What do you backup

[PattiChati]

How do you know what to backup. I know they say your data, but on the list you are given, I cannot tell what is data. I did what I thought was right and they said I was out of room - and that was an 8 gb flash drive. I went back to see what WAS backed up and it was incomplete and couldn't open all of it. I know of five things that I want backed up, but don't see them in the list. I googled it, but they went into a far more detailed explanation than I was able to comprehend. Thanks.

 

[richnrockville]

How do you know what to backup. Thanks.

PattiChati. I have a basic rule to tell anyone that wants to backup.

If you would weep, cry, knash your teeth or pound your head on the table
if that important photo(s) or document(s) disappeared. then I highly recommend
that you save it or copy it to another media.

It is a darn shame to see grown people cry when you have to tell them that the only copy of the great american novel was on that hard disk that crashed and destroyed all the data on the disk. Or someone broke in and stole their computer.
True case that I can think of was the daughter of a friend who had the only copy of her wedding pictures on her laptop hard disk and someone stole it.

Or, your laptop was stolen at starbucks when you got up to go to the bathroom.

any of the above is more than enough reason to backup your data.

Backing up can be as simple as saving a copy to a removable usb disk or as sophisticated as running a disk imaging program that creates a complete snapshot of your hard disk and stores it on an external hard disk or device.

Rich

PS; they sell at most electronics stores for less than $100 an USB external hard disk that includes a backup program. Just plug it in and in some cases, just push the button and it will search your computer and backup all the graphics and documents.

BACKUP! BACKUP! BACKUP!

 

[Wishmaster]

BackUps, in my own personal view, have 2 different categories.
Personal DATA and System BackUps (or images).


A back up of DATA are things such as..

The My Documents Folder, Pictures, Music, and Videos. Or anyother folder you may have made containing important documents.
Such as reciepts or bank statements.

Basically all personal DATA that can not be or re-installed from disc or download, and would be lost forever if something happened to the HardDrive or PC.
Or in other words, things that are yours and Windows or your applications have no need for to operate.


System backUps, or System Images on the other hand, is a compete image of the Operating System (Windows 7 itself) and all programs you have installed.

Its basically a complete copy of the Hard Drive, not just specific files or folders.


In the event something happens, such as a Virus or the HardDrive fails, Windows can be easily restored to another HD, or the same HD, with everything intact just as it was the day the image was made.

This image would include everything on the Drive.
Windows itself, all of your programs (software), system settings, as well as the activation status of any software, Windows included.


If you have multiple hard drives, it is a good idea to keep the two separated from each other.
This way, all of your personal DATA is away from the OS, and easier to backup and keep organized.
Since Windows does not even need any of these things (it is only your own personal files), it also makes sense in regards to keeping the Windows installation smaller and faster to back up and restore in the event of a problem.

If you have just a single drive, a syetm image will backup everything including your personal files. This may be time consuming though, depending how much is there.


As richnrockville said, and I agree, if its something you know for a fact you do want to loose or can not replace, make sure you have a backup of it.

 

[PattiChati]

I have an 8 gb usb flash drive and I thought that would be enuf for 2 backups. I am not sure where to go to find my data. It is on my desktop, but I know you can't back up that way. Where do I go to find a list that I can pick from? Thanks.

 

[whs]

If you want to implement a serious backup strategy, you should have about 250GB of external space on an external disk.

The easiest is with images. That is a "catch all" if you have only one partition for the system and data. It is, however, preferable to have a seperate Data Partition. Then you can Image System and User Data at different times depending on the change activity. A sperate data Partition is also useful if your System goes on the blink - for whatever reason. The manipulation of the System Partition will then not effect your user data.

To get you started, have a look at this: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html?ltr=I

And if you like to know more about good backup strategies, read this: http://www.sevenforums.com/backup-restore/128494-imaging-strategies.html

 

[maxseven]

You need to place all of the data that you want backed-up into a location where you can find it (and back it up!).

For now, go to C:\Users\yourname and right-click on that folder; select Properties. "Size on disk" will tell you how big it is and whether/how much will fit on your USB stick. If it's too big, then go-in one step further and look at the folders therein to see which ones contain your data (Desktop? Documents? My Music? All of the above?).

The AppData folder (hidden I believe) may have good stuff in it too, but a lot of that is temp files and program data specific to your usage of the PC and maybe not totally urgent for now.

But next you need to buy an external USB hard drive e.g. 500Gb or 1-3Tb and you would use THAT to backup an image of your entire PC, programs, files, settings, windows, everything. That's what you really need e.g. Macrium Reflect or EaseUS ToDo or Acronis True Image:

1. Backup your Files (that you create yourself) every day, or at least whenever you've created anything important!

2. Backup your entire PC (by imaging it to the USB hard drive) whenever you add a program, make changes, etc. but at least once a month if not every week.

Timing of these is all about how much you do and how many hours/days you are willing to spend recovering your position rebuilding your data or PC from the last backup!

 

[PattiChati]

Is this a good usb external hard drive? Does the 5.0 gbps mean it is just a 5 gb drive. I have a 8 gb flash drive. This one is $100
My Passport Essential SE 1 TB External hard drive - 5.0 Gbps (SuperSpeed USB

 

[richnrockville]

Is this a good usb external hard drive? Does the 5.0 gbps mean it is just a 5 gb drive. I have a 8 gb flash drive. This one is $100
My Passport Essential SE 1 TB External hard drive - 5.0 Gbps (SuperSpeed USB

Western Digital My Passport Essential SE 1 TB USB 3.0/2.0 Ultra Portable External Hard Drive (Silver)
$99.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping

• Dual USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility
• Connectivity today; speed for tomorrow
• Up to 3x faster transfer rates with USB 3.0
• Maximum capacity
• Automatic, continuous backup
• Hardware encryption, password protection

so, the drive has the option of using usb 3.0 if you have it. It also has continuous backup which of course will be installed on your machine when you plug it in and run the software included. This could be a bonus for you.

