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Comprehensive Guide to Computer Backup Strategies

Learn why and how to back up your computer to protect your data and system. Explore backup types, strategies, tools, and data restoration methods. Be prepared and safeguard your digital assets.

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Comprehensive Guide to Computer Backup Strategies

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  1. Computer Backup Fred Marshall Coastal Computers & Networks

  2. “Back Up” and “Backup” • Back Up: verb e.g. “to back up” • Backup: noun e.g. to create a “backup”

  3. Why Back Up Your Computer? • To preserve your data • To preserve your computer installation • To protect your investment in time • To make reconstruction easier or even possible

  4. Types of Backup • Data file backup - documents / pictures • System configuration backup • Hard drive images • On-line backup (automatic) e.g. Carbonite

  5. Backup Strategies • On-site vs. off-site: what if there is fire or theft? • Frequency: how often to go off site with backup data? • Frequency: how often to back up?

  6. Everything is Preparation • Backup prepares for disaster • Backing up needs preparation too! • Prepare – Implement - Test

  7. Planning the Media • What will be the backup medium: Tape, DVD, another hard drive? • Tape, DVD and portable hard drives are the best candidates for off-site storage. • Hard drives can be good for on-site storage. • On-line backup (e.g. Carbonite) is automatic and convenient and off-site.

  8. Preparing the Data • When you know the medium, you know the size of the individual storage units - CD ~ 650MB - DVD ~ 4.5GB - Tape … 20GB or greater - Portable hard drive … up to 1.5TB • Keep the data: - all in one place on your hard drive

  9. Preparing the Data • Keep the data all in one place • NOT in Windows directory / NOT in Program Files directories • Example for CD backup: C:\Data \My Documents (moved to C:\) \Excel \Word \Outlook Express \Pictures …… etc.

  10. Backup Strategies • Daily backup to a 2nd hard drive (Can run at night) • New backup for each day (becomes 5 or 7 weekly backups) Mon, Tues, Weds,Thurs,Fri • Weekly backup to off-site media Friday backup to CD, DVD or Tape

  11. Data Restoration • Testing the “system” is important! • Make a test file and save it. • Run a backup • Delete the test file from the computer • Restore the test file from the backups

  12. Backup Strategies • Full, Differential or Incremental???? • Compressed or not? • Recommendation: • Remember you have to Restore! • Full backup, not compressed • Best if in recognizable format as the original files – then any computer can read them! • KEEP IT SIMPLE

  13. Backup Strategies • Why do you say: “Don’t Compress”? Doesn’t that save space on the backup media? • Yes, it would save space. • Remember, the compression was done by a program running on your computer. • If the computer crashes, will you have that program available to decompress the backup? • KEEP IT SIMPLE

  14. Backup Tools • Manually Copy the files…. Whew! (native file format) • Built into Windows – add to XP Home • No Hands Backup – download + $19.95 (native file format) • Backup My PC – commercial program (proprietary format) • Windows Scheduler for automatic backups.

  15. Backup Tools • In every case, you need to tell the backup program which files to back up. • That’s why it’s better to have the data all in one place. It’s much easier to “point to it” – the list is shorter.

  16. System Restoration • Before Windows “breaks”: Create emergency boot floppies / emergency repair disks / (various names) Create a restore point in Windows. Create another restore point each time hardware or program install changes. Create a restore point before adding new software (and after).

  17. System Restoration Create emergency boot floppies / emergency repair disks / various names Create restore points in Windows. Do these things even if you don’t know how to use them!

  18. Hard Drive Replacement • Starting from scratch: • Install Windows, all drivers, all programs • Reconfigure dialup and email • Restore Data from backup • Disadvantage: you have to have all the drivers and programs and data. • Easier method: • Replace hard drive image from an image backup. • Disadvantage: if Windows was cluttered, this doesn’t get rid of the clutter.

  19. Hard Drive Replacement • Insurance against catastrophic failure: • Run Norton System Doctor S.M.A.R.T. sensor all the time. or • Run disk manufacturer’s test program from floppies (download from Seagate, Maxtor, etc.) • Often gives time to clone the disk

  20. Hard Drive Replacement • Run Drive Image or Ghost automatically onto a 2nd hard drive. • Provides a disk image ready to go…. • Don’t forget to check S.M.A.R.T. on the 2nd drive!

  21. Fred MarshallCoastal Computers & NetworksIlwaco, WA(360) 642-2073

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