Backing up your data should be an essential part of your daily routine. Unfortunately for many businesses this simply isn’t the case. The only time data backup crosses their mind is when they have a hard disk crash or a serious spyware or virus infection. Unfortunately by this stage it’s already too late to do anything about it - the data is gone and you’re then looking at several hundred, if not several thousand, dollars to have the data rescued and restored.

The concept is simple - choose a data backup plan and stick to it.

The burning question on most IT managers minds is should the data be stored locally or remotely? To be fair this is the pivot point of all data backup plans. There are pros and cons to each method.

Local Data Backup

Most companies rely on either DVD, external hard disk or tape drive data backup solutions locally. These provide fast, cost effective storage for most small companies and are also very easy for even the IT novice to operate. In the case of any data being lost it’s simply a matter of restoring the data from a previous backup point and the user can then continue working.

The data, however, is only as safe as the building it’s in. What happens in the case of fire, burglary, flooding or storm damage? That’s right you just lost all your data backups in the blink of an eye.

Remote Data Backup

As an emerging industry remote data backup has really taken off. Most commonly remote file backup services allow you to log into a remote drive and via a web based interface upload all your critical files. 5GB of storage space is the entry point for most of the remote data backup services and this is provided at a low cost. Knowing that your data is being stored in a secure facility that’s deliberately protected against harm allows you much greater peace of mind.

The weak point here however is the data transfer speed. Unless you’re operating a high speed LAN in your company then remote backup can be a complete waste of time as you’re tied to the maximum upstream speed of your network - which can be surprisingly slow depending on your IT infrastructure. Add in the issue of firewalls blocking uploads on certain ports and it can quickly become a real IT headache.

So how do achieve a Win-Win scenario? Blended backup! Look at utilizing both of these forms of backup. In an ideal world you’d store a local copy of your data and then upload an exact copy of that data to the remote file backup server. If money is an issue then store your bulk data locally but copy your mission critical data to the remote backup service. That way in the worst of disasters you’ll still have the data you need to actually function as a business. That’s not to say that bulk data such as archived email is not important but that old data could be recovered in time by a data recovery specialist whereas you mission critical data needs to be available at a moments notice.

This article was written by Niall Roche and provided courtesy of BackupAdvice.com If you want to know more about computer backups this site is full of useful information.

Everyone knows life is always full of unexpected surprises.

Some Good, Some Bad..

But no matter how severe or how simple an emergency, it still messes up your daily routine. So you have to be prepared to handle certain emergencies that are just a part of life.

We all get sick, or maybe your children has a mild illness. What if one day a thunder storm knocks out not only the power but everything plugged into that source. Are you prepared to deal with the loss of your computer??

Who Can You Turn To If You Have To Take A Hiatus From Your Business?

These are just some of the problems that you may face at any time or any place.

DID YOU BURY YOUR COMPUTER TODAY??

What can you do if your pc crashes ? If it is still fixable then you can take it to the repair shop or if you have the money available, you can just buy another one..

But since money doesn’t grow on trees, there are some simple solutions to deal with a missing computer.

Duh, Use a Friends Computer

Technology is becoming cheaper these days, therefore every where you turn someone owns a computer these days, so you can always ask a friend or relative for the use of their computer.

If that is not an option or they just told you No, plain and simple..

You can always go to the Public Library.

Free, Free, and Free. There, enough said..

You can also check in on some deals to rent a computer for the time being. In the long run, it can add up, but if you are debating between the loss of potential sales because you are not able to process orders, or receive important email, then yes this will be money well spent.

It doesn’t matter how brilliant or how stupid your online business plan is, if you don’t have a computer, you have sort of thrown yourself out of the game before you even had a chance to pitch.

DO YOU HAVE A BIZ BUDDY??

If you have to handle an emergency out of town or need to be hospitalized for any reason whatsoever, can someone else handle your business until you are better?

