Why Should I Backup My Computer?

Backups provide insurance against the loss of data due to hard drive failure, human error, or a computer virus. This loss can occur at any time. Backups also allow you to return to older versions, to free up space on your hard drive, and to transfer files from one computer to another.
 

How Often Should I Backup?

You should back up your data as often as you use your computer. If you use your computer every day, you should back up every day. If you only use your computer once a week, you should back up once a week. When deciding on your backup routine, ask yourself this question: How many days would it take for me to recreate my current hard drive if I were to lose everything right now?
 

Tape Versus DVD Backups

The best source for information on backups is the user's manual that comes with your backup software, but what if you don't yet have a backup solution? Really, your choices today are a tape drive or a DVD Writer. The most important aspect when choosing a backup medium is how much data do you need to back up. For large backups where you need to back up more than 8 GB compressed, you will need to use a tape drive. If you back up less, then you can opt for a faster solution. DVD backups are faster to make and faster to restore. For our clients that switched to 4 GB DVD backups, the time to back up all the data has dropped from between 40 and 90 minutes down to less than five minutes. Of course, the ability to do a fast backup or restore is a great benefit.

They have found other benefits as well. The disks are cheaper than the tapes. A spindle of 25 DVD+RW by TDK costs less than most tapes. Even a double/dual layer DVD-RAM (8 GB) disk is still cheaper than a tape. The data can be zipped into a single archive file for each backup making them easy to locate and restore without worrying about catalogues or waiting for the tape to wind. Since they are zip files, it is trivial to find a certain file within the zip file and extract it. Restoring a single file went from a 5 to 10 minute procedure to less than one minute. For many of our clients, the data set is usually small enough that it takes months, if not years, to fill each DVD. Once full, it just has to be cleaned off, so it can be reused. As an added plus, an external drive can easily be used to back up more than just the server. Just plug it into any computer that has a USB port. Finally, the backup software is available free off the Internet. If less than 8 GB of compressed data has to be backed up, DVD is the way to go.
 

What Kind of Backup Should I Use?

Most backup software programs offer several type of backup: Full System, Automated, Modified Files Only, and Selective. Use whatever combination of backups meets your particular needs.

Full System Backup backs up your entire system including all your computer's local hard drives and your registry files. The registry files are part of Windows 95/98 and are necessary for your system to work properly. You will need to have a backup of the registry files in order to recover from a system crash. You don't need to perform a Full System Backup each time you make a backup, but you should do one the first time you make a backup, thereafter at regular intervals, and whenever you install new hardware or software.

Automated Backup offers the easiest way to setup a backup routine. This feature lets you schedule a Full System Backup to occur at convenient times, such as over lunch or after work hours. Once the schedule is set, leave a tape in the drive, leave your computer on, and the software does the rest. You can also schedule other types of backups and operations.

Selective Backup backs up the files or drives you select. Keep in mind that a Selective Backup does not make a copy of your system registry. A backup of a drive or files ensures that you have a copy of your program and data files and will be able to get back to work quickly if you accidentally delete a file. 

Modified Files Only Backup backs up only those files that have changed or been added since the last backup. This type of backup saves time and tapes since you are backing up fewer files each time. The disadvantage is that restoring a file might take longer, since you may have to look at more than one tape to find the most current version of the file.

Backup Strategy: First do a Full System Backup. Then the simplest and fastest backup strategy is a weekly Full System Backup with daily modified backups. It is recommended that you never overwrite your last backup with your current backup.

The above information came from a backup software manual: Colorado Backup User's Guide by Cheyenne c 1996.

Note: Baker and Associates data files are stored in the Baker directory on the server's C: drive or D: drive.