What do you backup

[PattiChati]

I found alot in the users folder. I also found bookmarks, but they were in a list and I am not sure how to get them to a place to copy them. I use yahoo with firefox. When I reinstall yahoo if need be, wouldn't my emails automatically be there? My flash drive is only 8 gb and my users folder is already 11 gb before bookmarks . So I have to get something else. Do you think this one would be good. I don't want to spend much.
Seagate FreeAgent GoFlex Desk 500GB USB 2.0 Hard Drive STAC500100

 

[boohbah]

good point ignatza..,

this is what we are doing now patty with the skydrive.
( click on the screenshots twice to enlarge them patty!)
when you open the windows live page then along the top you will see different shortcuts hotmail,messenger skydrive and msn.



click the skydrive shortcut and you should see a dropdown it may in your case show a list with "getting started"
then the skydrive page will open, along the top there is a create line of icons including a folder,



click the folder
then the next pane will prompt you to name the folder , call it test or whatever for now you can change it later.
then click next,then click the link to "select documents from your computer", then a window will open for you to navigate to your folders you want to back up I.E. desktop.



to select the files you want for instance if you have a folder for photos on the desktop then click the photos folder then when it opens and you see all your photos then click organise then select all.



then click open ,the photos should start to upload.

then repeat the process for a different folder.
and be sure to have the setting for the folders once uploaded to be only viewed by you ,it should say shared "with:just me" when done correctly

 

[ignatzatsonic]

That Seagate should work fine.

Your entire Firefox configuration and bookmarks are located in the Mozilla folder at this location:

C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming

As you see, it is a subfolder of C:\Users. So if you back up C:\Users and its subfolders, your bookmarks will be part of the backup.

 

[PattiChati]

hard drive at office depot

`

If you're in the U.S., I just read the Sunday ads and Office Depot has a $99 Seagate 1TB GoFlex (desktop) drive on sale for $60 bucks. Almost certainly USB2.0, but a good deal if that's all you have anyway (eSATA and USB3.0 are alot faster). I have 3 Seagate ext drives and they've all been great, the latest being one of the GoFlex (mine's a USB3.0, but the same size/shape/features otherwise). It's deadly silent, wicked-fast, and has a nice form-factor with spiffy LEDs.

The 8Gb flash drive ought to serve you well for your Documents. Backup critical Documents to it every day. The big drive is for everything i.e. windows, programs, settings, docs, you-name-it.

P.S. the Vostro doesn't look to have USB3.0 ports (they'd be Blue most likely) so you wouldn't need USB3.0 unless you plan to replace the PC sometime soon.

Is it the one for $69? It does get good reviews, a little more than I wanted to spend though. Any other ideas for a good one but cheaper.

 

[PattiChati]

price of seagate

That Seagate should work fine.

Your entire Firefox configuration and bookmarks are located in the Mozilla folder at this location:

C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming

As you see, it is a subfolder of C:\Users. So if you back up C:\Users and its subfolders, your bookmarks will be part of the backup.

That price is no longer available, it is now $60 or $69. I really would like a cheaper one, but a decent one.

 

[PattiChati]

skydrive

good point ignatza..,

this is what we are doing now patty with the skydrive.
( click on the screenshots twice to enlarge them patty!)
when you open the windows live page then along the top you will see different shortcuts hotmail,messenger skydrive and msn.

View attachment 176838

click the skydrive shortcut and you should see a dropdown it may in your case show a list with "getting started"
then the skydrive page will open, along the top there is a create line of icons including a folder,

View attachment 176839

click the folder
then the next pane will prompt you to name the folder , call it test or whatever for now you can change it later.
then click next,then click the link to "select documents from your computer", then a window will open for you to navigate to your folders you want to back up I.E. desktop.

View attachment 176840

to select the files you want for instance if you have a folder for photos on the desktop then click the photos folder then when it opens and you see all your photos then click organise then select all.

View attachment 176841

then click open ,the photos should start to upload.

then repeat the process for a different folder.
and be sure to have the setting for the folders once uploaded to be only viewed by you ,it should say shared "with:just me" when done correctly

Your directions sound clear, but I am going to give myself a break right now. Too much of this stuff gets overwhelming to me - thats a newbie for you. Hopefully you will be around tomorrow for more help if needed????

 

[PattiChati]

Can I just keep using skydrive instead of getting an external hard drive. If my computer crashes or something, I wouldn't be able to access skydrive? What do you think?

 

[boohbah]

If your computer crashes then you couldnt access your externals either, although you could plug them into another computer.

you can access skydrive from any computer, just sign into your "live" account.

personally i would use an external for backups as well as you can get to the folders easily and you can edit them freely,
having several back ups of you most treasured memories cant be a bad thing.
best be covered for all instances

yes im around most evenings, if not you can PM me or leave a message on my homepage,just click my username on any post of mine and select view user profile.
bye for now.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Can I just keep using skydrive instead of getting an external hard drive. If my computer crashes or something, I wouldn't be able to access skydrive? What do you think?

I would not personally rely on Skydrive or any similar application as my only backup. I have a lot of very important stuff that I just can't entrust to a website in the sky that might go out of business or be unavailable for whatever reason.

If your personal data isn't particularly important to you, then Skydrive might suffice.

Keeping backups on an external is more foolproof and is entirely under your own control.

