Why is It Important to Backup
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Why is it important to backup?
Superheroes need it, police rely on it and everyone that uses a computer should use some form of it. In the world of mainframes and microchips it's called data backup or data recovery and it can mean the difference between a slight computer setback and living through your own electronic apocalypse. 1. Welcome everybody along and thank them for their time So what is this data backup and recovery? Okay this may be obvious to a lot of people but some don't understand the concept. Backup is nothing more than a copy of your files or data in one form or another that you save somewhere so that in the event that you need to recover files or data you can. It can be as simple as copying files from My Documents to a removable drive or CD. And data recovery is the act of retrieving that backup data in the event of a data loss situation. Let's face it; our computers are a bigger part of life than ever before. We shop, work and play using computers. They've replaced stereos, encyclopedias, even the mailman. They've become journals, photo albums and canvases for our art. But computers aren't perfect. Files become corrupt, motherboards malfunction, CPUs call it quits taking our precious data with them. The best defense is data backup. Backing up data is vital for businesses; lost information can cause a major crisis or worse, lead to business failure. Individuals who don't backup computer data run the same risk. While this may not cause financial ruin, it can certainly be frustrating and even heartbreaking. So why do so few of us practice data backup? Here are the common excuses: "I'm too busy to backup my computer." We are busy, work, family and friends fill our days and leave us little time for boring things like computer maintenance. But today's backup software manufacturers make it easy. Through scheduled backups, your system can automatically perform a backup that fits your needs at an interval you choose— without interrupting life. "I don't know how to backup data." Like preparing for a natural disaster, most of us understand how important data backup is, but don't know where to start. A big step is deciding how you are going to store the data you backup.
One option is Removable Backup Media, but this only narrows the field a little. You could buy a million 3.5" discs or perhaps invest in a larger-capacity external Zip drive. You could take the plunge into writeable CDs or stretch out your legs with the help of an external hard drive. Another good data backup option is to backup to an online location, which allows you to backup a file, a folder or your entire hard drive to a separate location online. "My computer won't crash." You've had your computer this long and haven't had problems so far why worry about computer backup now? Think about it you wear your seat belt even though you don't expect your car to crash everyday. Data backup is about protecting your data's future, but with computers, it isn't if you crash, it's when you crash. In today's high-tech world of sneaky spyware and venomous viruses, you are in more danger of data loss than ever before. Computer viruses grew by as much as 11% during 2005 alone.* 2. Why is it important to backup Most people believe the quote, "Hindsight is 20/20 vision". One of the most common visions in computing is how important a backup of vital data can be once your workstation or server hard drive has crashed. Imagine this - you arrive one morning to find that a faulty read-write head has crashed your server's hard disk overnight, rendering it useless. Or a small electrical fire has destroyed part of your office, including your server. This server was used to store customer lists, payroll details, accounting details, purchase orders, inventories and other data vital to the running of your business, built up after years of operation and growth. You find that you were seriously ill-prepared to deal with such a disaster. Virtually all of your business' data had resided in this one location. No copies were made. You are faced with the fact that many years' worth of data has been lost forever. Insurance will replace materials, equipment and office space, but will that be enough to get your business up and running again? Your vital business data can't be claimed on insurance, it can't be replaced with money alone. Would your business survive after significant data loss? Unless you have a good backup system already in place, the statistics are grim... * 43% of companies that experience a severe data loss disaster, and that have no recovery plan in place, never re-open. * 70% of companies that suffer serious data loss go out of business within 12 months.
* It takes 19 days and costs US$17,000 (AUD$22,000) to manually retype 20 megabytes of sales data. The same volume of accounting data takes 21 days and costs US$19,000 (AUD$25,000). 3. Who needs to backup Who here has a computer that they use for their business Who of those people backup up your data How do you currently backup What do you currently backup a. Email b. Files c. Financial program data files d. System state e. Favourites f. Desktop Write answers on a board if available 4. How to backup There are many ways for you to make a backup and plenty of third party software and hardware suppliers offer various solutions for Windows. Some of the more general methods of backup are as follows Simply copying files from one location to another. Zipping or compressing a group of files or folders then moving the zipped file to an alternate location. Using Windows backup to automatically create a backup archive. Third party backup tools and utilities. Disk imaging and cloning software Do demo on computer 5. What to backup to There are a plethora of inexpensive media devices available to the home and business user from CD and DVD writers to removable and external hard drives. One of the primary concerns is economical storage space. This is why CD and DVD writers are popular for small business and home users as the discs are cheap, offer a decent storage capacity, are fairly robust and you can easily keep a back catalogue. Ntbackup of system Ghost image of system when first installed for recovery purposes.
