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| Backing up your work - Part 1 |
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PC support #8: Backing up your work, part 1
10th March 2002
C O N T E N T S
----- WHY, WHAT, HOW AND WHEN TO BACK UP
1. What does "backing up" mean?
2. Why should I back up my files?
3. I save all my work on floppy disks, so I'm safe, aren't I?
4. I don't keep files I've finished with. Do I need to back up?
5. What should I back up?
6. How do I back up?
7. What should I use to save my backups?
8. How often should I back up?
----- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
9. Backup media
----- CONTACT DETAILS
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----- WHY, WHAT, HOW AND WHEN TO BACK UP ---------------------
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-- 1. What does "backing up" mean?
To back up you files basically means to take a copy of them for safe keeping. This copy is normally kept separate from the original so that if the original is accidentally damaged or deleted, the backup remains intact.
-- 2. Why should I back up my files?
Used properly, computers have some significant advantages as a means of storing information. They are fast, they can store a vast amount of information, and they can use powerful search tools to help you locate the information, even if you can't quite remember where you saved it. However, information stored on a computer is rather vulnerable to accidental loss or damage. Some examples of the problems you could encounter are:
* Operator error - accidentally deleting or overwriting a file
* Hard disk failure
* File damage caused by a software crash
* A virus which causes file damage
If you back up your files regularly, you can minimise the loss if one of these problems occurs.
-- 3. I save all my work on floppy disks, so I'm safe, aren't I?
Not if that's the only place you save them! In fact, floppy disks are less reliable and secure than the hard disk inside your PC. Floppy disks are now largely obsolete, and I would encourage you not to use them as your main means of storing files. Your hard disk is much faster, safer, more reliable, and can store vastly more information (a typical modern hard disk will hold about 20,000 floppy disks worth!).
-- 4. I don't keep files I've finished with. Do I need to back up?
It's true that some people don't really use their PC as a means of storing information. They do whatever work is required (for example, typing a letter or writing an e-mail), and once its printed or sent they aren't bothered whether it's saved or not. If this is true for you, then backups are not really important. However, with the storage capacity of a modern computer being what it is, it's worth considering keeping old files just in case you want to look back on them.
-- 5. What should I back up?
Basically anything you want to keep and which you can't easily recover from another source. Some examples of things you might want to back up are:
* Letters and other documents you have written
* E-mails you have sent and received
* Pictures you have stored on your PC
* Any other work you have done and saved
Things you would not normally back up include:
* The operating system files (i.e. Windows)
* Programs you have installed on your computer.
The latter do not need to be backed up because they can be re-installed from the original disks, as long as you have them (which you should have!)
-- 6. How do I back up?
This will be the main subject of the next support bulletin. At it's simplest, however. it simply means making a copy of anything important onto whatever backup media you choose.
-- 7. What should I use to save my backups?
There are several choices, depending on your budget and needs. Item 9 in the Additional Information section lists some of the most common media, with their advantages and disadvantages. However, for most people the choice comes down to recordable (or rewritable) CDs or floppy disks. Floppy disks are only suitable if you want to back up a handful of files, so for most people the recommendation would be CDs. Most newer PCs are (or can be) supplied with a CD writer as standard, or they can be bought for around 100 pounds or less.
If you use a CD writer, you have the choice of CD-R or CD-RW disks. CD-R disks cannot be erased or altered, so once they are full, that's it. However, they are cheap - typically around a pound a disk. CD-RW disks can be re-used but are 2 or 3 times the price of CD-R disks.
-- 8. How often should I back up?
Only you can answer this question, as it really depends on what you do with your PC. How much you use the PC, how much information is stored on it, and how important that information is will all influence the answer. A business user with critical records on their PC should really back up every day. For the average home user, though, it need not be so frequent - once or twice a month would be typical. You
basically have to decide how much information you are willing to lose if something goes wrong and base the decision on that.
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----- ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------
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-- 9. Backup media
Here is a list of some of the more common backup media, with their main advantages and disadvantages.
(a) Floppy disks
ADVANTAGES
* Cheap
* Easy to use
* Everyone has a floppy disk drive.
DISADVANTAGES
* Very small, so suitable only for storing the odd
document or two. Anything more and you will need
lots of them.
* Slow.
* Not very reliable.
(b) CD writer
ADVANTAGES:
* Drives relatively cheap, disks very cheap.
* Reasonably fast
* Good capacity (650 MB or more - about 400 floppy
disks worth). For many people, one CD will easily
hold all their work.
* Reliable as long as well cared for.
* Disks are compatible with most PCs.
DISADVANTAGES:
* Not quite as easy to use as some media
* Capacity significantly less than a modern hard disk,
so if your hard disk is really full one disk may not
be big enough.
(c) ZIP disk
ADVANTAGES
* Easy to use (just like a large floppy disk)
* Fairly fast
* A lot larger than a floppy disk (100 or 250 Mb)
* Robust
DISADVANTAGES
* Expensive
* Not really big enough - CDs are a lot larger
(d) Tape drive
ADVANTAGES
* High capacity - some can back up an entire hard disk
* Fast
DISADVANTAGES
* Expensive
* Only suitable for backup - no good for sharing files
with others
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----- CONTACT DETAILS ---------------------------------------
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Chris Livingstone
e-mail: mailto:chris-l@ntlworld.com
web site: http://www.pcparamedic.org.uk |
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