Maybe Your Spouse Or A Good Friend?

Now since our business seems fairly high tech to everyone else, your biz buddy would have to someone you would trust with your email, your passwords, access to your website control panel.

You know those little things

Your Biz Buddy shouldn’t be someone you have exchanged two emails with and figure that you really know this person.

Some of the best friendships have been those that were formed online, even relationships.

But especially Business Relationships have really took off online.

Always have a backup Owner.

Sounds funny but depending on the nature of your business, the reality is customers and clients can only wait so long.

It is good to have at least someone who may be able to

–Publish An Issue Or Two

—Answer Email

—-Make Changes To Your Website

—Process Orders For You

JUST SOME PLAIN ‘OL BACK UP ADVICE

These emergencies are more common.

Loss of files, and programs in your computer.

While we have to deal with viruses on a daily basis, just a simple backing up of our files will save you hours of endless frustration.

Whether you have a cd-rewrite able drive, or a bunch of floppy disks, online storage or just have everything printed out, how can you protect your files and business without a back up.

If one of your business plans didn’t work out, what would you do?

Give up, because that was the only plan you had, or just came up with a back up plan.

See…

The whole point of this is to get you to realize that although emergencies come up that are unavoidable, you can still prepare yourself

JUST IN CASE…

Copyright (c) KDM Publishing

Donesia Muhammad has been doing business online since 2001. Sign up For her Newsletter My IBiz Weekly ==>http://myibizweekly.com The Business Ezine For All Netpreneurs. Learn how to start and maintain your internet business and ezine, and stay sane while doing it. Read Our Archives and Learn with Valuable Resources. Helping Readers Online Since 2001… And Counting.

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Why Do I Need To Backup My Computer?
The question is this. If your computer happened to up and die one day and you lost all the information on it, would this affect your mood that day? If your answer was no then you would be one of the few that doesn’t need to Backup their computer. However, many of us would look at the same dead computer wondering if by staring at it blankly it might come back to life by some miracle. The reality would eventually kick in and we would have to come to terms with the loss each in our own way.

Unfortunately this is a very common way in which people learn the value of Backing-Up their computers.

Some Situations Where Computer Data Can Be Lost:

The possibility even for the computer savvy is always present so don’t just think about it… do it!

Can Lost Data Be Reocvered?
It depends what the reason is for the lost Data. For example a computer that was lost or stolen would be hard to recover any information unless the actual computer was recovered and had not been reformatted or erased. There are also companies that specialize in Data recovery and can recover Data even from water and fire damaged Hard Drives. This is not an inexpensive option; it comes down to how important the Data is that needs to be recovered. You may pay just about anything to get your special moment Photos or important Business Documents back. Another option is to purchase a program designed to recover accidentally erased information. This type of recovery must be done as soon as possible to the initial erasing of the Data before new files have the chance to overwrite the erased files.

What Backup Options Do I Have?
Some Common Backup Options Are:

Backup to a separate Hard Drive:
This is an excellent option if you have a lot of Data to Backup and need to Backup often. I would recommend using an external Hard Drive as opposed to an Internal so that the Backup Drive can be easily moved or located to a different location as needed for security.

Backup to a DVD or CD Disk:
Since most newer computers already have CDR/W and DVDR/W Drives in them this makes a very economical and convenient way to Backup important Data. The downside is that there is a limitation of how much Data can go on one of these Disks making sequential Disk Backups time consuming and not nearly as self sufficient as Backing up to a Hard Drive. This is still a much better solution then not Backing up at all!

Backup to a Network Drive:
If you are on a Home, Business or Internet Network that has an available Network Drive to Backup information to this could be yet another option. Backing up to Network Drives, especially Internet Network Drives may take some time depending on the speed of the Network connection. Size limitations can come into effect also.

