Backing up your Computer

Backing up your Computer
Tips & Tricks
Yesterday
by Anonymous
Yesterday,
All those backups seemed a waste of pay.
Now my database has gone away.
Oh I believe in yesterday.
Suddenly,
There’s not half the files there used to be,
And there’s a milestone hanging over me
The system crashed so suddenly.
I pushed something wrong
What it was I could not say.
Now all my data’s gone
And I long for yesterday-ay-ay-ay.
Yesterday,
The need for backups seemed so far away.
I knew my data was all here to stay,
Now I believe in yesterday.
Why backup?
To prevent data loss in the event of:

Hard drive failure

Other mechanical failure

Accidental data deletion

Fire, flood, or other disaster
What to backup
On a PC

Under C drive
Beloit College Network folder (Eudora mail)
Your user folder under Documents and Settings

Any other folder you have documents stored
in
Beloit College
Network folder and
user folder under
Documents and
Settings on a PC
What to backup
On a Mac

Your user folder

Any other folder you have documents stored
in
User folder on a Mac
Types of Backup Media
Floppy Disk

Older technology

1.44 MB of storage per
disk

Not generally
recommended for
backing up
Types of Backup Media
Zip Disk

Not widely used
anymore

100 MB-750 MB of
storage per disk

Need internal or
external Zip drive
Types of Backup Media
CD (Compact Disc)

700 MB of storage per
CD

More stable than a
floppy or zip disk

Need a CD burner to
burn information to the
CD
Types of Backup Media
DVD (Digital Video Disc)

4.7 GB of storage per DVD

8.5 GB of storage for
double sided DVD

Need a DVD burner to burn
information to the DVD
Types of Backup Media
External Hard Drive

Varied storage
capacity

Plugs into computer
via USB or FireWire
cable
Types of Backup Media
USB Drive

Also known as thumb drive
or flash drive

Varied storage capacity
(from 128 MB to 16 GB or
more)

Easy to use and portable

Need a USB port to use
Backup Media Pricing
1.44 MB Floppy Disk (10 pack) =
Seagate 250 GB USB 2.0 External
$2.14*
Hard Drive = $134.95**
100 MB Zip Disk (3 pack) =
Seagate 300 GB USB 2.0 and
$11.97*
Firewire Hard Drive = $199.95**
52x 700 MB CD-R (100 pack) =
SanDisk Cruzer Micro 1 GB USB
$22.00*
2.0 Flash Drive = $32.95**
16x 4.7 GB DVD-R (100 pack) =
SanDisk Cruzer Micro 2 GB USB
$32.99*
2.0 Flash Drive = $57.95**
* Pricing for most popular items at
http://www.pricegrabber.com
** Pricing for selected items at
http://www.academicsuperstore.com
How to backup
Decide what you want to backup

Any data that you can’t afford to lose should
be backed up
Data files, email files, contacts, internet favorites,
iTunes library, etc.
How to backup
Organize the data you wish to back up

It will be easier if your files are in as few
locations as possible

Try to save to the My Documents folder on a
PC or the Documents folder on a Mac
How to backup
Decide how you want to back up

Copy your files (drag and drop or copy and
paste) to an external drive (hard drive or USB
drive)
How to backup

Use a DVD/CD burning program to copy your
files to a DVD or CD
PC Instructions
http://www.beloit.edu/~isr/pdf_howtos/Burning_CD
_DVD_PC.pdf
Mac Instructions
http://www.beloit.edu/~isr/pdf_howtos/Burning_CD
_DVD_mac.pdf
How to backup

On a Windows XP Professional PC you can
use the Backup Wizard under All
Programs>Accessories>System
Tools>Backup
Backup Wizard Instructions
http://www.beloit.edu/~isr/pdf_howtos/Windows_B
ackup_Wizard.pdf
Other Backup Options
(*reviews and pricing from http://www.pcmag.com)
Norton Ghost 9.0
http://www.symantec.com
“Norton Ghost captures your entire hard disk into a
single image file and brings peace of mind when things
go bad. New incremental image creation and image
viewer make it a decent option for single file and folder
restore as well. “
Price = $69.95
Other Backup Options
(*reviews and pricing from http://www.pcmag.com)
Alohabob PC Backup 6.0.9.10

Pros: “Intelligently finds documents stored in
unusual places on a drive. Backs up settings.
Burns compressed backups directly to CD or
DVD.”

Cons: “Won’t create a full system restore.”

Price = $49.95
Other Backup Options
(*reviews and pricing from http://www.pcmag.com)
Mozy Remote Backup 1.6 (beta)
http://mozy.com

“2GB of online backup free; low rates for more. Can get
additional free space by referring others to the service. Tracks
changes in background. Backs up automatically. Retains
multiple versions of files up to 30 days. “

Unlimited storage = $4.95 per month

Automatic, continuous backup

Windows platform only
Other Backup Options (for the
Mac)
* from http://maczealots.com/articles/backup
Synk http://www.decimus.net/synk/

Incremental backups, control of file deletions, rules, scheduling, and a
log.

Non-profit = $20.00; Commercial = $40.00
Deja Vu http://propagandaprod.com/dejavu.html

Scheduled or Manual backup

Bundled with Toast 6 or Single license = $24.95
Time Machine
http://www.apple.com/macosx/leopard/timemachine.html

Coming with Mac OS X Leopard

Complete system backup

Backups stored by date
Backup Storage Options
Depending on how important the data is,
you may want to consider:

Making several backup copies of the data

Storing at least one copy in a different
location than the original data

Backing up frequently
Restoring Data
Copy the files from external storage media back
to your computer (using drag and drop or
copy/paste)
Use the Windows Backup Wizard to restore your
data (if it was backed up this way)
Use the Restore function of the backup software
used
Questions?