Computer Safety: How to Backup Data

May 24th, 2008 Posted by Edy
in Category Computer Security, Computer Spot, Computer Tips |

Regular backup of data on your personal computer is an important part of safe computing. No matter how cautious you are in protecting your system, it could always run into problems that may cause loss of data.

Since your data is the most important part of the computer, you need to backup data by simply saving copies of important files, information and folders. There are several ways in backing up data, but the easiest for the average PC user is to run a backup option, which is a part of the operating system (Macintosh or Windows).

A number of options are available for storing your backup data. Most people store data on computer’s hard disk, it cannot hold everything you need to save. Your other options include removable media, network drive, or external hard disk drive.

If you plan to backup your data on the hard disk, it is recommended to store the data at a separate partition from the location you’re backing up. For example, your hard disk is divided into drive C and D. If your data is saved on drive C, safely back it up to drive D.

Another option is a zip drive or any removable media. If you don’t require numerous gigabytes for data back up, removable media with 100 to 250 MB per disk can be an excellent safety location.

If you wish to store data on a shared network drive, remember that you will only be limited to the amount of free space the network has. If a shared network drive will not work for you, use an external hard disk drive to store up data.

Majority of data backup programs feature three backup options – full, differential and incremental backup.

A full backup is a process that involves copying all your important data. For this reason, it will require more storage space and a longer time to save the data and if necessary, restore it. Once the full data backup is complete, it is recommended to perform incremental and differential backups at regular intervals.

A differential backup involves saving the files that have been added or changed since your last full back up, while an incremental backup is a process where you save the files that have been added or changed since your last full or differential backup.

Now that you know your options, make sure to backup all the important information you need, so when problems on your PC arise, you’ll just be sitting pretty knowing all your saved data will be unharmed.