For Example: Apple Computers offer an iDisk Network Drive for storing Data to all of their Dot-Mac account Users. It can store 1 Gigabyte of information and also works seamlessly with their included Backup software. This is great but limiting as most people will easily exceed this space. I would recommend using this to Backup specific files that are very important but not large in size, like Accounting and Data base info that would be horrendous if lost and time consuming to reenter.

What Should I Backup?
This is entirely up to you and may be dependant on what Backup method you choose and how much space is available. In my opinion items like the Operating System state and installed Application are not nearly as important as your Home User Directory because your OS and Programs can always be reinstalled and updated getting you back up and running in a few hours. This is good but without all of your Contacts, Emails, Calendar Info, Photos, Movies, Data Base, Bookmarks and Funny Jokes then your computer is like a blank canvas, you will never get it back to the exact way it was before your Data loss.

On a Macintosh running OSX, Backing-Up all of your current User information is as simple as Clicking on your HardDrive, Click on the folder called Users, Select the account that you are logged in as and drag it to the Mounted Backup Hard Drive.

On a PC the same can be done by Clicking on the My Computer Icon, then Click the Documents and Settings Folder, Select the User that you are currently logged in as and Copy this to the Backup Drive of your Choice.

Of course there are programs that do this more effectively and efficiently by daily/weekly Backups that automatically do this for you and only update any new or updated documents.

Here is a thought to leave you with when deciding if Backing up your Data is a good idea. How do you feel about Car insurance, or House Insurance, even Medical Insurance for that matter. Have any of these come in handy for you and would you even consider not having one or all of these? Think of a Backup plan for your data like Insurance, it is not mandatory but some believe would be foolish not to have.

Michael Kaye - founder of http://www.DigitizeMe.info

Do you have difficulty when people talk about computers? Does it feel like they are speaking another language? We are here to help with the language used in computers, digital gadgets, email and the Web.

If you experience a hard drive crash, it doesn’t take much to make a bad situation even worse. In the event of a hard drive crash, in most instances, the data is completely recoverable at first. However, as part of human nature, we often try to avoid the high costs associated with hard drive data recovery in order to find some sort of “quick fix” to a very serious problem. In this report we will go over some of the symptoms of a hard drive crash and the things you can try in the event of a suspected hard drive crash, along with things you should avoid.

What Noise Is The Drive Making?

The first thing to take into account is whether or not the hard drive is making any unusual noises. Often times when there is a problem with the read/write head within the drive or a firmware issue in the logic board a “clicking” sound will be heard. If this is the case, then you should immediately power down the system and refrain from reapplying power. Same thing goes for any unusual sound, whether it’s grinding, squealing, our sounds like a “laser gun”. If any of these occur you should immediately power the system down, just pull the plug from the wall.

Unfortunately in the situations listed above, there is little that you can do to recover the data yourself. Actually, unless you have a clean room, fully equipped with the right tools and a trained technician there is nothing that can be done. Even hard drive manufacturers avoid this line of work, and many who do offer data recovery services are only sub-contracting the work out to an established data recovery firm.

Never Ever Open Your Hard Drive

If the data on a hard drive has even the most minimal value to you, then it is imperative that you do not open the drive. We often get calls or e-mails from people who felt they had the right equipment and know-how to perform something as serious as a head replacement. Once they’ve removed the hard drive’s protective case, we often times ask them not to send the drive in, because more often than not, the damage is irreparable.

Working with the internal components of a hard drive requires at least a Class-100 clean room. A clean room does not mean a room that you just vacuumed and dusted (believe it or not people say that to us all the time). A clean room is a special work area in which air quality is heavily controlled and it is vital to hard drives during the manufacturing or assembly process. The air in the room is regulated in term of air particles, temperature and humidity. A Class-100 clean room means there exists no more than 100 particles that are larger than 0.5 microns in one cubic foot of air.

Opening a hard drive in air meeting anything less than the standard listed above will mean certain death for your hard drive and any data contained therein.

