Data Backup
There are a couple different ways to go about backing up data. You can do whole system backups, or you can just back up individual files. Both methods require some kind of storage device, whether we are talking a physical external hard drive, usb flash memory drive, or even off site “cloud” storage. Cloud storage is when files from your computer are stored on a server that is accessable from the internet. There are pros and cons to both the whole system backup and the individual file backups. Let’s look at some methods.
Whole System Backups - Also called a disk image. When you do this, you are backing everything up. This will include the operating system, installed programs, files and more. Right away, this may sound like a great idea. It works for some people. To do this, there are many different types of software that you can download, or purchase the physical disk. Some software is free to do this and can be downloaded after a quick Google search, while others are paid software only.
Pros - The upside to this is it is a no brainer. You just back up everything and let it go. No thinking of what to backup or even when to back up as usually you can set some kind of schedule.
Cons - Viruses, spyware, and more. That’s right, if you are backing everything up, you will be backing up your computer-slowing malware, junk temporary files, and other stuff you don’t really need but will be taking up space in your back up file anyway. Another downside is that you usually can not just restore one file if needed to complete something before the computer is fixed or if only one file is corrupted.
Specific File Backups - With this type of backup, you will have to manually select which files are important to you, and when to back them up. There is some software that will aid in this kind of backup process, but not many. We recommend just picking your own files. A good idea is just having all of your inportant files in one folder. For example, in Windows 7 you can just back up the entire user folder that contains your downloads, documents, music, pictures, videos, emails, contacts, desktop, and some other folders that are not as important.
Pros - Space saving, you only back up the documents you need, and not that giant “Windows” folder. Also, when you need to recover just one file, or transfer it to a friend or even just to compare versions of a document, it is as easy as opening your backup and clicking on the file. It is all right there.
Cons - You actually have to take a little time and schedule the time to do the backup, it is not automatic. And, you can not back up programs.
Backup Media - CDs/DVDs, hard drives, flash drives, and online storage (Cloud). There are many different options that are all good for different things. If you are looking at doing a full system backup, external hard drives are going to be your best bet because they offer the space to be able to hold the whole image file. When you are picking and choosing your files, you can really use any of the above methods.
Personally, I have used both methods and all different types of media. Currently, I only back up important files and do so both to a cloud-based service (Box.net and Dropbox) and to an external hard drive. Why both? Well, for me, I use the hard drive for things like movies and such that I may not want to be connected online to be able to view and this way I can bring them to a friends house and not worry about their internet connection speed to watch a movie. For all of my important documents, they are stored in the cloud as their servers are made to hold things like that. If one of their hard drives crash, they have all of my documents on other ones for redundancy reasons. That is what works for me, choose your method and enjoy the peace that is having things backed up.