Backup Media Then Not long ago there were only two choices available for backup media: magnetic tape for large backups or 3.5-inch floppy disks for small jobs…that was it. Back then it was simple; if you wanted to protect yourself against data loss, you invested the time and money required to make it work. Backup Media Now In today’s fast-paced world of ones and zeros, magnetic tape still has a home. Because of its stability and massive storage capabilities, magnetic tape is used by corporations to backup terabytes of data every day. But neither magnetic tape nor 3.5-inch disks come close to satisfying the diverse backup needs of today’s small businesses and home computer owners. Backup media for small computer systems must be versatile, inexpensive, fast, and most importantly, easy to use. The challenge in choosing a backup device today isn’t a lack of choice—but, because there are so many options, it’s knowing which one best satisfies your needs. Backup Media Pros and Cons To help you decide which one’s best for you, we’ve listed the most common removable backup media with strengths and weaknesses for each:
3.5-inch Floppy Disks Pros 3.5-inch disks are inexpensive, portable and most computers have the hardware to use them. Cons The 3.5-inch floppy has little backup potential, as single disks only hold 1.44 megabytes (MB) of information (approximately 400 pages of text), making them useful only for backing up small files and folders. They also have slow data transfer speeds, are easily damaged, are vulnerable near magnets and only preserve data for a few years.
USB Flash Drives (Also called pen drives, jump drives, thumb drives, key drives and memory sticks) Pros USB flash drives are fairly new and extremely popular. Two variations are USB 1.0 and USB 2.0; the USB 1.0 stores up to 512 MB and USB 2.0 drives currently hold up to 4 GB (over 4,000 MB) of data. USB 1.0 drives
are good for small backups and USB 2.0 drives are excellent for large jobs. The transfer speeds on USB flash drives are also excellent. A USB 1.0 transfers from 1.5 to 12 megabits per second (MB/s) and the USB 2.0 transfers up to 480 MB/s. USB flash drives are reusable (if you want to store one backup at a time) or can only be used once for archiving. USB flash drives are a snap to install (just plug into a free USB port on your computer), durable and highly portable—fitting into the smallest of pockets. They have up to a decade of data retention and are not vulnerable to magnets. USB 1.0 drives are fairly inexpensive. Cons High-end USB 2.0 drives can be expensive and if you purchase a new USB flash drive for each new archive performed, your backup costs can increase dramatically. Due to their small size, USB flash drives are more easily misplaced.
Zip Drives Pros Zip drives are a "second generation" floppy disk, which some predicted would eventually replace the 3.5-inch floppy disk. Zip disks, are faster, more durable and hold more information than 3.5-inch disks. There are three different sizes of zip drives; 100 MB, 250 MB and 750 MB—all are fine for small backups and are less expensive than USB flash drives. Zip disks can be used over and over for backup or once as archive storage. Zip drives are easy to install and share between computers and are fairly portable—some newer models using USB ports. Zip disks have a data-retention life of up to a decade. Cons In order to use Zip disks, you must also buy the Zip Drive, which can be expensive. Storing several disks can be cumbersome since there isn’t a big selection of Zip storage cases available. Zip disks are not as portable as a flash drives and, unfortunately, are becoming less common.
CD Technology Pros CD burning technology is an especially good media for backup archives. CDs come in two varieties—rewritable CDs (CD RWs), which can be rewritten up to 1,000 times, and CD ROM discs (CD Rs), which are
cheaper than CD RWs, but are limited to one use. Holding between 650 to 700 MB of data, CDs are more than adequate for small backups and have a transfer rate of 3 MB/s for 20x CD drives and 8MB/s for 52x CD drives.* CDs are portable, easy to store and carry and most new computers come with CD burning drives. CDs are an inexpensive backup media, have a 5 to 10 year lifespan and are not susceptible to magnets. Cons If your computer does not have a CD burner, you’ll have to consider the cost of the hardware and installation fee. CDs can become scratched and unusable through mishandling and daily use.
