Backup Software

In the previous article on backing up your computer, I explained an extremely convenient way to add extra storage to your computer.

Now that you know where to backup your files to, it still remains the task of how to do it.

Couldn't you just copy and drag files from one hard drive to another? Well you could, but this has some drawbacks:

• you aren't likely to automate this process, so it really becomes a task instead of something that happens automatically for you
• you are likely to not copy all of the files that you want. For example if a file is in use or locked out for some reason, a simple copy and paste won't do the trick
• without using backup software you really limit the amount of flexibility that you could have

Prioritize

You should first determine what it is you actually want to back up.

It isn't always necessary for someone to copy all of the contents from one drive to another. After all, the programs that you have installed, could be reinstalled on another computer. That is assuming you still have the disks and serial numbers...

I prefer to make complete disk copies including all of the hidden and registry settings.

This allows me to have an exact duplicate which I could turn to at any time to get me up and running again when there was a problem.

You would think backup software would be pretty straight forward right?

Well, up until recently it really wasn't. The biggest drawbacks on some of the programs I've looked at include the fact that they:

There are two excellent programs which are very good and deserve mentioning.

My personal choice is DriveImage 7 which you can read about here.

The other very capable program is Acronis TrueImage.

If you decide to purchase DriveImage 7, they get an upgrade discount if you own any Norton product. I was able to use an unrelated Norton program on my computer and their upgrade center confirmed the serial number. This gave me a pretty substantial discount.

How Often

How often you back up is a personal choice.

It simply boils down to how much information could you lose in a worse case scenario. If you back up every 7 days and your hard drive fails on day 6, would your business survive ok?

I back up twice a week and I make sure that I have one recent copy "off site" in the event of fire or theft. My oldest off site copy is no more than a month old in the absolute worse case scenario.

Having your back ups happen on an automatic schedule makes life so much easier. I have mine set to start in the early morning hours before I get up. The bottom line is it can give you excellent peace of mind and possible save you a world of grief.

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