| |
| |
|
Data Recovery Information |
|
|
|
Backing Up Personal Computers
Backup on business computers is typically not the user's concern unless it's a small business. A business should have a policy in place for managing backups especially due to Sarbanes - Oxyley. Four options for backing up:
Two options for what to back up:
Personally, I use an external hard drive (this is a 120 gig hard drive, they also have 20 gig, 40 gig, 60 gig, and 80 gig available. I suggest getting one that is 20 gigs bigger than your hard drive.). It saved me when my computer had to be reformatted a few months ago. Typically, the hard drive is supposed to be rebootable and load everything back exactly as it was before the crash. Obviously, that didn't happen. It worked out for the best because some of my system files were bad. The hard drive still had my data files and programs. First, I referred to my latest copy from Belarc Advisor. This is a free program that lists all the applications on your computer. Since I don't have a CD of every program I use, this was handy. Using this list, I reloaded all applications first starting with the most important working down to the least important. It takes time to load everything, so you won't want to reload everything in one sitting. As soon as an application was reloaded, I copied all of its data files from the external hard drive back on the computer. I try to keep all of my data files in as minimal folders as possible. That is where My Documents, My Music, and My Photos comes in handy, but I hate those names. For the most part, I have /docs, /media (with subfolders for music and photos), /sites (for Web-related docs). Keeping data files in as few folders as possible makes it easier to keep them organized and to find them when you need to restore data. Programs like Norton's Ghost, AlohaBob, and NTI Backup Now are useful for creating and managing back ups. Using a RW-CD and tape back up are also viable solutions. I prefer the external hard drive since I don't have to use an external media like a tape or CD. No sitting around and waiting for the CD or tape to fill up and inserting the next one. Thumb drives (portable hard drives) are helpful, but typically can't hold enough if you have as much data as I do. It's great for critical data and data that you need at all times. When buying a USB drive, make sure you have USB 2.0 not 1.1 as most the drives require 2.0. At a minimium, back up your data files - the products of your work. Have a copy of these file somewhere other than your hard drive. Ideally, I'd like to back up my data on a network server because:
However, storage is not cheap enough for personal use just yet. I am sure it's one of the future options we can expect to become a regular part of safe computing. Meryl K. Evans is the Content Maven behind meryl's notes, eNewsletter Journal, and The Remediator Security Digest. She is also a PC Today columnist and a tour guide at InformIT. She is geared to tackle your editing, writing, content, and process needs. The native Texan resides in Plano, Texas, a heartbeat north of Dallas, and doesn't wear a 10-gallon hat or cowboy boots.
MORE RESOURCES:
Data-Recovery - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
3 Ways Computers Can Hurt Your Ministry - Part 1 - Ineffective Data Backups Our computers have become almost indispensable ministry tools. What would you do if the worst happened and you had to function without your computers? Would your ministry survive?This article is the first in a 3-part series on how to protect your ministry from serious computer-related loss. How To Use Spyware Elimination Software Spyware elimination software is designed to detect and eliminate spyware. A large number of spyware elimination software products are available. The Importance Of Email Backup Viruses, software failures, power failures, human errors, hard drive failures are only a few examples of what could destroy the data on a hard drive, including all documents, pictures, emails and other files!Most home computer users don't need an expensive backup solution; as they only need to burn the folders with important documents and pictures to a CD-RW from time to time; this ensuring that in case of a disaster they can easily get them back. Togeder with documents and pictures, it's a critical operation to save the emails, attachments, address book and other important data from within the email client; otherwise in case of a computer problem the user will find himself in the impossibility to get them back, and this can be a really unwanted situation especially for webmasters or people who rely on their emails. Disaster Recovery- Managing the Risk Helping your business survive in the event of an unforeseen disaster: Most business failures are not from bad business but from bad business practices.Most companies that fail are the ones that have not planned how their business will continue to function in the event of a disaster. Data Backups - One Key to Business Survival Your customer data is a precious resource that can literally be worth its weight in gold! If used properly, it can be mined over and over for additional sales and referrals. Do you use this gold mine to increase the profitability of your business?You should! It can mean the difference between business survival and failure. When Disaster Strikes: How Long Would Your Business Survive if Files On Your Computer Disappeared? A Tornado? In Birmingham? In The United Kingdom? Unthinkable!Yes, in July 2005 (while I was putting finishing touches to my cave-house in Spain) my house, along with many of my neighbours' houses was struck by a powerful tornado that literally tore up the streets. Leaving people homeless as their homes were bulldozered (with all their possessions inside). Computer Data Backup - Data Backup Solution Will Give You A Peace Of Mind Imagine that you have been working on a file for the entire day and there was a power surge that caused your computer to 'black out'. It would have been a frustrating experience for us as we had put in a lot of time and effort into it. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Selecting A Business Continuity Strategy The risk analysis and business impact analysis have identified risks to key business functions. Also, the potential impacts and probabilities of these risks as well as the costs to prevent or mitigate damages and the time to recover will have been established. Its All In The Planning - Surviving Disaster ITS ALL IN THE PLANNING - PREPARING FOR THE UNTHINKABLE* Make it clear who needs to do what, and who takes responsibility for what.* Appoint deputies for key roles. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - Business Impact Analysis Business impact analysis is a critical part of the business continuity planning process. This step quantifies data and gets into the real world issue of potential losses that can negatively impact your business. Avoiding Hard Disk Data Recovery Services As a home computer owner, one of the greatest threats to your information and to your wallet, is hard disk failure. When your drive crashes, you will quicky realize how valuable the information you can no longer access is. Data Backup for Beginners It's 10pm. Do you know where your data is?Data. Big Time Disaster Recovery Solutions Available for the Little Guy There was a time - not too long ago - that Data Disaster Recovery solutions were available only in the domain of multinational corporations and big business in general. However, with the proliferation of high speed internet access and the ability to store large amounts of data in a much more cost effective manner due to plummeting storage costs, the ability to perform a secure backup of data to a remote location engineered specifically for the purpose of securely storing massive amounts of information is now in the reach of the general public. Learn How To Make Data Backup Over The Internet! Why should you backup your data on the Internet?There are several reasons.* The backup is located at a secure place for away from your computer. How to Effectively Back Up Your Data What to backup, and what to loseThe oldest "computer expression" is that there are two kinds of computer users, those that backup their data and those that will. Often, it takes a "data disaster" to compel otherwise responsible people to make a regular habit of backing up their data. Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery - A Business Not a Technology Issue Hackers, hurricanes, fires, flooding, power outages, denial of service attacks, application failures, employee error, sabotage and now terrorism are helping companies to focus on the necessity of a business continuity plan.Through the late 1990s as companies prepared for Y2K, many IT executives, risk managers, CFOs and corporate managers realized that recovering computing systems, networks and data was not enough. Do You Have The One Key Ingredient Necessary For Disaster Recovery? It is not rocket science, we all know that we should have a disaster recovery plan in place for our business regardless of its size. When disaster strikes, it seldom discriminates on the size of the company. Do I Really Need To Backup? Okay, computers a machine, right? Okay, maybe not yours. You have this special relationship, but that a subject for another article. Data Backup Solution: Why You Need a Backup Plan in Place - Part 2 In the first part of this article series, I talked about the three main threats to the data on your computer. I talked about the need for a data backup solution that protects your data properly. Protect Yourself Before Your Hard Drive Crashes Almost everyone who has used a computer has experienced a hard drive problem at some point. Are you prepared to lose your data? If your hard drive crashes right now, do you have an action plan to follow?Most people get complacent about protecting the data on their computers.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
