BizNet OnLine Magazine, Any Backup Is Better Then None.

You Have Insurance Just In Case You House Burns Down,
You Car Gets Hit, Your Legs Get Broken... No, Then Why Don't You...

You Have Insurance Just In Case You House Burns Down, You Car Gets Hit, Your Legs Get Broken... No, Then Why Don't You...

Let's face it. Everyone knows they should have insurance for this or that. In fact most of us do. The only thing that stops all of us from having insurance is if we can afford it or not.

Now, with insurance were not thinking that a bad thing is going to happen, we just know it could happen.

Just look at that computer on your desk. Do you think it could get screwed up, or do you know it will? Be honest; with computers it's not "if" it's "when". It's going to happen and you know it. Let's not even talk about if your system gets stolen or burns down with the office. If you think the cost of replacement is going to kill you... Then you better grab a chair and sit down. How are you going to recover from the loss of all your data files? You know. Customer's names and numbers, billing information... Am I making you sick yet?

Then get up off you chair and back your system up! Any backup is better then none.

In backing up, ideally you want to do it once a day, then mid-week, then weekly, then once a month. This gives you a history to recover from.

Now, important notes about backing up; most of the time individuals do a total backup the first time and then they just set their software to back up changed files. To restore, you're going to need the complete history, from the first total backup to every taped change. If you lost a tape or reused it, you can be in trouble. So think carefully about when to do a total backup and when to just go with changes.

Remember that if you have the original program disks that you installed from, you do not need to back them up. You do need to backup your system files and data files (files you work on), that go with your program files.

In how to do a backup you have lots of choices. By the Internet, Tape, Floppy Disc, Zip, Jazz, Tape, CD-R, CD-RW, Hard Drive and More!!

The cheapest is over the Internet. It is also the slowest. As it is off-site storage it can't be stolen or destroyed along with your equipment. In most cases you log on and send your files. If disaster strikes, you contact the company and they send you your data on a CD-Rom.

For information on these types of companies, check out these links:

http://www.uswest.com/ebackup/home.html
http://www.telebackup.com/
http://www.sorceror.com/index.html
http://www.atrieva.com/
http://www.mcafee.com
http://www.mci.com

For more information on backing up by Hard Drive or CD-R see BizNet's stories in this issue.

Tape backup is the most popular at this time. It is faster than backing up over the "Net", but it is still slower than backing up to disc.

No matter how you back it up, don't forget to test the backup! When you're trying to restore a system, that is no time to find out the backup is no good. It is also a very good idea to have some type of backup saved off site.

As you read this, the BizNet Crew, will be hunting down the latest on backups. Be it Tape, Floppy Disc, Zip, Jazz, Tape, CD-R, CD-RW, Hard Drive or? Look for more upcoming articles.

So, look at that computer your reading this on. Have you backed it up? If not why? What are you waiting for?

Take A Look At Some Other Articles This Month In BizNet Online Magazine

Hard Drives Take A Dive In Price
You Don’t Have To Be A Shark To Zip The Confusion On High Capacity Storage And All That Jazz
Look Ma No Paper Or How You Will Never Have To Hunt For A Lost File Again
Any backup is better then none.

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