some DVD/CD writing software allows you to backup your machine in a one click manner, which effectively spans many DVD's/CD's. While this is 'OK', in my opinion should be avoided in practice as this method requires the same software that created the backup to exist on the machine to actually recover the data at a later date.

Keep it simple, usually commercial software cannot compete with a simple logical filing structure you manage yourself.