Getting  Along With Your Computer Column Archive

Backups 101

By Cate Eales
Appeared August 21, 2008 on castanet.net

It used to be that backing up my important information was right up there with doing my taxes or visiting the dentist. All those things are important, and all those things were excruciating. But there's good news! Backing up these days is easy and inexpensive.
 

Why bother to back up?
The only reason to back up is so that you can recover important information. If you don't have anything important on your computer, then you don't need to back it up. However, that's highly unusual.

If, like most of us, you would regret the loss of your email or your address book, your photos, your spreadsheets and letters, your business information, or anything else on your computer, you really should have a copy of those files.


OK, I believe you. Now what?
I have helped many home computer users establish a backup routine. In every case, the first step is to decide what you need to back up and how often you need to do it. Think about what you would regret losing, and how often that information changes. If you use a computer to run your business, and you have contact information, billing information, accounting files or other things that change often, you might want to back up your files weekly or even daily.

Even if you don't use your computer for business, maybe you want to make sure you have another copy of those vacation photos, or tax information, or your email. If that doesn't change often, you can get away with infrequent backups.


I made my decision. What's all this about backups being easy?
It is much easier to do a backup now than it was even a few years ago. Forget about floppies, zip drives, CDs and DVDs. Hard drive storage is cheap. Go get yourself an external hard drive with a USB connection. Plug it into your computer, set up a backup program, and make a note on your calendar to do your backups.

(click image to enlarge it)

Some external hard drives come with backup software, but it is often a trial version that you will eventually have to pay for or replace. I usually recommend one of several good, free backup programs suitable for home users. SyncBack Freeware is a good place to start. The free version gives you the ability to backup or synchronize your files to another hard drive, CD's/DVD's (if you really want to). You can download it here.

If you are running a business, you probably need something more powerful or sophisticated, and you will likely have to pay for a program. SyncBack SE is more powerful, faster, and offers more features including scheduling. It sells for about $35 (CAD). SyncBack Pro is still more versatile, and costs about $55 (CAD). SyncBack SE and Pro are here. There's a comparison chart here.

If you don't like SyncBack, Titan Backup, is a good alternative. It's available here for about $45 (CAD).


Is that all there is to it?
Well, yes and no. That's the basic way to back up, but there are other ways. Programs like SyncBack make copies of your files. If something happened, you could restore the files you backed up.

Another type of backup, called imaging, makes an exact copy of your hard drive, and if something catastrophic happens, you just use the program to put that image back onto your hard drive (or more likely, a NEW hard drive). Acronis True Image is an excellent choice if you want this kind of program. You can learn more here. The program costs about $55 (CAD).

There are also programs specifically for backing up email, like Amic and MailStore.

Whatever program you use, you should make a small, test backup, and do a test restore so you have confidence in the program and your ability to restore from it BEFORE you have an emergency.


If you need help with your backup routine, or with any computer problem, I am here to help you and your computer get along! To set up a visit, or make a comment or suggestion email cate@rlis.com. Thank you to everyone who emailed with questions, comments, and suggestions. You can read previous columns here.  If you'd like to subscribe to this column by email, please visit this link.  It's easy, and free. If you'd prefer the RSS Feed, click here.


Links
SyncBack Free http://www.2brightsparks.com/freeware/freeware-hub.html
SyncBack SE and Pro http://www.2brightsparks.com/products.html
Compare SyncBack editions http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/compare.html
Titan Backup http://www.titanbackup.com/features.html
Acronis True Image http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/
Amic Email Backup http://www.amictools.com/v-amic_email_backup.html
MailStore http://www.mailstore.com/en/
Getting Along With Your Computer Column Archives http://rlis.com/column.htm
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Cate Eales has been helping people make online computing safe, accessible and fun for over 20 years. She lives in Kelowna with her husband, Eric, and her dog, Sandy. Cate is a partner in Real Life Internet Solutions, helping individuals and small businesses with virus, spyware and malware eradication; personal computer training and management; digital image management; music transfer; and website design, hosting and management. Email Cate at cate@rlis.com with your comments, suggestions, or questions. To browse the column archives, visit the Real Life Internet Solutions website at www.rlis.com.

© Cate Eales 2008 – All Rights Reserved
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