Back up your computer files

By DAVID MONCRIEF
The Palestine Herald

March 06, 2008 02:25 am

— Losing one file on your computer can be annoying and inconvenient; losing all the information on your computer can be catastrophic. If you haven't given any thought to backing up your computer drives, you may want to consider doing so. Information on your computer can be lost in many ways. Experiencing a power surge or outage, lightening, a child playing on the keyboard or simply equipment failure are just a few of the causes.
Your first step will be to decide what to backup. A good start would be to have a “laundry” list of the files you consider to be important. You will find that this list will also be valuable if you need to recover a single lost or damaged file. Some recommended files to backup would be financial information, family photos, personal projects, email and email addresses, your Internet bookmarks, any software that has been paid for and downloaded from the Internet, music downloads, business forms and letters, your .com web site, in reality, anything you do not want to loose or cannot replace.
Next you will need to decide on a method to store this information. For this purpose, you will want to use an external storage device. This means the backup storage is not permanently located inside your computer. Some types of backup storage are zip drives, CD-RW discs, DVD-RW discs, USB flash drives, or an online storage service. You will most likely want to use a dedicated software program to accomplish a smooth backup. For those with Windows, this software can be accessed through the Windows XP Backup Utility. If you do not have Windows you can use a purchased program that is designed exclusively for this purpose. Using a dedicated backup software program allows you to select the files to backup as well as create a schedule to regularly backup your computer. All of the methods mentioned above can be accomplished at minimal or no additional cost. However, the use of an independent online backup service may include storage costs as well the cost of the service itself. If you have a .com business, check with your hosting service to see if they provide backup for your site. Some hosting service providers offer client backup at no additional cost. Be sure to get the details on their backup policy such as size limitations and schedule.
For those on the go having your computer backup on a USB flash drive not only offers peace of mind, but also allows you to take all of your computer information with you anywhere, anytime making it possible to work on files at home, office or school. Taking the time to back up your computer on a regular schedule will allow you to recover some, if not all, of your files in the event of a disaster. When you consider how much time you have invested in all of the information on your computer taking a few minutes to back it up can be time well spent.
Have a question or a particular topic you would like to see covered? Send me an email at Moncrief@startel.net. As always, past information from Computer Bytes is available on line at MoncriefWebDesign.com. ‘Til next time, “Happy Surfing.”