Windows Vista Blog » Online Data Backup

How to Choose the right Backup Storage Device

plrpro1 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:50:39 +0000

It used to be the case that you would backup everything on your computer with floppy disks. Today, when one sound or graphics file can easily be larger than the capacity of a disk, it would be impractical to back up even you documents on floppies, let alone your applications. Luckily there are better options including Zip disks, CD writers, tape drives, external hard drives and even online backup services. You can also compress your backed up files so they take up less space.Read the following tips and you will be able to find the media that is best suited to your needs.

1) Determine the approximate quantity and file sizes you will be backing up.

2) Calculate the quantity and file sizes of any documents or applications you want to archive permanantly to a backup device or removable media.

3) Plan for that amount to grow considerably in the future.

4) Calculate your budget for a backup storage device and removable media to use with it.

5) Consider if you plan to archive photographs or scanned files, need portability of the media or the drive itself, wish to record music for playback on other equipment, or require ease of use.Weigh these factors against your need to back up your files.

6) Work out the cost per MB of media for each drive that you are considering.zip drives themselves are relatively cheap but the disks aren't.

7) You may want to consider buying a 100MB zip drive if you need limited storage capability (less than 1GB).An external parallel port or even USB Zip drive will provide versatility as well as portability.Consider buying a 250MB Zip drive if your storage requirements are moderate (a few GB).

8) Buy an internal zip drive if you will only use the drive for backup and you are able to install it by yourself (installation fees add up).

9) Consider buying a CD-RW drive if your storage needs are more moderate and you will regularly back up more than 500MB of data.

10) Consider buying a Jaz drive or perhaps even a tape backup drive if you will be backing up large amounts of data regularly.

11) Buy an external hard disk if you will need a lot of space, wont be keeping old backups and dont need portability.

12) If you require additional security, data protection and the ability to recover your data quickly then online Data backup should be a serious consideration.

How do I Back up my Data?

plrpro1 — Mon, 11 May 2009 04:17:09 +0000

Imagine you have spent hours writing a report or another very important piece of work that has to be submitted tomorrow. All of a sudden, your hard disk crashes and all of the hours that you have put into crafting that vital document have just gone up in smoke.Don’t be tempted to jump on the bandwagon of those who say “it will never happen to me!” as probability will dictate that if you don’t take action, one day it inevitably will.How can you prevent such a disaster occurring? This is precisely what Data backup is all about.

Storing data is often the most important part of computer usage as it can take months or years to accumulate relevant information.As technology has become more reliable, the risk of losing information has been significantly reduced however it would be needless to lose documents due to lengths that you yourself could have taken to prevent such an occurence.

There are several different formats of media that will allow your data to be backed up. Commonly used devices are external hard drives, CDs, DVDs, USB drives and for more sensitive information there are companies and services which will provide you with secure online data backup. Whenever you backup data to an external device, said device should be stored in a different location from the original computer in case a fire or local electrical surge should damage the data backup hardware.

Data backup is most useful when done constantly and within reason.For example – if you are spending a long time working on a lengthy document, you should not wait a significant amount of time before saving your work. Consider the effort that it would take to redo the work since the last save in the case of a crash and make a judgement call as to how often you save your work.

Remote Data Backup – Have You Got Yours Yet?

plrpro1 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 03:09:23 +0000

Anyone who uses or in particular works on a computer is going to need to understand about Data backup, what it is, and why it is so important. When you backup your data, you are storing your files on a disk or other device that is completely separate from your primary computer.

The purpose for the Data backup is so that in the event anything were ever to happen to your computer, for instance if it were to get a virus or something else were to happen that disrupted or even completely deleted any of your files or personal information, you would have the Data backup and so you would be able to get all the information back.

There are a few different options that you can choose from when it comes to Data backup, including online backup (which is also referred to as remote backup) for one because it is so convenient and because it is often free as well.

It is going to take a bit of effort on your part when it comes to choosing the right online Data backup service solution for you. After all, everyone’s needs are different, and so you are going to need to follow a few easy steps in order to best determine which online Data backup service is going to be right for you.

The first thing that you are going to need to do if you are trying to find the right online data storage backup is make a list. You want to find all the best online Data backup service solutions and then make a list of maybe around ten, so that you have something to work with, a place to start.

Mozy is name that you are going to want to become more familiar with if you are looking for online Data backup services of the highest quality but there are other providers you need to look into as well. This is a simple and safe way to back up all of the important data that you have on one or more computers, and this service makes it easy for you to get online backup for your data, an affordable and secure solution that is easy to use.

These are just a few ideas to get you started and give a few ideas about whats on offer. Business users will of course have far greater needs for backup and remote file access as they have to consider business continuity and disaster recovery options. Do a bit of research and understand what you need before committing to a solution.

For disaster recovery and business continuity you may be better speaking to one of the data recovery services companies as these often are very experienced in the requirements of business backup.