The Best Tip

Back Up Your Important Files!

    The best file tip we can offer you: Make a regular habit of backing up all files that would cause you stress if you lost them. The key question in this discussion is: How much are you willing to lose?
    If you already practice regular back ups, feel free to stop here.
    Note: This discussion is not about File Buddy or an attempt to help you to find ways to make it more useful. It's simply an attempt on our part to save you from the empty, sinking feeling that comes when you realize you can't get to one or more important files.

What is "backing up"?

    Backing up a file simply means to make a copy of it on another disk. However, some back up strategies are better than others.

Why should I back up?

    There are several reasons:
    Disks die
    The disks (hard disks, floppies, CDs, Zip disks, and so on) containing our files are pretty reliable, but they are not perfect. Hard disks are electrical devices, and as with any electrical device, they can stop working. The actually media on a disk may become defective, corrupting or making a file written to that part of the disk - or even the whole disk - inaccessible.
    Undo
    Old copies of a file are a good way to revert to a previous version, or replace one accidentally deleted.
    Tragedies happen
    Take this seriously. Computers are stolen, cars containing computers are stolen, buildings burn and flood, you get the picture. It doesn't happen often, but if it happens to you, the statistical rarity of the event won't provide much comfort.

Offsite Backups

    This brings us to an important point: Offsite backups. Offsite backups are copies of your files kept at another location, and you should have at least one of them. If all five copies of your important files are in the drawer of your computer desk and your house burns down, you're out of luck. Give one to a friend, keep one at work, put one in your safety deposit box or in the car (if it isn't too hot), or both.

What should I back up?

    Think of a file on your computer. If you suddenly and unexpectedly couldn't get to that file, would it represent an important loss or cause a problem? If the answer is "Yes," then you should back it up. Some common files that warrant backing up are:
    Anything used in your business
    Financial records, client information, projects, pretty much everything. It won't impress your boss or a client if you explain that the project you've been working on for the past three months is hermetically sealed inside a dead hard drive where it is safe from industrial espionage.
    Irreplaceable personal files
    Digital pictures, your life story, anything you don't want to lose.
    Software that is no longer available
    You wouldn't normally want to bother backing up software you purchased, but if you have a favorite game or other program that came on floppies and it is no longer available, back it up.
    E-mail
    E-mail programs store your messages in one or more files. If you determine where they are, you can back them up.

When/how often should I back up?

    This depends on the nature of the file and how much work you are willing to lose. If you're willing to lose a week's worth of work, back up weekly. If you just spent four intense hours in Photoshop® creating the perfect the company brochure and it's time to go to lunch, now might be a good time. It all goes back to the question, "How much work are you willing to lose?" For most businesses, daily backups are adequate.
    On the other hand, the digital pictures you took on your last trip probably aren't changing, so backing up (one or more copies) once should be sufficient.

What are my options?

    There are several factors to consider when deciding the best back up strategy for you in terms of cost, convenience, and level of protection.

    Another hard drive, including one on a network
    Hard drives are the fastest and one of the most reliable storage devices available. They hold a lot of data and prices have become pretty reasonable. An extra hard drive is excellent for quick backups done throughout the day at crucial points in your work, or general backup. They also provide additional disk space, something none of the other options offer. It's better to use an external drive than a second internal drive. If your computer dies and your only backup is on a disk inside, you can't access anything you backed up. An external drive could be connected to another computer. An extra hard drive does not address the need for offsite backups, and we recommend offsite backups.
    CD-Rs, CD-RWs, and DVD-Rs
    Recordable (CD-R), rewritable (CD-RW) CDs, and recordable (DVD-R) DVDs offer lots of cheap storage that can be accessed quickly and easily, and they can be stored offsite easily.
    Zip disks
    A backup strategy based on Zip disks offers some of the advantages of one based on recordable CDs, and adds a couple. If your Mac came with a Zip drive, you don't have to buy anything but the disks.
    Tape
    Tape drives are a long-respected backup medium. The tapes are relatively inexpensive and hold a lot of data. They are best suited to businesses that use a program such as Retrospect to do automatic backups, usually at night, and they are a backup-only device. The disadvantages of tape are that it is slow, you don't have random access, you'll need archiving software to use them, and you can't use tapes for anything else, such as sharing files with a friend.
    Floppies
    Unless you have an older Macintosh and the only thing of value is that autobiography you've been writing, floppies are not a good option. Even if you have a floppy drive, floppies are notoriously unreliable and they don't hold very much. If you still want to use floppies to back up files, at least make multiple copies in case one becomes unreadable.

 


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