The Freezer Method

There has been a long running wive’s tale about putting your hard drive in the freezer when it crashes in order to revive it just long enough to pull your data off of it. We’ve run this test for fun on many occasions in different scenarios with junk test drives that we have in our lab. So far we have yet to see this actually produce any positive results. In fact, in one instance we actually began to see the formation of tiny microscopic ice crystals on the platter themselves, which is a definite crash waiting to happen.

See the problem with this theory is, drives are not completely sealed. Regardless of what you’ve heard or read, all hard drives have a tiny breather hole (usually marked with a label that says DO NOT COVER). This hole not only aids in cooling but it also helps to equalize air pressure in the drive when the platters are spinning. On the other side of this hole is a filter, which keeps dirt and debris from getting inside the drive. However, this filter does not stop heavy amounts of moisture (especially in flood situations) or moisture vapor (such as found in a freezer). This moisture vapor has been known to settle on the platters and when a system is powered up, the read/write head would resemble an airplane flying into a mountain.

In closing, If you’ve experienced a hard drive crash, it is imperative that you consider the value of the data, before you consider the money you might save by doing it yourself. Data recovery is a specialty, and it requires a number of specialized tools, skills and software to complete successfully. Many times you run the risk of taking data that may be perfectly recoverable and destroying it permanently. If you have any questions, it is best to consult with a recovery firm first. Most reputable data recovery companies will perform a free diagnostic and evaluation on most standard IDE hard drives. Many will even include a list of the recoverable files with that evaluation before you proceed. In some cases, we even work with our customers on a payment plan to help ease the burden of the recovery costs. Of course the best way to avoid all of this is to simply backup anything and everything of value.

Greg Duffield is the founder of ACS Data Recovery, a premier provider of hard drive data recovery services. You can reach them toll free at 1-877-646-0546 or on the web at http://www.acsdata.com

When so many of us rely so much on our email to operate our businesses or our personal lives, it is important to take preventative measures to avoid the ultimate disaster of unrecoverable email.

I come to this subject as a matter of multiple events on my machine where one day I would open my mail to discover that all has been lost. The pit that wells in your stomach upon realization of this occurrence can be overwhelming. To recover in the event of future losses, each of us should learn the basics of maintaining and backing up our email.

One of the important things to do in preventative maintenance, is to clean your folders and to empty your trash. Most people do not realize that when the number of messages in a specific folder exceeds a certain threshold that they begin running on borrowed time.

Exactly where that threshold is varies from email client to email client, so what may be true for mine may be different for yours. When this article was originally written, I was using the Netscape 4.x Email Client for security reasons more than anything. The Netscape Email Client is less susceptible to JavaScript attacks than any other email client I have used. These days, I have grown with Netscape to the Netscape 7.x platform. This is important to note as Netscape 8.x does not offer email anymore.

What I do know is that I have repeatedly pushed my client to its limits to see where the threshold might be. The Netscape 4.x Email Client will generally break at around 4,500 email messages in one folder, though it will become shaky at around 2,000 messages. I have yet to determine the upper threshold on Netscape 7.x, and I have had folders with more than 20,000 messages in them.

These upper ends will also depend on your computer hardware. If you have a 200mhz machine with only 56kb Ram memory, you should expect a shake-out sooner than a machine that has a bigger processor with more memory.

For users of other clients such as Outlook Express, Eudora and others, I cannot tell you the top end of how well the software will perform.

If there are more than 2,000 messages you wish to hang on to, you should begin filing your messages in separate folders below the Inbox. This will help you to find your messages quicker and it will provide more stability to your email client.

There are three folders that you must pay regular attention to. They are the Inbox, Sent Mail Folder and Trash Folder.

Most people fail to remember that their client is pre-configured to save a copy of all outgoing email. As a result, this folder can grow to unbelievable sizes before anyone thinks to clean it out.

It is important to mention the Trash Folder in more detail since most people do not realize how it works.