DVD Technology Pros DVD burning technology is a fine choice for small or large backups since regular DVDs can store 4.7 GB and dual-layer DVDs store 8.5 GB. Like CDs, the discs come in both multi-use DVD RW and single-use DVD-R. DVD Rs can be used once for archives or, if you use DVD RWs, you can write to them over and over again (up to 1,000 times). DVD transfer speeds vary from 3.96 MB/s for 3x DVD drives up to 21.13 MB/s for 16x DVD drives.** DVD technology is a good choice if your computer already has a DVD burner since DVDs are inexpensive. DVDs have an incredible data retention lifespan—30 to 100 years—and aren’t susceptible to magnets. DVDs are portable and share many of the same qualities as CDs, including ample storage choices. Cons If you must buy a DVD burner and pay to have it installed, your investment cost rises. If handled improperly, DVDs can become scratched and unreadable.
External Hard Drives Pros External hard drives are hard drives, separate from your computer system, which you can dedicate to backup storage. With a storage capacity of 40 GB to over 250 GB, external hard drives are perfect for the large backup needs. Utilizing USB technology, external hard drives transfer data at speeds up to 480 MB/s for USB 2.0 drives. External hard drives are simple to install—a cord plugs into your
computer’s USB port. External hard drives are portable, self-sufficient storage units that can be taken off-site for storage safety and are a must for anyone serious about large, frequent backups. They are durable and have long data retention—about 15 years. Cons Like your computer, external hard drives can be damaged if dropped or mishandled and are somewhat vulnerable to magnets External hard drives are an expensive investment, ranging from about $100 to hundreds of U.S. dollars for models with the most storage. 6. How to restore Do demo on computer 7. Conclusion Backup can be seen as a painful process but with a little thought and routine a reliable system can be put in place. If you aren't already managing the backup process for your data effectively then you should start today before it's too late! 8. Questions
Superheroes need it, police rely on it and everyone that uses a computer should use some form of it. In the world of mainframes and microchips it's called data backup or data recovery and it can mean the difference between a slight computer setback and living through your own electronic apocalypse. 1. Welcome everybody along and thank them for their time So what is this data backup and recovery? Okay this may be obvious to a lot of people but some don't understand the concept. Backup is nothing more than a copy of your files or data in one form or another that you save somewhere so that in the event that you need to recover files or data you can. It can be as simple as copying files from My Documents to a removable drive or CD. And data recovery is the act of retrieving that backup data in the event of a data loss situation. Let's face it; our computers are a bigger part of life than ever before. We shop, work and play using computers. They've replaced stereos, encyclopedias, even the mailman. They've become journals, photo albums and canvases for our art. But computers aren't perfect. Files become corrupt, motherboards malfunction, CPUs call it quits taking our precious data with them. The best defense is data backup. Backing up data is vital for businesses; lost information can cause a major crisis or worse, lead to business failure. Individuals who don't backup computer data run the same risk. While this may not cause financial ruin, it can certainly be frustrating and even heartbreaking. So why do so few of us practice data backup? Here are the common excuses: "I'm too busy to backup my computer." We are busy, work, family and friends fill our days and leave us little time for boring things like computer maintenance. But today's backup software manufacturers make it easy. Through scheduled backups, your system can automatically perform a backup that fits your needs at an interval you choose— without interrupting life. "I don't know how to backup data." Like preparing for a natural disaster, most of us understand how important data backup is, but don't know where to start. A big step is deciding how you are going to store the data you backup.