Here is a Western Digital 500 GB external drive for $50 at Newegg, with free shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136466

 

[PattiChati]

HELP PLEASE HELP!!!! I know this isn't the right forum, but doing all the above, I lost my expense folder where all my tax info is kept. All I have is shortcuts and it says it cannot find the file. I have no backup. Does anyone know how to get it back? I probably deleted it. OMG

 

[ignatzatsonic]

HELP PLEASE HELP!!!! I know this isn't the right forum, but doing all the above, I lost my expense folder where all my tax info is kept. All I have is shortcuts and it says it cannot find the file. I have no backup. Does anyone know how to get it back? I probably deleted it. OMG

Do you have any idea how long it has been missing? The longer it has been since deletion, the greater the chance it cannot be recovered.

If it has simply been misplaced and you do remember the title of the file or folder, then I would download the free Everything search tool from voidtools.com and let it search your hard drive for that file or folder.

If it in fact has been deleted rather than misplaced, you have some chance of getting it with a tool such as Recuva or Getdataback. If the folder was in reality accidentally deleted a long time ago, then your chances of a successful recovery are small.

I'd start with the Everything tool from here:

Everything Search Engine

 

[PattiChati]

It was deleted today sometime.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Look in the recycle bin. If it is there, you can restore it from the menu.

If you know for a fact that it was deleted and it is not in the recycle bin, then the Everything search engine will not find it.

If it was deleted and you then emptied the recycle bin, you will have to use a tool such as Recuva or Getdataback. Since it was deleted recently, you have a pretty good chance with those tools.

 

[PattiChati]

they aren't free are they?

 

[PattiChati]

which one is the best

 

[ignatzatsonic]

They are both free to use and to view any recoverable deleted file or folder.

But I think you then have to pay to actually restore the deleted folder to your hard drive.

I can't say which is best, but I have heard good things about both. Take your pick and be prepared to have to pay something to actually recover the folder.

If there is any chance you simply misplaced the folder rather than deleted it, I would try Everything first.

Any deleted folder should be in the recycle bin unless you have emptied the recycle bin. Did you check the recycle bin already?


Recuva is here:

http://www.piriform.com/recuva

 

[PattiChati]

everythng first found it, but I couldn't figure out how to get it from therel Do you know how? I did delete the trashcan

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Everything is NOT a recovery tool. It just finds files and folders.

Run Everything again. It will show the location of the folder.

If Everything says the folder is in the recycle bin, you should be able to simply go to the recycle bin, right click the folder, and restore it from there.

I would be surprised if Everything can find a folder that has been deleted from the recycle bin.

If the recycle bin is empty, you have to use Recuva or a similar tool unless Everything shows that the folder is in fact somewhere on your hard drive.

First: run Everything again and confirm it can now find the folder and post the location shown. Maybe you don't need Recuva. If Everything finds it and shows the location, go to that location and look for yourself.

 

[PattiChati]

I found the file on everuything but it wouldn't let me do a thing with it. This is "undeleter"
And this is what it found. It is the Patti's Monthly expenses

C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\Important Info\Patti's folder
C:\Users\Patty\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\Profiles\pattichati
C:\Users\Patty\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\[email protected]
C:\Users\Patty\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Live Mail\Calendars\[email protected]
C:\Users\Patty\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\emptygrpsU.pattichati.ini
C:\Users\Patty\Pictures\Pictures\2006_12_13\Beginning of digital to 7-19-95\Uncle Ken\Ken & Patti.JPG
C:\Users\Patty\Pictures\Pictures\my pics\Ken & Patti.JPG
C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\Important Info\Patti's Christmas Music.nra
C:\Users\Patty\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Office\Recent\PATTI'S MONTHLY EXPENSES.LNK
C:\Users\Patty\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\PATTI'S MONTHLY EXPENSES.lnk
C:\Users\Patty\Desktop\PATTI'S MONTHLY EXPENSES.lnk
C:\Users\Patty\Desktop\Desktop1\PATTI'S MONTHLY EXPENSES.lnk
C:\Users\Patty\Pictures\Pictures\Xmas around table small\PATTI'S MONTHLY EXPENSES.lnk
C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\Important Info\Patti's folder\Patti's resume.doc
C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\Important Info\Patti's folder\Patti's resume.Page 2.doc
C:\Users\Patty\Music\Augustana\Other\Patti's Workout.wpl
C:\Users\Patty\Documents\Nikki's wedding\Patti-067 (2).jpg
C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\Important Info\Patti.jpg
C:\Users\Patty\Pictures\Pictures\Patti.jpg
C:\Users\Patty\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\Patti.lnk
C:\Users\Patty\Pictures\Pictures\Patti1.jpg
C:\Users\Patty\AppData\Roaming\ViquaSoft\Shop-N-Spree Family Fortune\Patti_bigfish_prerelease.vpf
C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\Important Info\Taxes\Pattis amended return.tax2009
C:\Program Files\Microsoft.NET\Important Info\poor Patti.docx
C:\Users\Patty\Desktop\New folder\unregistered__1407374883719086__PATTI'S MONTHLY EXPENSES.XLS.und
C:\Users\Patty\Desktop\New folder\unregistered__1688849860350223__PATTI'S MONTHLY EXPENSES.lnk.und
C:\Users\Patty\Desktop\New folder\unregistered__3940649674064607__PATTI'S MONTHLY EXPENSES.LNK.und

 

[PattiChati]

also when I go to restore and it says automatic restore point it gives me an error message why it can't restore.