Most email clients follow a general principle in their operation. Each email box is generally represented by two files. The first is a text rendering of all messages in the box. The second is an indexing file that lists the title of the email and other identifying characteristics relative to each individual message.

When you look at the contents of your email box, you are actually seeing the contents of the indexing file. When you pull up the text of an actual message, the software is finding the message in the message file according to the software assigned Email ID as listed in the indexing file.

Now, when you move a message from one folder to another, including into the Trash Folder, the only thing that actually moves is the listing in the indexing file! This is important to understand. A message moved to the Trash Folder has not been deleted from the origination folder. In fact, the message is just where it originated until you do the command Compress Folders or Empty Trash Folder.

The Empty Trash Folder command will only compress the messages for the item that is in the Trash Folder. In order to do the same for your entire email system, you must use the command Compress Folders.

The simple action of sending email to the trash without compressing the folders or simply emptying the trash can also lead to great destabilization of your email client. So please take great care to maintain your email client software as it should be.

If there is one thing that I have learned with computers, one should always prepare for the worst case scenario. Always! In order to be fully prepared for the worst case scenario with your email, you should do regular backups of your mail folders.

Here I will explain how to do that outside of the email client’s process for this purpose. I am also explaining how to do so only for Outlook Express and Netscape Mail. I have never ran an Eudora client at the times I was exploring this scenario.

FOR OUTLOOK EXPRESS USERS:

In your windows Explorer, you will find a folder, most likely with this precise name. The only difference you might see is in the Application Key as noted between the {}.

C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Identities\ {B074ABA0-9FFF-11D4-AE87-FE1E7BFD5248}\Microsoft\Outlook Express

When you navigate to this folder, this is the default location where your Outlook Express Email is stored. Simply highlight the last folder, "Outlook Express" and copy it to another location. In most cases, this folder will be way too large to copy to a Floppy Drive. Most likely, you will need to copy it to a Zip drive or another location on your hard drive.

You can also save the individual *.dbx files, which outline the contents of each of your mail boxes, the Inbox, the Outbox, etc.

If you are really bored, you can send the *.dbx file to Wordpad to view the actual format of a mailbox from a text standpoint. You can use this only in a worst case scenario to attempt to rebuild a broken mail box. Always make backups of the file before trying to repair it by hand — Always!!!

FOR NETSCAPE MAIL USERS:

The location of the mail storage is: C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\username\Mail

Of course, replace "username" with your username.

Within the Netscape Mail system, you will discover three file types: *.sbd, *.snm, and (blank).

The *.sbd is a folder that contains all of your sub-folders. The *.snm is the indexing file of your email. The (blank), ie. "Inbox" without an extension, is your actual mail messages recorded in plain text. You can also send these files to your Wordpad application to view the contents. Do not save this file when you close it unless you are trying to rebuild your box, and if so, always make sure you have a backup before doing so.

If you delete the *.snm, the *.snm file will rebuild itself the next time you open your Netscape Mail application.

Taking these precautions and knowing this information, you will never have to chance losing all of your important emails again. The time you take today to backup your email box can save you the worst nightmare ever. Trust me, I have been there.

Copyright Bill Platt - All Rights Reserved

Bill Platt is the owner of http://www.LinksAndTraffic.com

• When you are tired of the struggle of the link building process, it might be time to consider our "Links And Traffic" services.

This is not a link rental system or a reciprocal linking scam. We Guarantee our results.

There are about as many ways to perform data recovery as there are files and systems in the computing world.

The most important thing to know when it comes to data recovery is how to prevent ever needing to perform it. Having a separate backup for critical data is vital and there are many ways to go about doing this. The easiest way is to simply save data to an external device, such as a tape drive. You can perform the same function with a CD-R drive and burn your data to a CD whenever necessary. On the other end of the spectrum are the software and hardware solutions specifically geared toward keeping your data secure and always available. Many of the companies that offer data recovery services also provide software tools that will assist you in backing up data on your system, keeping it free from virus attacks, accidental deletion or other system failures. The type of backup system you need will depend upon the criticality of your data. Of course, it may not seem critical until its gone, so at the very least, it is a good idea to save a copy of things like your “My Documents” folder on an external device every few months.

