Computer Backups - Backup your computer often for your peace of mind

Without proper Computer Backups of your data what will you do if you are invaded by a virus or your hard drive crashes?

Just think...

After stacking virus scanner software on top of spyware scanners, scumware scanners, hijack protection, adware scanners, pop-up killers adding a nice hardware (or software) firewall and then hiding behind proxies and/or anonymizers we could be lulled into thinking that our information is safe, right?

Wrong! Even though we probably won't even see a virus or any sort of threat coming near our computer through all those protective measures we still run the risk of losing our valuable data (information, pictures, music, etc.).

Like all sensitive electrical equipment computers are very prone to hardware failure. If you consider that a PC is made up out of at least two dozen different 'hardware' components it should come as no surprise that any of these can fail at any time. Even if you do not touch your computer at all and always keep it at the perfect temperature the computer components will eventually wear out and fail.

Then add to the mix that there are generally a good amount of 'software' components like your operating systems (which is generally made up out of hundreds of separate programs). Any of which can potentially trigger your computer to crash and cause irreparable damage to your files.

A wise man once said that if computers were cars they would drive a thousand miles to the gallon at near infinite speed and once a year would explode killing everyone inside them.

With this in mind we are forced to consider alternatives to protecting our computers and the best way to protect ourselves from the inevitable is to simply make copies of what we want to keep.

In the wonderful world of computers such a copy of important files/information is known as a backup (a way to back up and start over again from a specific point).

All major companies and home users that value their files should make a copy whenever they feel this is needed. Some make a copy every week and others only have to this once a year.

The rate at which we should consider making backups is dependant on our computer habits, if we do a lot of work on our PCs that is critical to our job or simply download a lot of things worth saving then regular backups are a must.

If on the other hand we only use the computer to browse the internet and chat once in a while then a backup may not be important at all.

However knowing when to backup is not nearly as important as knowing what to backup. Some people take the time and effort to back up their entire system and will often end up copying the flaws and mistakes of their system as well. Unless there is a specific reason to back up the entire system the average computer user should concentrate on important information such as documents, address books and other things they need on a day-to day basis. Anything other than that will simply end up never being used again (which isn't necessarily bad) or will take up too much space.

Today's modern environment allows for data being backed up in many ways and onto different 'volumes' (storage methods). One or more of the methods described below can be used to store data and it is often recommended to consider making multiple backups on different volumes and storing them in different locations.

All this may seem like madness when preparing for a backup but you will without a shadow of a doubt thank yourself for doing it right in the event of a critical computer failure.

Below you will find a short listing of possible backup volumes followed by a short description of each:

1. Floppies
2. Additional Hard drive
3. CD/DVD writer
4. Tapes
5. Memory sticks
6. Online backups

Backup your computer data to Floppies

Over the years the floppy (named after its ancient counterpart which would actually flop when wobbled) has turned into a fairly unused medium for backups. Given the fairly limited space on floppies and their relative low shelf life (their quality will degrade even when stored under good conditions) the floppy is no longer a recommended method of making backups.

It does however allow us to quickly make a backup of an important document without having to waste a larger volume to store a small amount of information. Making backups of so-called boot-disks (disks that will allow you to start up your PC again in case of failure) however can ideally be done on floppies.

Backup your computer data to an Additional Hard drive

All your precious information is stored on a hard drive (HD for short) where it can be used by your PC. Since on a HD failure only the HD in question will fail it is often a good idea to make sure that all your data that is stored on one hard drive is also stored on a second hard drive. If either drive fails you always have the other drive to fall back on saving a lot of time on restoring the back ups.

Unfortunately having a second hard drive installed in your PC purely for the purpose of storing your data all over again may be a slightly expensive solution. Nor does it protect against viruses or worms that can spread from one HD to another (unless you take the second drive out of the computer after you make the backup that is!).

Despite these minor drawbacks additional hard drives are often used to hold backups for things that need to be restored in a matter of minutes.

Backup your computer data to a CD or DVD writer

CDs and DVDs are generally considered to be the most popular methods of making backups. With CDs storing around 700MB of data and DVDs easily exceeding this number they allow for most information to easily be stored. Even though CD and DVD rewritable's (re-usable CDs and DVDs) are generally more expensive than one time use CDs and DVDs they can be the ideal form to make a backup and later replace that backup with a newer version.

If you have decided on making your backups on CDs or DVDs it comes highly recommended to make multiple backups. CDs as well as DVDs can easily become damaged through carelessness or accidents (such as a child using it as a frisbee) and can also be lost fairly easily in large stacks of unrelated CDs and DVDs (especially when left unmarked).

Backup your computer data to Tape

Not many people own a tape drive, but these are often used by companies to do large amounts of backups. Tapes are easy to re-use and have a fairly long life span if treated appropriately. Tapes also are hardly ever used for anything else than backups and as a result do not have a tendency to be abused for other purposes. Tapes are generally slow when it comes to making backups but make up for this by providing flexible sizes and good re-usability.

Backup your computer data to a Memory stick

USB memory sticks have recently enjoyed a drastic increase in capacity. Where USB memory sticks used to only be able to store a maximum of 32MB they now can store an impressive 5GB (which is considerable for something that size).

This could well make the USB memory stick a more popular method of storing backups. The USB memory stick is 100% re-usable and easy to store. Unfortunately this easy storage is also its main drawback. Being only slightly bigger than a regular ball-pen they have a tendency to lead their own life and disappear behind desks, in piles of papers or even into other people's pockets (a sad but not to be underestimated fact).

Backup your computer data to an Online Backup Service

The last, but definitely not the least method of making backups of your system, is the online backup. Storing all your information online has the wonderful advantage that you can access your backup from anywhere in the world provided you have an internet connection.

Online storage space has become a cheap and reliable means of storing your data and can not be lost or otherwise damaged.

Companies that provide online storage space for a nominal fee will generally guarantee your data to remain where you put it and will even go as far as to backup your data effectively creating a backup of your backup.

Whatever method you may decide to use for your backups it is always wise to consider multiple methods of backing up your data. You could even go as far as to categorize your data storing the most important data and the not quite as important data on different volumes. Regular backups will help you recover from critical crashes, hardware failures and even viruses that seem to be resistant to your removal attempts.