Tutor Tips from ... the Computer Tutor

25 May 2006

Backup!

If you have ever wondered how a hard drive stores information, you may be surprised to learn it is done not with smoke and mirrors, but with a slurry of magnets. There is a very thick magnetic soup, if you will, that is responsible for storing all of those bits and bytes comprising your files. To paraphrase Carl Sagan and Gilda Radner, there are literally billions and billions of tiny little, itsy-bitsy, teensy-weensy magnets on the disks inside your hard drive. They are flipped one way and the other to represent the 1s and 0s of computer language. When you think about it, the chances of something going right are astronomical. Still, many of you rely on your hard drive to keep all of your data intact. Silly users!

You must realize that simply saving your data to the hard drive is not enough. It is imperative that you place a copy (or two, or three, or more) on a removable disk or disc and put these media somewhere really safe - like in a safe. This is what we in the business call "backing up." There are many ways to backup your data, as outlined in the Tutor Tip: Backup How To. Things have changed since then and it is time to revisit the subject.

Backing up your hard drive:

What to backup - data, i.e. information you have created. These bits and pieces will vary in importance to you. If you are not concerned about the time and effort it would take to recreate it, don’t bother to back it up. In addition to your data, try to backup account settings, address books, and your browser's Bookmarks or Favorite Places whenever possible.

What not to backup - programs. Since you should have the original discs to all of your programs, there is no need to backup these files. You would have to reinstall the programs in the event of a crash anyway. Make sure you have your product codes and other installation information on paper in a safe place.

Where to backup - permanent, removable, inexpensive media, e.g. compact discs, floppy disks, tape drives (for large quantities of data). Compact discs and DVDs are the best media to use. Recordable CDs (CD-R) are preferred over Rewritable CDs (CD-RW), because more devices can read them. Floppy disks are great for backing up small files on a regular basis.

Where not to backup - flash drives (very fragile), Zip drives (nearly extinct). Flash drives are good for transporting data from one location to another, but can be eaten by your retriever.

How to backup - native format. There are two basic ways of transferring data during a backup. You can use a backup program that compresses the information or you can just copy the files onto the media in their original format. Native format allows you to retrieve the information at any time on nearly any computer without relying upon a possibly-unavailable program. Optical media are not expensive. You can readily put your data in its natural state on a few recordable DVDs (DVD-R) or several recordable CDs (CD-R). Images, such as photographs, do not compress. You will gain nothing by trying to use a compression-based backup program on these files. (See Tutor Tip: Backup How To for more information.)

How often to backup - depends. If the data in question is a letter to Aunt Emily, who writes you once in a blue moon and has not included you in her will, you probably don’t need to back it up. If it is what you hope will be a Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, save every few minutes and back up every time you finish work or even take a break.

What to do with the backup media - Be sure to store the media in a safe place. This does not mean next to the computer where they can be stolen or will melt in the heat of a fire. Consider printing very important material. Safe deposit boxes or other remote storage facilities are recommended. There are also online storage services.

A word about deleting files: When deleted, files go to the recycle bin (a sort of computer purgatory) until you delete them from the bin, empty the bin, or delete enough other stuff that the bin automatically removes the file. Once deleted from the bin, the odds of you retrieving them are very low. Be sure your backups are preformed on a regular basis and be sure to check that the material you placed on the disc actually can be retrieved. Do not rely upon computers to serve you well. They will disappoint you every time.