Rich

 

[maxseven]

Is this a good usb external hard drive? Does the 5.0 gbps mean it is just a 5 gb drive. I have a 8 gb flash drive. This one is $100
My Passport Essential SE 1 TB External hard drive - 5.0 Gbps (SuperSpeed USB

No, it's not a 5Gb drive, it is a 1 Terabyte drive. Oughta hold many many backups of both files and images.

As a "portable" you pay more than for a Desktop model, and some might argue that 2.5" drives are less robust than 3.5"; I dunno myself.

Anyway if you tell us the make/model of your PC we might advise you a bit better.

 

[whs]

5.0 Gbps (SuperSpeed USB

That means that the drive has a data Transfer Speed of 5 Gigabits per second. For a normal USB2 that is a lot because USB2 can only transfer 480MB/sec. To fully exploit it you need a USB3 attachment which can handle up to 6GB/sec.

 

[PattiChati]

I noticed you pay more for a portable which I don't need, so which one should I get? A lot of them say no software to mess around with.
I have a Dell computer with Windows 7, Vostro 220, intel processor. Is that the info you need. I don't have a lot of stuff to backup and it is just a home computer, so I don't need heavy duty I don't think. I had a 8 gb flash drive and thought that would hold it all, but I guess not.
I cannot afford to spend a lot, but don't want to get one that breaks and gives me trouble. Thanks.

 

[maxseven]

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.

 

[whs]

Here is a good source. There is e.g. a 500GB Seagate for $39.99 at Newegg which looks like a good deal. Seagates are as good as any - although I personally prefer the Japanese makes.
Storage Devices Deals - Deals2buy.com

 

[boohbah]

one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet pati is to back up some of your most important files online, i can recommend using skydrive, if you open a windows live account then you can upload your important photos and documents and have another backup that way, this would be for an emergency ,ie you have a house fire or break in and your computer and external drives are lost.
and you could do it now. also you can have around 25GB of storage in the skydrive..
this will give you piece of mind until you can purchase an external ,and it is free.

here is a link for skydrive information.

SkyDrive: Get started - Upload files online, share photos in email

 

[PattiChati]

I don't know what to do. I am still trying to figure out how to get the files I want to backup. It always backs up a file called Patty's PC which takes up a lot of space. I don't even know what that is or how it gets there. I want documents, photos - basically everything that is on my desktop. I go to the list where you pick out what you want, and I do that, but I still get what the computer wants!!! I couldn't figure out skydive. I am so dumb and frustrated. I know I should back up, this computer is 4 years old, so never know when it will die.

 

[boohbah]

i suspect pattys pc is your users folder which contains documents ,photos music etc which also contains a desktop folder ie whats on the desktop..

skydrive is very simple when you get started.
if you open a windows live account then we can help you get started from here.

dont be fustrated you are amongst friends and we can get you there.

 

[mjf]

Important personal data: multiple safe copies in what ever form.

Images:
* 2 external HDDs (2 smaller rather than 1 big). These things fail!
* 2 locations if possible (I'm way too lazy)
* 2 imaging software packages. Fewer images with one that you can fall back on if your best friend deserts you.

 

[PattiChati]

Thanks Boohboh - I have got skydive now. When it asked for my email address it wouldn't let me put in yahoo, so I used hotmail. Lower down it said alternative email and that is where I put my yahoo address. Ok - I got that far!!!
So where do I go from here?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Don't forget to back up your saved email and your bookmarks. Where they are located depends on what email application you use and what browser you use.

Separate in your mind two different categories: Windows and personal data.

Windows can only be backed up with an image. Personal data can be backed up with an image or "file by file" (without using an image).

For most people, personal data is much more important than Windows. So, you should pay special attention to personal data backup.

If you have an ordinary installation, your personal data is probably somewhere inside the C:\users folder. If nothing else, you could just copy the entire C:\users folder to your backup drive from time to time.

There are applications that will help automate this process, but your first task is to identify and locate ALL of your personal data--most of it should be under C:\users\yourusername.

Backing up Windows itself is another issue entirely. If you know how to reinstall Windows from scratch (if you had to), then I wouldn't get too concerned about backing up Windows. If you can and are willing to reinstall Windows and your applications in an emergency situation, you don't have to backup Windows with an image. Most people don't backup Windows. Most people don't build their own PCs and therefore don't have regular Windows installation discs. Instead, they rely on the recovery capabilities built into the PC by the manufacturer---rather than imaging. Most likely, that is your situation. You should make "recovery disks" if you have not already done so.

With your situation and skill level, I would concentrate on personal data backup. All you need to do that is an external drive and knowledge of where your personal data is.

 

[PattiChati]

hard drive

Here is a good source. There is e.g. a 500GB Seagate for $39.99 at Newegg which looks like a good deal. Seagates are as good as any - although I personally prefer the Japanese makes.
Storage Devices Deals - Deals2buy.com

When I go to Newegg, it is not for 39.99, it is 60 something. It doesn't get good reviews but I think only 3 people reviewed it.