How to backup and archive your files
Shop now for USB, Hard Drives and Computers >
If you’re not backing up your important files, you could lose everything in the blink of an eye.
All hard drives fail, it’s just a question of when. They should last for years but you never know, not until it’s too late. Think of backups as your insurance policy, especially for files which can never be replaced. Years from now, there will be plenty of people with no baby photos to show at their 21st birthday, because their entire digital life was lost. If you’re not backing up your precious files, you’re sitting on a ticking time bomb.
What should I backup?
The more precious your files are, the more effort you should put into protecting them.
It’s vital to backup your family happy snaps and home movies, because they can never be replaced. Keep a copy offsite, even if it’s just a CD kept at a friend’s house. Falling storage and bandwidth prices might make it practical to store another copy online.
Next focus on important documents such as tax records, business reports and school assignments - especially if you run your own business. You also might want to backup your email, calendar and contacts, especially if you don’t keep a copy on your mail server. Make regular backups so you don’t lose too much if you’re forced to revert to an earlier version.
Also consider backing up your music and movie collection, as such things are expensive to replace.
Where are my files?
Always save files in your My Documents folder, or a folder within, so it’s easy to back them up.
If you’re running Windows XP, your My Pictures, My Videos and My Music folders should all be in your My Documents folder. Under Windows 7, they’ll be alongside your My Documents folder.
Not all your precious data will be stored in these folders. Check where your email, contacts, calendar and bookmarks files are stored. For example, by default under Windows XP, Microsoft Outlook stores its data in C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. The Local Settings folder is hidden by default, but you can change this by opening Windows Explorer and clicking Folder Options on the Tools menu. Now click on the View tab, look for Files and Folders under Advanced Settings and then select Show hidden files and folders.
Burning desire
Burning your files to disc is one of the easiest ways to backup.
Most computers include a CD/DVD burner, but you can add an internal LG GH22NS50 DVD Burner or an external Toshiba SuperMulti DVD Burner. You’ll fit around 4.3GB of data on a blank write-once DVD-R disc, plus you’ll find more expensive re-writeable DVD-RW discs. Upgrading to a Blu-ray burner offers 25GB on a BD-R disc, although DVD is more cost-effective.
Super storage
If you’re after more than 16GB of storage, a USB hard drive is probably more cost-effective than a stick.
Look for connectivity options such as USB2/3, Firewire 400/800, eSata and Thunderbolt, depending on what your computer offers. You’ll pick up a 1TB USB hard drive for a song, such as a WD My Book Essentials or a Seagate GoFlexDesk. If you’re after a drive to use on the road, look for something which is USB-powered rather than requiring its own power supply.
Open all hours
Rather than attaching to any one computer, a Network Attached Storage drive connects to your home network - via Ethernet or Wi-Fi - and is constantly available to all your devices.
You’ll find a range of basic Ethernet-enabled drives such as the WD My Book World 1TB.
If you want to use your network drive as a central media library, look for models with a built-in DLNA and iTunes server. They’re designed to easily stream content to devices around your home. If your library is on your computer, you can run DLNA server software.
Source: TechLiving Magazine: Issue 9 – Spring 2011
