Most people, including me, have awful habits when it comes to backing up. I tend to backup my data fairly irregularly, though I try to get at it every couple of months. It’s less of a big deal for me, because I don’t produce a lot of work that isn’t already on my web server, but the times I have lost data of any sort in the past, have been bothersome. For others though, losing data can be catastrophic, and on more than one occasion, I have been the unfortunate witness to clients suffer through needless concern about their valuable databases and documents which were at the mercy of a laizzez faire policy of backing up.

For our purposes, I am only going to concern myself with backing up data. Data can loosely be considered backing up any file that you read, write, email, modify, and create, whatever. Back in the day, backing up entire hard drives was a relatively doable concept, but these days that isn’t very feasible due to cost and time factors. Additionally, I’ve never met anybody who not only backs up entire hard drives, but can also use that backup if they needed to. So, to heck with it, let’s worry about what really matters.

A good first step towards creating a useful backup copy of your data is getting a grasp of where on the hard drive your data resides. For most people, the best option is to put everything, or as much as possible in one folder on the hard drive. The “My Documents” folder is a good location for Windows users, particularly as many programs store data there already. The “Desktop” is also good for both Windows and Mac users. It really doesn’t matter though, what’s most important is that you know where your data is.

Not surprisingly, for the most part, people don’t know where at least some of their data is. In my experience, the most likely data MIA is email. Microsoft doesn’t make this easy when it comes to Outlook Express and Outlook. Data files for both popular email programs are kept in fairly obscure locations and sometimes even kept as hidden files, keeping them from easily being tracked down. Netscape isn’t much better in this regard. I know that both Outlook and Eudora will allow you to keep your data wherever you want to, but I’m not so sure about Outlook Express or Netscape Mail. Either way, make it a priority to know where your data is, regardless of the program.

The next step in backing up is choosing a device to use. Let’s take a look at the top pretenders and contenders available to most of us.

Floppy Disks

The venerable floppy disk is an old technology, costs next to nothing, and is still available on most PCs. Pro or Con? Well, both. On one hand, cheap, proven and accessible are all good, and then on the other hand, you get what you pay for, they never have been all that reliable, and they are disappearing. In my opinion, if you value your data, you do not use floppies for your primary backup. In any case, unless you only need to back up a few word files or the like, floppy disk will not cut it. With all that in mind, if you do choose to use floppies; make multiple backups, make sure they work, and replace the disks on a regular basis.

Zip Disks

Zips are similar to floppies, and fall into a category called Super Floppies. Zips are sturdier than the floppy, hold 100 to 250 times as much data, and while very expensive compared to super cheap recordable CDs and DVDs, are still affordable. On the other hand, at best they hold 1/3 the amount of a CD, and are past their prime. It wasn’t that long ago that the Zip drive was anointed as the successor to the floppy, now, I suspect that most major manufacturers don’t even offer them as options. While these are not my first choice for a backup media, they are fine if you already have a zip drive and don’t want to switch to CDs. Otherwise, they are a thing of the past.

Recordable CDs and DVDs

It probably comes as no surprise to many of you that these are my device of choice. For the most part recordable CD drives are standard on the computer now and in two years the same will probably be true for recordable DVD drives which hold several times more data. If you don’t already have one, high quality fast CD-RW drives start at around $100. and DVD-RW drives are now available for less than $400. Disc cost is also very low.

Best of all, these can be used for other purposes besides data, including making your own DVD movies and CDs. However, that’s another newsletter.

Tape Drives and Other Devices

Tape drives are more expensive than the other formats, but highly reliable. These also often come with high quality software and some tapes can hold more data than a DVD. I can’t think of any clients I have that really need one of these, but I can think of a few who had them at one time or another.

There are some other devices including external hard drives, raid arrays, and various USB devices that are fairly popular right now but while I would use these for other reasons, including temporary storage, I do not consider them viable for permanent backups.

Finally, we have offsite computer storage. By this I mean uploading your data to another computer at a remote location, a service that Quick Byte, among others provides. I actually think offsite storage is a fantastic secondary backup choice, but should not be considered as a first line of defense. However, if you have very valuable data, this is an excellent choice for an additional level of insurance, and as good component of your backup strategy. That said, next week we will look at some of the more popular software used for backing up and some of the strategies worth considering as part of the whole process. Drop me an email if you think you have anything to say on the subject in the meantime.

Last time, I wrote about backing up, and we are going to continue in that vein with some basic strategies that I recommend for backing up and a review of some of the software options out there. I’m focusing almost entirely on options that pertain to CD/DVD backup going forward, though most of the information can easily be applied to other backup devices. On the other hand, some can’t.

Entire Document (print, email, or web page) Copyright 2004 by Steven M. Lastoe. All rights reserved.