One option is Removable Backup Media, but this only narrows the field a little. You could buy a million 3.5" discs or perhaps invest in a larger-capacity external Zip drive. You could take the plunge into writeable CDs or stretch out your legs with the help of an external hard drive. Another good data backup option is to backup to an online location, which allows you to backup a file, a folder or your entire hard drive to a separate location online. "My computer won't crash." You've had your computer this long and haven't had problems so far why worry about computer backup now? Think about it you wear your seat belt even though you don't expect your car to crash everyday. Data backup is about protecting your data's future, but with computers, it isn't if you crash, it's when you crash. In today's high-tech world of sneaky spyware and venomous viruses, you are in more danger of data loss than ever before. Computer viruses grew by as much as 11% during 2005 alone.* 2. Why is it important to backup Most people believe the quote, "Hindsight is 20/20 vision". One of the most common visions in computing is how important a backup of vital data can be once your workstation or server hard drive has crashed. Imagine this - you arrive one morning to find that a faulty read-write head has crashed your server's hard disk overnight, rendering it useless. Or a small electrical fire has destroyed part of your office, including your server. This server was used to store customer lists, payroll details, accounting details, purchase orders, inventories and other data vital to the running of your business, built up after years of operation and growth. You find that you were seriously ill-prepared to deal with such a disaster. Virtually all of your business' data had resided in this one location. No copies were made. You are faced with the fact that many years' worth of data has been lost forever. Insurance will replace materials, equipment and office space, but will that be enough to get your business up and running again? Your vital business data can't be claimed on insurance, it can't be replaced with money alone. Would your business survive after significant data loss? Unless you have a good backup system already in place, the statistics are grim... * 43% of companies that experience a severe data loss disaster, and that have no recovery plan in place, never re-open. * 70% of companies that suffer serious data loss go out of business within 12 months.
* It takes 19 days and costs US$17,000 (AUD$22,000) to manually retype 20 megabytes of sales data. The same volume of accounting data takes 21 days and costs US$19,000 (AUD$25,000). 3. Who needs to backup Who here has a computer that they use for their business Who of those people backup up your data How do you currently backup What do you currently backup a. Email b. Files c. Financial program data files d. System state e. Favourites f. Desktop Write answers on a board if available 4. How to backup There are many ways for you to make a backup and plenty of third party software and hardware suppliers offer various solutions for Windows. Some of the more general methods of backup are as follows Simply copying files from one location to another. Zipping or compressing a group of files or folders then moving the zipped file to an alternate location. Using Windows backup to automatically create a backup archive. Third party backup tools and utilities. Disk imaging and cloning software Do demo on computer 5. What to backup to There are a plethora of inexpensive media devices available to the home and business user from CD and DVD writers to removable and external hard drives. One of the primary concerns is economical storage space. This is why CD and DVD writers are popular for small business and home users as the discs are cheap, offer a decent storage capacity, are fairly robust and you can easily keep a back catalogue. Ntbackup of system Ghost image of system when first installed for recovery purposes.
Backup Media Then Not long ago there were only two choices available for backup media: magnetic tape for large backups or 3.5-inch floppy disks for small jobs…that was it. Back then it was simple; if you wanted to protect yourself against data loss, you invested the time and money required to make it work. Backup Media Now In today’s fast-paced world of ones and zeros, magnetic tape still has a home. Because of its stability and massive storage capabilities, magnetic tape is used by corporations to backup terabytes of data every day. But neither magnetic tape nor 3.5-inch disks come close to satisfying the diverse backup needs of today’s small businesses and home computer owners. Backup media for small computer systems must be versatile, inexpensive, fast, and most importantly, easy to use. The challenge in choosing a backup device today isn’t a lack of choice—but, because there are so many options, it’s knowing which one best satisfies your needs. Backup Media Pros and Cons To help you decide which one’s best for you, we’ve listed the most common removable backup media with strengths and weaknesses for each:
3.5-inch Floppy Disks Pros 3.5-inch disks are inexpensive, portable and most computers have the hardware to use them. Cons The 3.5-inch floppy has little backup potential, as single disks only hold 1.44 megabytes (MB) of information (approximately 400 pages of text), making them useful only for backing up small files and folders. They also have slow data transfer speeds, are easily damaged, are vulnerable near magnets and only preserve data for a few years.