So what do you do if you haven’t been using a backup plan and your system crashes or a virus wipes out your files? You will probably have to call in the pros at this time. There are many companies that specialize in recovering data from any type of media for just about any type of system failure. Some of the companies also specialize in recovering certain types of files that have been corrupted. For example, if you have a corrupted Microsoft Excel file, look for a company that specifies expertise with that type of file.

Remember, when looking for a professional data recovery service, it is always a good idea to get multiple quotes and check the Better Business Bureau for complaints.

Written by Deron Van, president Gotta get my info. You can find more about data recovery and all things related to computers at the Computer page at Gotta Get My Info.

(Authors permission is granted to share this full article with others. Just leave the signature line intact, please.)

About The Author
Deron Van is a software engineer at Intel, he received his bachelor degrees in CIS and marketing from Arizona State University and is the marketing manager at http://www.gottagetmyinfo.com you can email him at deron@gottagetmyinfo.com.

Computer Backup- Forget About It!

Backup Software is for the birds! Computer Backup is too hard, too much trouble and a pain in the butt. Let’s just forget about it.

Backup Software is touted as the savior of your computer’s critical business and personal files. They claim that all computer hard drives (where our files are stored) eventually will have a 100% failure rate. They try to tell us that the failure of our hard drives is just a matter of WHEN, not IF.

Do your backups they shout!

Poppycock!

BACKUP SOFTWARE- LET’S GET REAL

You and I know the real story. The real story is that new computers are so well made that they almost never fail, right?

Therefore, we don’t need to worry about buying backup software and setting up a computer backup system, do we? It would just be a waste time– for sure!

After all we know that all the press about hard drive failures, natural disasters and terrorist attacks is just a conspiracy by the backup software companies to get us to buy their products.

Personally I never had a hard drive failure (that I recall). If my computer stops working for whatever reason, that’s life.

Therefore, I ignore these software backup companies that try to push their backup software products on the unsuspecting public even though they make data and file restorations easy. I don’t give them the time of day.

Therefore as you see, I don’t need backup software, do you? Of course not.

BACKUP SOFTWARE- STARTING OVER WITHOUT IT IS EASY

In the unlikely event that I got a virus or a bunch of spyware on my computers I’ll just bite the bullet and move on. After all, if I lost all my data to a virus, then so what? Who needs backup software?

Heck, I’d just buy a new computer and begin again and I’d still wouldn’t need backup software because it’s just too much hassle.

If ALL my business data was lost due to a hard drive crash or virus corruption then I’d just start my business over. No big deal. It’s not that hard, right? Using backup software is just a pain.

BACKUP SOFTWARE FOOLISHNESS

So by now we’re all agreed that using backup software for computer backup is just for the foolish, right? Right.

Who would want to use backup software that automatically and easily backs up EVERYTHING on your computer hard drive to a DVD Rewriteable disk or USB external hard drive? That would mean you could easily recover from any computer disaster. That makes too much sense and is far too logical.

They claim that backup software is a virtual computer insurance policy against fire, flood, theft, earthquake, hurricanes, tornados and terrorist attacks.

Balderdash!

Ridiculous.

Hey, the businesses who survived Hurricane Katrina didn’t need backup software did they? OK, OK I admit a lot of businesses without backup software and off site backup lost EVERYTHING and now they cannot recover their data and reconstitute their business. But that’s life. Now these businesses and their employees can now move on to something new. How exciting!

Look, life without backup software is just so much more interesting.

By the way, did I tell you how much I enjoy playing Russian Roulette?

