Backups

  • Thread starter Thread starter emcating
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emcating

I'm not extremely familiar with PC's but my boss is looking into backing up
her files on her computer and I have no idea how! She has windows XP.. how do
I go about doing this? Do i need to buy software or is there something i can
dowload?
 
Key question, do you want to have to administer/monitor/maintain it or
just have something that takes care of itself. Carbonite or Mozy are two
online automatic backup providers that you can investigate. Otherwise
you'll have to buy backup software, media and manage the backups.

For business use, you'd be better off using one of the secure, off-site
providers. Cost varies depending on the plan and amount of data that
needs protection.
 
I'm not extremely familiar with PC's but my boss is looking into backing up
her files on her computer and I have no idea how! She has windows XP.. how do
I go about doing this? Do i need to buy software or is there something i can
dowload?
Click to expand...

If you opt for a 3rd party application, here are some better ones to chose
from:

Powerful backup that is easy to do!
http://www.acronis.com.sg/homecomputing/

Casperâ„¢ Backup Solution for Windows
http://www.fssdev.com/

Norton Ghostâ„¢
http://www.symantec.com/norton/products/overview.jsp?pcid=br&pvid=ghost12
 
emcating said:
I'm not extremely familiar with PC's but my boss is looking into
backing up her files on her computer and I have no idea how! She has
windows XP.. how do I go about doing this? Do i need to buy software
or is there something i can dowload?
Click to expand...

ZIP the files needing backup and send 'em to your Gmail account as an
attachement. Gmail lets you have some gigabytes of storage (maybe terabytes
by now). Yahoo and Hotmail also offer oodles of storage.

Hint: You'll have to change the .zip extension first or Gmail won't accept
it.
 
Hi

It's helpful to distinguish backing up data from backing up the operating
system and program files. The data may change everyday and is probably much
smaller that the OS and programs.

To backup data you can use Windows own backup system which can be scheduled
to run as often as you like. I use Zipbackup because I like the way it
retains the directory structure of the backed up files. I tell it to backup
"My Documents".

Then you have the question of where to save the backup file. You can save it
to an external hard disk, but if you are really obsessive (and I am) you can
burn it to a DVD or a portable hard disk (mine is about the size of a pack
of playing cards) and save the DVD or hard disk off the premises.

Backing up the OS and program files will take longer, and produce a much
bigger file. This is often called "imaging". Ghost and Acronis True Image
are popular programs but I find Terabyte Unlimited's Image for DOS cheaper
and more reliable. The latter is a suite: it includes a program that runs
from Windows and Image for Linux. I'd go with Terabyte because their support
is splendid.

You can store the image on an external hard disk, but I also burn it to DVDs
or a portable hard disk which I keep off the premises.

Good luck, Dan S
 
I'm not extremely familiar with PC's but my boss is looking into
backing up her files on her computer and I have no idea how! She has
windows XP.. how do I go about doing this? Do i need to buy software
or is there something i can dowload?
Click to expand...


You might want to read this article I recently wrote: "Back Up Your
Computer Regularly and Reliably at
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=314[/QUOTE]

Pretty decent article; good going.
FYI, I'm a long time WinZip fan and as long as you aren't backing up the
operating system, it now has a programmable "Jobs" function to do
backups. I like it because it's fast and gives good compression for
using CDs/DVDs. I use it sort of like you do for those "instant"
backups of things I just worked on might want to go back to often
(development, etc.). I just fire it from a batch file on my desktop.

Cheers,
 
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