One Last (?) Word About Backups

I have written time and time again about the need for backups of your critical files. Indeed, I do "practice what I preach." I even keep frequent backups of my backups.

This weekend's failure of my Windows Vista computer turned out to be a minor problem for me. To be sure, I haven't used the Vista system much and didn't have anything very important stored on the computer just yet. What data files I did store there were fully backed up the night before.

I only back up data files, not the entire hard drive. If the entire operating system is lost, it can always be reloaded from the original copy. That's what I did this weekend: I reformatted the hard drive and then re-loaded Windows Vista. Even though I purchased a Macintosh computer immediately after the Windows Vista failure, I didn't want to throw the new Vista computer away. I re-loaded Windows Vista and am now back in operation. I'll never trust it again for anything important, but I can still use the Windows system, if I need to.

The same is true for your backup plan. There's no need to back up all your programs. It may be inconvenient, but you can always reload your operating system, word processor, genealogy program, and other applications. In fact, you cannot count on backup files for most Windows programs; in most cases you have to reinstall programs the same way they got on your computer in the first place. Macintosh and Linux users have it easier: applications on those operating systems are easier to restore.

The only thing you need to back up is your data. You cannot easily replace all that genealogy data, family photographs, checkbook data, income tax returns, and other information that you spent hundreds of hours creating.

Now, I'll ask you a question: if you go to use your computer tomorrow and find that it is dead, how much of a disaster will that be for you?

If you have frequent backups of critical data, the failure will be an inconvenience. If you don't have recent backups… well, you can paint that picture in your own mind.

I can think of perhaps a hundred different ways to make backups. Most are cheap and easy methods. It doesn't really make much difference which backup method you select. The critical thing is to HAVE a backup method and to make backups frequently.

You can read some of my previous articles about backups at http://tinyurl.com/2nuwwd.

Comments

[Peter H]

Hi Dick,

Yes, yes, yes. Always backup. However, purchasing a Mac is not a substitute for many and my feeling is that Macs are no better than Win machines. My 87 year old mother has been struggling with her newish Mac for many months both with software and hardware problems. Luckily she bought AppleCare but...she has had an overheating hard-drive replaced and just recently, the power supply. Common problems I'm told.

Don't want to open up the Mac/Win debate but no computer is totally safe and failure will come just when you don't need it. So your advice to backup is totally sane.

Thanks for the articles.

[L. E.]

Yes, regardless of platform, frequent backups of your data (documents, music, home movies, etc.) are essential. The easiest first line of defense is a second hard drive, but that shouldn't be the only strategy. Use CDs/DVDs, flash drives, online storage, etc.; the more the merrier. There's nothing wrong with just dragging your data folders to the secondary drive regularly, but there are plenty of software solutions to make it more automatic. I discuss mainly hard disk backup in detail here:
http://logicalextremes.blogspot.com/2007/04/backing-up-your-data.html

[Cheryl McGregor]

I don't understand, in todays world, why people don't back up. This isn't the 80's with slow tape drives or a million floppy disks. Stand alone hard drives are extremely affordable and my LaCie came with back up software that has a schedule option. I set it up and every week it runs an incremental back up all by itself. I could set it to run every night if I wanted.

Cheryl

[William J Priest]

As a frequent speaker on Disaster Prevention and Recovery, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to copy your important genealogy family files, photographs, and other important word processing, spreadsheet, and database files. But it is also important that you make at least one additional copy, on a regular basis, that is dispersed to a geographic location several hundred miles away. You should also make copies of all your important paper based files also.
Bill

[Judith Arnn-Knight]

Dick--I have no horror story about not backing up, especially after reading yours and others tales. I signed up to mozy.com after your first review for the free backup and, as my files increased, for the paid backup that gave me more storage area. It is LOTS cheaper to pay a pittance for back up than have to try to reconstitute precious data--which I could not in some cases.

Keep up your good work in informing us!

judy

[Barnegat Blummis]

I recently "lost" all my family photos.....over 13,000 photos, many of which were only available digitally on my computer. I have all kinds of backup through our small business' server--- only to discover that the server wasn't 'set' to backup that particular directory! (Our IT person goofed up! A 'pro' who didn't 'know') So it was 'lost' until I brought the drive to a data recovery company and it cost me over $2000 to restore the data. Which I now have. (By the way, there are much less expensive companies out there and many of them do a great job).

I went into COSTCO the other day and found a Western Digital "MyBook" 500gb external backup drive that works with USB2 or with Firewire and has a built-in almost foolproof backup program. I plugged it in and it instantly began installing the backup software. Then I did the 'total' backup. And re-learned the lesson you've been teaching us. Backup. Backup regularly. And TEST YOUR BACKUP TO MAKE SURE IT HAS BACKED UP THE CRITICAL DATA!!! Don't assume that it has.

[Cheryl Rothwell]

I wouldn't blame the crash on Vista. It could have been the Dell [or whatever system you bought].

I keep all data on external hard drives. I started it so everything is off computer if there is a system crash. BTDT. It also allows me ease of use across the network also, not to mention grab and go for hurricanes. My current favorite is WD passport. I prefer to have one for each subject - genealogy, real world work, etc. When I backup the individual passports I do it to a WD My Book. [Anyone have FAST backup software to suggest?]

My concern with backing up more than data is if you have a bug in the system or a program you are backing up the problem.

[T. R. Garner]

I recently started using Windows Live OneCare and notice that it has a backup feature. Have you mentioned it or recommended or condemned it in your column. Thanks. T. R. Garner

[Dick Eastman]

I haven't tried Windows Live backup. I have a different backup process that I use and am quite happy with it so I don't have any motivation to change.

I can think of perhaps a hundred different ways to make backups. Most are cheap and easy methods. It doesn't really make much difference which backup method you select. The critical thing is to HAVE a backup method and to make backups frequently.

- Dick Eastman