Did I neglect to mention my brief stay (it was really was only a few days) at the mental hospital? Ahh, that’s ancient history. Let’s get back to the present.

BACKUP SOFTWARE- THE PRESENT DAY

Want to hear something silly? My friend Ben down in New Orleans owned an insurance company. It made a very good living for him and his family. He didn’t believe in backup software either. All his computers were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Ben just laughed and said, “No problem, this disaster gives me the chance to write the Great American Novel that I’ve always dreamed of writing”.

What about his 10 employees and his thousands of customers he was asked? Ben said, “Heck, things always work out for the best don’t they?”

What about the income from the business that supported his family he was asked? Ben said, “Oh, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) told me they would take care of us and not to worry.”

See, Ben is all set and is none the worse for wear even though he didn’t have backup software.

BACKUP SOFTWARE LESSONS

So boys and girls what have we learned about this backup software thing?

* If we don’t have backup software, so what, it just makes life after a hard drive crash more interesting and fun.

* After a natural disaster that destroys your computers, FEMA will make it OK.

* All the hubbub about backup software is just a bunch of advertising hype to sell product.

* Just because you like to play Russian Roulette, you aren’t really crazy.

FINALLY- BACKUP SOFTWARE FOLLYIES

I know another guy, Carl Jordan, who is crazier than I am. Carl and the rest of the loonies at Tweak All Consultants (www.tweakspeed.com) actually believe backup software can save your bacon.

In my own strange way I try to be fair and balanced. Therefore if you disagree with me check out Carl’s review of backup software at Backup Software

Now, where’s my medication? My meds really smooth me out. They also help me forget about rational things like computer backup and backup software.

Jack Back has been in the computer business since 1983 as an IT executive and working computer consultant company owner. He has helped many clients after a computer crash who had no computer backup. Hurry to get your FREE REVIEW of backup software that saves your irreplaceable computer data from loss, damage or destruction at the Backup Software website.

It doesn’t matter if you paid $500.00 or $2000.00 to purchase a new computer for your home or business; you will defiantly want to have some kind of insurance and backing up your computer is the best form of protection there is.

When anyone buys a computer today they are most likely to be using windows, the most widely accepted operating system on the market. Windows comes with a software utility called backup that lets the user copy all their files and other data onto various media. It is recommended to backup your computer once a week, but if a lot of data is added within a couple of days or so you may consider so daily. First and foremost a backup should include your system settings and important files, and then you can pick and choose to copy e-mail, favorites, pictures, ect. Or make a full backup to cover everything.

There are problems with backups of the human sort. It pains me to say some people (even professionals) are lazy or inconsistent when it comes to backups. They either forget or simply don’t bother until it’s too late because the backup was not updated to include their current data; this oversight can ruin a business! Some people will also neglect to have in place having any sort of labeling system for past and current backups with dates, times or other crucial information. If you are backing up onto magnetic tapes like floppy disks (these are not practical anymore because they only hold about 1.5mb of data), you should keep them away from anything that can produce a magnate field like motors, phones and power supplies; also keep them away from excessive heat, cold and moisture.

The media used depends on factors like cost, time, type, and connivance of use. The most common type of media backup used is CD-R and CD-RW the first one is cheap but you will use a lot of them for a full backup because they hold only 650 MB of data and you will not be able to hold video files. The second is more expensive and has the same limitations (as CD-R’s), but has the ability to be written on again and again (Re- Writeable).

Another way to go is by using a DVD-R or DVD-RW disks that can hold around 5 GB (GigaBites) of data an can hold digital video files as well. (That’s my personal favorite).

Zip drives are also a preferred storage device that can hold 750 MB and also external hard drives that up to 150 GB. There are other types of data storage media, these are just a few.

What it boils down to is everyone should use there backups correctly, use the best media for your present needs, but also try to anticipate what you might need in the future.

