Backing Up Your Data:
The most important part of your PC is your data. We tell every customer that you can never backup enough. The number one problem we see with any size business in Eau Claire is the inadequate resource businesses or individuals place in their backup system. It is only when the worst has happened do they feel their costly mistake. Most data if lost is irreplaceable. Although emergency data recovery options are available, these will tend to be expensive and there is no guarantee that everything you want can be restored. A better approach is to start a regular routine of backing up your important data.
Your data should be backed up as often as possible, ideally after every major session on your PC. RAM Technologies recommends that you have a backup set at the end of each business day, a backup set for each week of the month and a backup set for each month of the year. Backup data should be kept offsite just incase of catastrophic event such as fire or tornado.
Media For Your Backups:
Never store your backups on your main hard drive. If you do and your hard drive crashes, your backup files will be lost along with everything else. Ideally, backups of your most important data should not be stored in the same room or even on the same site as the original. Several of the main backup options are described below, listed in the order of their storage capacity.
Mini USB drive (Great for data transfer, never use for data storage.)
(Also known as Flash Drive, Pen Drive, Key Drive) This is a small external drive that connects to your computer through a USB port and behaves like a diskette. Currently, they are available in various sizes ranging from a few megabytes up to 2 gigabytes. USB ports are now standard on modern PCs, so the Mini USB drive is a good way to move files between computers. They have not proven them selves as a reliable backup storage solution.
CD-R and CD-RW (Great for archiving family data on the home PC)
Most computers now come with a CD-RW drive. With a capacity of 650MB on very inexpensive disks, writable and rewritable Compact Discs have become the most popular backup media. However, because CDs were originally designed as a streaming medium for music recording, there are a number of quirks that you may encounter when using them for data backup. Before backing up to a writable CD, make sure that your backup software supports your particular make of CD drive. You also need to use utility software that comes with the CD drive - you can't just write to a CD like you can to a diskette. The Microsoft Backup utility will not write to CD-RW disks, even if they are formatted as data disks. Windows XP has built-in support for CD-RW discs, but in practice this can still be quirky. As with Zip drives, note that 650MB per disk requires a lot of disks for a full system backup, and writing to CD is extremely slow.
DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, (Great for archiving family data on the home PC)
These are all writable versions of 4.7GB DVD disks. They are similar to CD-RW drives but with much greater storage capacity. They developed from streaming video DVDs in the same way that CD-RW developed from streaming audio CDs, and they have similar quirks. An additional complication is that there are three non-compatible standards for writable DVDs. Currently the most popular form of writable DVD drive is DVD-R and the more expensive rewritable DVD-RW. The most recent standard is DVD+R and the rewritable DVD+RW. The "plus" symbol is used instead of the hyphen to represent the technical superiority claimed for this standard. It is possible that either of the two most recent DVD standards will eventually become obsolete, but the high capacity, inexpensive disks make writable DVD an attractive option for data backup.
Tape Backup (Still a viable option for a professional backup solutions)
For the longest time tape backup was the most cost-effective and trusted way of backing up important data. Tape backup offers a large storage capacity and excellent reliability, as well as a relatively low cost per unit of information stored. Many tape backup systems are available on the market still today. They range in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Higher-priced models have larger storage capacity, faster data transfer, and advanced software we proven reliability. Lower-priced models can easily store the entire contents of your PC's hard drive on one tape within a few hours time, but are known to have a high failure rates.
External Hard Drive (Recommended)
Several manufacturers now produce external hard drives that connect via USB, USB2 or FireWire ports with capacities that range from 20GB to 250GB. Backup software usually comes bundled with the drive. External hard drives are fast and offer the convenience of backing up an entire hard drive in one pass without the need to swap a stack of disks in and out. The cost per gigabyte is far less expensive then any other professional level tape backup unit. Currently, an external hard drive is probably the best choice for serious data backup in a home or small business computer system. RAM Technologies recommends purchasing at least two drives rotating them in your backup schedule. Ideally we would like to see three drives, two in a daily backup rotation and one for monthly backup. Remember you can never backup enough! |
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