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HOW DO I DO A BACKUP?

This question is asked of every technical support rep in the world! Most Techs will hedge a little on that question. The reasons are many, but the simplest answer is either they don't know how to do a backup (kinda scary isn't it?) or they are legally bound not to say (This part is real tricky but here goes. If a tech helps you backup your data and that data turns out later to be damaged, then in all reality you could sue to recover the damages caused by the loss of data. ) This is an OVERSIMPLIFIED answer.

Doing a backup really depends on the operating system. On win95 and win98, there is a built in program of backup. DOES IT WORK? I will not answer that (I take the FIFTH) as I will not disparage any company or way of doing anything. (Boy that's brings back memories of Watergate! YES that is a NON DENIAL, DENIAL)

Time to get back on the subject at hand, there are numerous manufacturers of backup software. all are equally good, and some are just downright outstanding. It is always better to use an application not built in to an operating system. Below I have included some (of 1.3 million!) links to sites that have backup software, depending on the operating system.

There are many programs that will do archive backups for you. This also depends on the operating system you are using. Here are some:

GRS Windows Utilities

Veritas

Computer Associates - CAI

NOVaSTOR Backup Software

But in all reality the easiest way to do a backup is to copy the data from the source directory to the device that you want copy the data to, i.e., CDRW, DVDRW, tape backup drive, Zip or JAZZ drives, a 3.5 Floppy or even another Hard drive. And once again, that procedure is going to depend upon the operating system you are using. The best way is to check the help files (in Windows, START then Click on HELP, then select search wizard. Then just type Copy and Paste). Partitioning a large Hard Drive in to multiple segments is not a good option for backing up of files.

Normally, I use multiple drives an a system. I will put the operating system on one drive (like on P: or D: helps keep out viruses set up to go to C:\Windows) and programs on another. Then I will put all documents and files I want to keep on a third drive or partition of the a second drive. On one of my systems, I have multiple drives and partitions that go from c: to q: with the OS on P:. Just an idea to think about.

What should I backup?

This is a very good question. One answer is to backup everything you don't want to lose. "OK, well what's that?" You will want to backup all files from financial programs, i.e., Microsoft Money, Intuit Quicken, All document files, all database files, etc. To put it simply, ANYTHING that you created and/or saved to your hard drive. To do an effective backup, you will need to know what the file extensions are for your files. What are file extensions?

This page was LAST UPDATED on Thursday, 18 May 2006 05:56:01 +0200

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