About the Author

Robert Hanania is the owner and operator of Data And File Recovery Dot Com If you would like to contact him, please visit his Website

You may wonder what backup has to deal with Christmas..and yet, there is something you can benefit from here, too.

As the only way to enjoy your Christmas thoroughly is to spend your time as you want without anything interfering with your holidays, a scheduled backup has yet something to offer here.

When to backup?

Just set a scheduled backup to run on Friday evening and also on Saturday and Sunday of the Christmas weekend (if you do work or change your files during the holidays). The best time to run a Christmas backup depends, of course, on your backup schedule, but, generally, a Friday evening is the best time to run a single scheduled backup.

What to backup?

A scheduled backup on Friday evening will make sure you have backed up all your important files (work documents, mail messages, Outlook and Outlook Express files, data files, etc.) so that you do not have to worry if something happens during Christmas. And if something happens to your files, you will have a backup ready.

Where to backup?

Probably the best backup solution is to backup to an external USB hard drive. This method is quick, reliable and cost-effective. If you have little data to backup, you can use a flash USB drive or a DVD, depending on the amount of files to backup, of course.

Backup, and may your Christmas holidays been as pleasant as possible.

The author of this Enjoy your Christmas with http://www.FairBackup.com The owner of a site, devoted to the backup theme. Learn how to backup easily, efficiently and securely with fairbackup.com

It’s happened to so many of us at one time or another in our technologically obsessed lives. We process important information in the computer. We’ve been so engrossed for hours, that we pretty much lose track of everything else. And just when you are almost done, something major happens, and you will regret it for the rest of your life.

An unexpected power outage. The blue screen of death. And you realize as you bang your head on the wall, that you didn’t save. Isn’t that sad.

Okay. So maybe you were careful enough to save every so often just so that you don’t lose your important information. Heck, most programs now have the new-and-improved autosave function, just work away at your desk, and the computer will do the rest, saving your work automatically every few minutes or so.

So your resting easy on your chair that whirls about and gives you a few occasional bouts of headaches and nausea.

So you saved. Is that it? Don’t you know that shortcircuited, faulty wiring will zap all your precious data in a spark? Don’t you know that unscrupulous hackers and prowlers will try anything they can to rip off important information from you? So what do you do?

Well, folks, the key word here is backup, and no, we’re not talking just backup. We’re talking about maximum-security backup. Hey, information is precious. You don’t see those leather-bound encyclopedia volumes coming cheap now do you.

Your information could be worth millions of dollars. Or even if it’s just your very own personal information, and even if nobody wanted it anyways, it’s still priceless to you, and that’s what matters. It is always a monumental loss if you lose something to the ill incidents of technology.

So what do you do to protect your important, precious files? Backup, and how! Backup several different copies in different places. Print it out, burn it on a compact disc, store it on several different hard drives, flash drives, your ipod, wherever.

You can never have too many backup copies of your mom’s famously delicious top secret chocolate chip cookie recipe. Of course, keep in mind that as you update your original files, you should update your backup files as well, not forgetting the backup media used also.

I mean, you may have stored tons of backup copies on tape magnet, but I think it’s safe to say that we’re well out of the era of low-tech storage media. It’s time to update your backup copies before they get phased out altogether and you will have no way of restoring them.

Of course you actually need to keep your backup safe too. You can’t just leave them exposed to the elements and untrustworthy people. Store the cds and drives as required: keep out of sunlight and high temperatures; as the manual reads. Keep it somewhere where you know you will find it.

Don’t play with it too much. Store in a cool dry place. And if you are the kind who is not messing around with data at all, you may already know the high price at which you value your very important information.

Therefore, take all the necessary precautions. Don’t just take backup, keep it under lock and key! Encrypt like crazy. Toss in several different levels of maximum security.

Update your software regularly. Just keep following these things and you will be successful with your backups and you won’t have problems retrieving your information again.

James Monahan is the owner and Senior Editor of BackupWebs.com and writes expert articles about backups.