USB Flash Drives (Also called pen drives, jump drives, thumb drives, key drives and memory sticks) Pros USB flash drives are fairly new and extremely popular. Two variations are USB 1.0 and USB 2.0; the USB 1.0 stores up to 512 MB and USB 2.0 drives currently hold up to 4 GB (over 4,000 MB) of data. USB 1.0 drives
are good for small backups and USB 2.0 drives are excellent for large jobs. The transfer speeds on USB flash drives are also excellent. A USB 1.0 transfers from 1.5 to 12 megabits per second (MB/s) and the USB 2.0 transfers up to 480 MB/s. USB flash drives are reusable (if you want to store one backup at a time) or can only be used once for archiving. USB flash drives are a snap to install (just plug into a free USB port on your computer), durable and highly portable—fitting into the smallest of pockets. They have up to a decade of data retention and are not vulnerable to magnets. USB 1.0 drives are fairly inexpensive. Cons High-end USB 2.0 drives can be expensive and if you purchase a new USB flash drive for each new archive performed, your backup costs can increase dramatically. Due to their small size, USB flash drives are more easily misplaced.
Zip Drives Pros Zip drives are a "second generation" floppy disk, which some predicted would eventually replace the 3.5-inch floppy disk. Zip disks, are faster, more durable and hold more information than 3.5-inch disks. There are three different sizes of zip drives; 100 MB, 250 MB and 750 MB—all are fine for small backups and are less expensive than USB flash drives. Zip disks can be used over and over for backup or once as archive storage. Zip drives are easy to install and share between computers and are fairly portable—some newer models using USB ports. Zip disks have a data-retention life of up to a decade. Cons In order to use Zip disks, you must also buy the Zip Drive, which can be expensive. Storing several disks can be cumbersome since there isn’t a big selection of Zip storage cases available. Zip disks are not as portable as a flash drives and, unfortunately, are becoming less common.
CD Technology Pros CD burning technology is an especially good media for backup archives. CDs come in two varieties—rewritable CDs (CD RWs), which can be rewritten up to 1,000 times, and CD ROM discs (CD Rs), which are
cheaper than CD RWs, but are limited to one use. Holding between 650 to 700 MB of data, CDs are more than adequate for small backups and have a transfer rate of 3 MB/s for 20x CD drives and 8MB/s for 52x CD drives.* CDs are portable, easy to store and carry and most new computers come with CD burning drives. CDs are an inexpensive backup media, have a 5 to 10 year lifespan and are not susceptible to magnets. Cons If your computer does not have a CD burner, you’ll have to consider the cost of the hardware and installation fee. CDs can become scratched and unusable through mishandling and daily use.
DVD Technology Pros DVD burning technology is a fine choice for small or large backups since regular DVDs can store 4.7 GB and dual-layer DVDs store 8.5 GB. Like CDs, the discs come in both multi-use DVD RW and single-use DVD-R. DVD Rs can be used once for archives or, if you use DVD RWs, you can write to them over and over again (up to 1,000 times). DVD transfer speeds vary from 3.96 MB/s for 3x DVD drives up to 21.13 MB/s for 16x DVD drives.** DVD technology is a good choice if your computer already has a DVD burner since DVDs are inexpensive. DVDs have an incredible data retention lifespan—30 to 100 years—and aren’t susceptible to magnets. DVDs are portable and share many of the same qualities as CDs, including ample storage choices. Cons If you must buy a DVD burner and pay to have it installed, your investment cost rises. If handled improperly, DVDs can become scratched and unreadable.
External Hard Drives Pros External hard drives are hard drives, separate from your computer system, which you can dedicate to backup storage. With a storage capacity of 40 GB to over 250 GB, external hard drives are perfect for the large backup needs. Utilizing USB technology, external hard drives transfer data at speeds up to 480 MB/s for USB 2.0 drives. External hard drives are simple to install—a cord plugs into your
computer’s USB port. External hard drives are portable, self-sufficient storage units that can be taken off-site for storage safety and are a must for anyone serious about large, frequent backups. They are durable and have long data retention—about 15 years. Cons Like your computer, external hard drives can be damaged if dropped or mishandled and are somewhat vulnerable to magnets External hard drives are an expensive investment, ranging from about $100 to hundreds of U.S. dollars for models with the most storage. 6. How to restore Do demo on computer 7. Conclusion Backup can be seen as a painful process but with a little thought and routine a reliable system can be put in place. If you aren't already managing the backup process for your data effectively then you should start today before it's too late! 8. Questions
