Why Backup? (A backup strategy for all…)

As we rely more and more on digital devices, we increase our risk of serious losses if we do not take certain precautions. Take the average person/family who takes hundreds if not thousands of photos during the course of a year or two.  A majority of people do take the time to copy them to their computers but some just leave them on the camera or on extra memory cards. Neither of these is a very good idea as portable memory cards can get lost or damaged very easily, and computers which are for the most part reliable, can fail or get corrupted without warning. Specifically I am talking about hard drive failures, viruses, Trojans, or human error. Leaving your critical data only on your computers without any form of backup is a disaster just waiting to happen. I am not trying to paint gloom and doom, but it really is not “if” it will happen, but rather "when" a loss will happen. When you ask most people if they backup, 95% they will typically respond “NO”, and the 5% that do back up, often do it incorrectly or inconsistently. Most of the same people will talk about getting around to buying an external hard drive to protect their data or put if off because “that it will never happen to me”. I usually get very concerned when I hear this as you are truly playing with fire with your family memories or your important data. I will try and describe some backup methods with pros and cons as well as a brief description on what to purchase and how to do it.

Option 1 (Less Secure Backup)
This is about the least you can do to protect you data. This process is aimed at only data and will not protect your system and is intended for a single PC. Meaning, if you have a problem such a virus, it will not allow you to recover the system but your data (photos, music, etc,) will be protected. Remember that you will have to rebuild your system or purchase a new one in the event of a crash. It also means that all your software, settings, and customizing you did will also be lost. The other important thing is that it will only keep “ONE” instance of the file. That means if you back up on Monday, make changes or edits on Tuesday, back up and again on Wednesday and you realize that the information you changed was incorrect, only the most recent file is kept and the version you had on Monday is gone.

Equipment/Software
You will need an extra external or internal hard and sync program such as “AllwaySync” (http://www.allwaysync.com/) that allows you to manually or automatically sync a folder (My Documents) to a folder on the external drive. This is moderately effective when all you want is an updated copy of your files. There are other sync programs and use the one you are most comfortable with, but make sure to use a sync program. Simply trying to just copy your files over to another drive will end up with more problems than you want. If you are running Vista Home Premium or higher as your operating system, you have a built in backup solution that works extremely well so no other software will be required.

Pros:
Minimal hardware, free to low cost software, sometimes included in the operating system.
Cons:
Single instance of the files, does not backup the operating system if hardware fails, and is typically more effective on only one computer.

Option 2 (Mid Security Backup)
In my “opinion” this is really the starting point of a descent back up strategy. This method still uses the same type of external hardware such as a large USB drive or internal drive but adds a much better software solution. Using this method you will use a “full featured” backup solution such as Acronis True Image, Norton Ghost, or if you are using Vista Ultimate, the built in backup program. The main difference here is that a full software backup will “image” your drive meaning an exact clone of you computer will be made so that in the event of a disaster.  You simply drop a new hard drive in and boot using a “restore” program which allows you to restore you system exactly as it was at the time you last backed if you get into some kind of trouble. It will also keep multiple versions of the backup so that if you accidently delete a file or part of a file, you can restore it from an earlier date. In addition to doing this, I would also supplement this with option 1 describe above for added security.
 
http://www.symantec.com/norton/ghost
http://www.acronis.com/

Pros:
Backs up your system (saving you endless hours and money reconstructing the system), gives you multiple instances of the files so you can access different versions.
Cons:
You will need to spend an additional $40-80 dollars for the extra software. If you external drive is too small, you may also need a larger one. 750 gig or higher is recommended for multiple images.

Option 3 (Optimal Backup)
If you are really serious about making sure that every PC in your house is protected, there are several ways to go.  The one that appeals to me more is using a small relatively inexpensive home server that can be purchased ready to run out of the box or made yourself from an older or cheaper PC. In addition, using an external drive on the server to create a second layer (or offsite backup) of protection adds that extra sense of safety. Most people feel that this is an overkill however if you add up the number of external drives needed to routinely backup say 2-3 computers (desktop, laptop) and the shear hassle of making sure that it is done correctly make the server a much better choice. An entry level (with scalable storage) can be purchase for as low as $299, however plan on a little more for the long haul and budget around ~$400-500. First, every PC/laptop in your house will be backed up every night (up to 10 PCs). Second, it will give you the ability to do a restore from a boot CD it you replace your PC, if you’re hard drive fails, or if you just hose things up and it will not start anymore. In addition, it will give you a central storage location that can be used by everyone on your network for music, photos, videos, and of course movies. It will also give you user control so you can decide who gets to see what and what privileges they get. Considering the backup runs in the evening when no one is on the computers, updates every night without user intervention, has the option of data duplication on the server (data in two physical locations), gives you remote access to your data, and you get all the other benefits such as shared data and user control, it is a much more secure and flexible approach that easily grows with your needs. I included a link to Microsoft’s site so you can get a better overview of what it can do. Have been using Home Sever since the pre release version and I am a believer.  It is truly the best and safest way to backup as well as manage data day to day in a home with one or more computers. The more computers you have, the more it makes sense. Like insurance, we tend to not want things that are for safety; however this solution is not only for safety but adds a ton of features as well.

Check out these two web sites and see for yourself.

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/windowshomeserver/demo.mspx


Pros:
Multi-levels of backup, convenient, automated, comes with boot recovery CD, gives you a wealth of other features, and its scalable.
Cons:
Higher price, most effective if you computers are connected to your network using cable for maximum performance but will work fine over WiFi.