Back Up Your Computer Files Regularly and Often!
It is very important that you back up your computer files. Many things can go wrong in your computer that can destroy your files. Hard drive failures, viruses, file corruption, and people accidentally deleting their own files are just a few examples that we see fairly often. Backups do not guarantee you will not have problems, but by backing up your files every day, preferably to another location that is outside your office building, you will help minimize the chance that you can lose data and will allow us to restore your files as quickly as possible. Contact Bhea and Gabriel if you want us to set up a backup system for you.
Backups Help Protect Your Files From Hard Drive Failures
Hard drive failures are very common. The average laptop hard drive lasts only three years. In fact all hard drives will fail eventually if you use them long enough. They have moving parts that rub against each other and wear each other out until the hard drive breaks down like an old car. Some defective drives fail within a few weeks or months.
If your hard drive fails, your computer will not start, and it is likely you could lose some of your important files. If you do not have a recent backup, you might need to hire a data recovery company that will charge thousands of dollars to get your files back. It is possible that they cannot recover your files. If you back up your files daily to another hard drive, then we can replace your hard drive and restore your files at a cost that is almost certainly much lower than a data recovery service.
Back Up Your Server
Servers hard drives fail as easily as desktop computer hard drives, and that is only one example of the many things that can damage your server's files. If you do not have a backup, you might not be able to recover them. It is absolutely essential that you back up the files on your server every day, preferably to a site that is outside your office building. If you do, we can repair your server, restore your files and get your company back to work as soon as possible. Please contact us if you would like us to set up your server backup for you.
Backups Help Protect Your Files From Viruses
Viruses are everywhere. If you scan your computer for viruses right now, there is a good chance your anti-virus software will find some. Many viruses destroy files, therefore it is essential to have up-to-date anti-virus software and to back up your files every day. See more information about how to protect your computer from viruses.
Off Site Backups Help Protect Your Files from Theft, Fires and Earthquakes
Serious disasters such as theft, fires, and earthquakes are less common, but they do happen.
It is difficult to think about such a terrible thing happening to your business or home. Many people say, "If a fire burned our office down, we would have more important things to worry about than our files." For a time that would be true, but eventually you would want to get back to work and back to your normal life, and you will need your files.
We strongly recommend that you back up your files to a hard drive or computer that is in a different building that is not near the building that houses the computer with the original files. Your server would be safe even if your office were to be completely destroyed in a fire or if thieves stole all of your computers and hard drives.
Just as you have insurance to repair damage to your building and pay for your damaged servers, you need a backup so Bhea and Gabriel can restore your files.
If you live in an area that has earthquakes, your backup should be at least 30 miles away from the computer that contains the originals.
Cloud Backups
Backing up to "the cloud" (a server on the internet) is a very easy, effective way to back up off-site, and it is well worth the cost. Please contact us if you would like us to set up a cloud backup for you.
Rotate Multiple Hard Drives Off-site
Some companies are concerned about the security of their confidential files, and do not want to put copies on other companies' servers. For them we recommend that you back up your files to external hard drives, which a trusted senior manager will take off-site to her home or to a bank box at the end of the day.
She would rotate at least three drives off-site. One drive would be connected to the server and the backup system will copy the files to it that night. At the end of her shift, she would take a second hard drive to store off-site at her home or in a bank box. The next morning she would bring the third hard drive from the off-site storage to the office. She would disconnect the drive that contains the previous night's backup from the server and connect the drive that she brought in that day. That way, there would always be at least one copy of her company's important data off site at all times.
Automatically Verify Your Backup
Is it possible for a backup copy of a file to be corrupt? Yes, sometimes computers create corrupt backups. Make sure your backup system automatically verifies each backup. It will log any files that it could not back up correctly Contact Bhea and Gabriel if you need help with that.
Make Sure Your Backup Saves a History of Your Files
Also make sure your backup saves the "history" of the changes to your files. That means it does not erase old backups each time it creates new backups, so you will have multiple copies of your files. so you will have multiple versions of all of your files.
If you accidentally delete part of a file and then do not use that file for a few days or so, you might not notice the problem. If you have a backup history, you can restore a version of that file from last week or earlier.
Back Up Your Home Computer
Even on your home computer, you probably have some files that you do not want to lose. Almost everyone has digital photos of friends and families saved on their home computers. Many people keep personal financial records. You should back up those files every day.
Please contact us so we can propose a backup that is right for you.
More free computer tips and how tos.