|
Most of us have data on our PC which we prefer not to lose. In the
event of a hard drive crash, do you have a backup? There are several good
ways to backup your important data so that if you should have a hard drive
crash, you will be able to recover your files up to your most current backup.
Here are a few suggestions on how to backup your data.
- Use a CD-RW drive. This type of disk will store up to about 650MB
per disk. This type of backup is nice because it can be read on most
any computer that has a CD drive. The makes your data very
transportable and provides a long lasting backup of your important files and
data.
- Use a DVD-RW drive. The only advantage of using this type of drive
over the normal CD drive is that the DVD media can store up to 4.7GB per
disk or about 8 times more than the standard CD.
- Use a 2nd internal or external hard drive. This type of device is
rather inexpensive and works very well. Windows 2000 and XP both have
backup software included with the operating system which will allow you to
automate your backups. The nice feature of this type of media for your
backup is that the size available for backing up your files is equal to the
size of the hard drive you have.
- Use a tape drive. This has gotten to be a rather expensive
option. The cost of the device and the necessary media can run several
hundred dollars. If you have a lot of data or you want to automate the
backups of a lot of PC's, this might be your best bet.
So, now that you have all this information, what are your plans?
Working without a backup can be very risky.
Here is something for you to consider.... If your hard drive were to
crash right now, can you get back up and running without a backup? Can you
do without your old email and your address book? Could you lose the all
the research data stored on your computer and still be able to continue with
your research?
If you'd like some help deciding what backup method is best for you, feel
free to email us at tech@mae.ufl.edu and
we will be happy to help.
| 
