Backups

Just depends on the type of damage to the hard drive. I can’t tell you how many people have saved years’ worth of pictures and important documents on their computer and never performed a simple backup of their data. It really is very easy to do. You can use DVD’s, Thumb drives, External Hard drives or The Cloud to store your data on. My personal choice is an External Hard Drive. You can buy one that will hold 500 Gigabytes of data for around $65.00 dollars. With the software included you can even password protect your External Hard Drive making it more secure against data theft. I’m not a fan of using “The Cloud” for my backups. The Cloud means you’re using off-site servers to store your data on. I don’t care how safe the companies tell you your data will be, their employees will always be able to see what you have saved on their servers. Also NSA and other agencies will have access to that data for National Security. Flash Thumb drives have 2 draw backs. First, they are so small they could be easy to lose, and second if they fail it could cost you $200 to $600 to retrieve that stored data. The problem with storing backups on DVD’s is most people have much more data than 4.7 Gigabits which is what a DVD can hold. If you have say 40 Gigabits of data to backup then you would need 9 DVD’s to copy all your data. This is also the slowest way to make a backup! What should you backup? This is the list I would start with. Everything on your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, Email and Internet Favorites. How often should you do backups? Depends on how often your adding data to your computer. But at least once a month!! It’s a good idea to write down a reminder on a calendar when your next backup is due. Keep your Backup in a safe and secure place and away from environmental hazards such as direct sunlight, extreme heat, excessive vibrations, and water. Do not store your backups next to your computer! In case of fire or natural disaster you’ll have a better chance of saving your data if it’s in at least 2 different physical locations. Always test your backups to make sure the data is indeed being saved. This sounds like common sense right? I have seen several people thinking there doing their backups and actually nothing was being saved. So after you have made your backup PLEASE check the data by going into it and verifying that the data was saved. This is so easy to do. Now if you don’t feel comfortable doing the backup or just need some training on how to do it properly you can always call us and we will come out and give you the training you need. The BEST time to do backups is before your computer has died! (And they always die at some point!)