Backing up your computer

Our reliance on computers has increased exponentially in recent years. This reliance has also introduced a dangerous vulnerability. What would you do if for some reason the next time you switched on your computer everything was gone? Not a good situation for anyone to be in, would you be able to get it all back?

There are many reasons why you could end up losing data, such as hardware error, virus and theft - any of which could happen to anyone at any time.

The time and money spent backing data can easily be justified when you think about the consequences of losing everything.

What do I backup? There are two parts to your computer that you can backup. Firstly there is all of your personal data such as your documents and pictures. Secondly there is the system which comprises of the operating system and your programs. The absolute minimum you should backup will be your personal data. This will enable you to migrate your data to a new system should your old system fail. However most people rely on a range of programs and reloading and configuring these on a new system will prove to be a laborious task. By backing up your entire system you have the option to restore your entire system onto new hardware enabling you to go from a blank system to your system in one easy step.

What do I need to make a backup? Firstly you will need some hardware to create your backup on such as a CD burner or external hard disk. Secondly you will need a program to run the backup such as Norton Ghost or Acronis Drive Image.

How do I backup? If you have the right kit configured correctly backups can be a completely automated task simply requiring you to leave the machine on. Backups are normally made daily. At the start of the week a full backup is taken and then for the rest of the week only the changes you make are backed up.

Depending on how valuable the data that you are backing up will determine how often to run the backup. If you have valuable data changing regularly then you will want to backup daily.

To help make sense of the hardware backup solutions available this advisory will explain each one of them briefly.

CD Writers
CD Writers represent the entry level backup device. The cost of CD writers has dropped considerably recently and will no doubt continue to do so, due to the growing popularity of DVD. CD writers have enough capacity to store personal data such as e-mails, documents, pictures and music. It is possible to backup a whole computer to CD but it usually takes many hours and requires many CDs. Depending on the type of CD writer and CD you have the option of using each CD once or many times. CD writers also have the ability to copy music CDs.

DVD Writers
DVD writers are replacing CD writers. DVD writers offer the same features as CD writers with the added benefit of being able to write to DVD's. A DVD disk allows you to store much more data as it has between five to ten times the capacity of a CD depending on makes and models. DVD writers also allow you to make a copy of virtually any DVD movie.

Tape Drives
This is the traditional way to backup data. Tapes have a massive capacity and are durable and easy to transport off site. Tape backup is notoriously slow and is often run overnight to minimise disruption. Tape backup is excellent for business wishing to backup a whole network of computers. Home users would be hard pushed to justify tape backup as a viable option.

External Hard disks
External hard disks are increasing in popularity and offer excellent recovery options. External hard drives use the same hard disks found in desktop and laptop computers. The disk is housed in its own casing that connects to your desktop or laptop via a USB or Fire Wire connection. Using an external hard disk allows you to store an exact copy of another disk or store several disks in compressed backup format

Software

The computer doctor recommends two backup software titles. Symantec Norton Ghost and Acronis True Image. Both offer a feature rich package capable of performing all required backup tasks. Both packages allow you to make a complete backup of your computer and schedule incremental backups to ensure your backup is kept up to date.

Summary

Device	Cons	Pros	Ideal for
CD Writer	Smallest capacity of all devices. Relatively slow write speeds	Cheaply available backup media. Standard on many new PCs	Backing up documents, music pictures.
DVD Writer	Relatively slow writing speed.	Copies CD and DVD's. Larger capacity than CD.	Backing up movies, music, documents, pictures.
Tape drive	Expensive initial hardware costs	Cheap media for backing up vast amounts of data	Backing up entire systems
External Hard disk	Your PC will need to support USB2.0 or Fire Wire 1394	Fast backups. Easy disaster recovery. Can be used for more than one computer.	Backing up entire systems.

Access to a CD writer has to be an absolute minimum to offer backup protection. Bear in mind though that you will be only able to backup your own documents, emails and music. DVD writers allow you to back up much more onto a single disk. Backing up a whole hard disk to DVD can be time consuming and may require many DVD's. External hard disks offer great flexibility. In most situations you will be able to have an exact replica of the drive in your computer and also incremental backups stored on an external hard drive.

If you are unsure of how to backup then contact the surgery to arrange an appointment to learn. Alternatively let the doctors manage your data backups with a regular service contract.