Many backup strategies exist, from copying a file to a floppy disk to network based backups to a SAN or robotic tape library.  This FAQ will attempt to address that gray area in the middle, Windows users at home with irreplaceable data or the Windows based small office that cannot afford to have data loss.

Primary reasons for data loss are human error and hardware error.  Human error is when a document gets deleted, modified, or lost (think floppy or USB thumb drive that gets misplaced).  I even have personally experienced a thumb drive smashed in a car door!  Hardware error is usually a hard disk failure.

Considerations in choosing software and hardware are often decided together based on cost, user capabilities, the amount of data to backup, and a balance between backing up for human or hardware error.  Even lower priced home computers now have the ability to use RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks).  The simplest RAID requires two hard drives with data getting saved to each of the drives simultaneously.  RAID is totally transparent to the user and if one drive fails the other continues to merrily do its job.  The computer will normally sound an audible alert if one of the drives needs attention.  RAID is a great way of not having to reinstall the operating system, application software, and worrying about recovering data from backups.  It addresses hardware failure well, but does nothing for the human error.

Recovering files due to human error (or hardware error if RAID is not in place) requires software to perform the backup and media to safely store the backup.  Software examples include using Windows Explorer to copy files, writing a batch file, using Windows' backup software, file synchronization software, or commercially available imaging software such as Symantec Ghost.   See the below links on how to use XP's backup program, a nice file synchronization program, and Ghost.  Media can include floppies (though this is very restrictive due to the size of files and the limited space on a floppy disk), USB devices, recordable CD or DVD, and external hard drives.

An ideal backup strategy is determined by the value of what might be lost without a backup.  A casual home user might have nothing to lose but a few jokes saved from e-mail, some high gaming scores, and a few word processing documents.  In this case I doubt a backup is necessary at all.  At the next level the user might use a financial program such as Quicken or MS Money and word processing documents that contain information that would be difficult to find or type again.  This user's backup needs could be met by utilizing the Application software's backup features and by using Windows Explorer to copy the documents to floppy disks or a writable CD.

My personal usage is one more step higher.  With many applications that would be time consuming to reinstall and patch up to date, gigabytes of data including photos, scans, and decades of documents, even a writable DVD would not have enough capacity.  I purchased an external USB hard disk drive enclosure for under $35, two large capacity hard disks, and Symantec's Ghost software.  Every month I create a full ghost image of my computer to one of the drives.  This drive is then removed from the enclosure and stored at a trusted off-site location.  If there is a fire or other disaster I can quickly restore from the drive that was not on-site.  Ghost allows incremental changes to be saved, which I do between complete images.  One drive is in the enclosure on-site and used for backups, the other is off-site, and they get rotated every month or so.  Another benefit of this is to reduce the chances of both the computer's disk going bad and having a bad backup or backup drive failure at the same time.  Purchasing two external hard drives might cost a little more but will eliminate the need to alternate drives in an enclosure.

Windows XP has a great feature called System Restore.  If a new program, update to an existing program, or other modifications are made to the computer that render it unstable or made undesirable changes, do not hesitate to use the System Restore.  System Restore will not erase data files such as Word Documents, but will return the system to a previous point in time that you choose.  See the link below for a nice article detailing how it works and how to use it.

Beyond the above strategies would require more detail and discussion than intended for this quick little FAQ.  Feel free to contact Schmahl World if you have needs that require tape drives, SAN or NAS storage, or other methods.

Useful Links and Further Reading:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=320820  A step by step guide to using XP's backup program

http://www.allwaysync.com/index.html  Free for personal use file synchronization program

http://www.symantec.com/sabu/ghost/ghost_personal/  Symantec Ghost for Home or Small Office

http://www.acnc.com/04_01_01.html  Information and tutorial about RAID

http://www.ultratech-llc.com/KB/?File=Backups.TXT Andrew Baker's FAQ, includes nice links

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/getstarted/ballew_03may19.mspx XP System Restore

http://www.bluedamage.com/2004/11/17/backing-up-the-internet/  Interesting link on how the Internet gets backed up

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Schmahl World Computer Assistance, LLC

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