atmo's quick and dirty guide #1. Backups.

[Atmo]

Too often i see threads on forums like this with people asking "i just accidently formatted my hard drive, how do i get my files back?" or "help, my hard drive just died and i lost all my files, is there any chance of recovery?". Although there is software available which may let you get your files back after they've been deleted or the drive formatted, and there are companies which specialise in data retrieval from dead/damaged drives, these options aren't usually cheap, and there's no guarantee of success. If your pc or laptop has been stolen, then your chances of getting your data back are virtually nil unless it's recovered (and even then the files may have been erased).

Everyone should keep a backup of any important data, most people know this, but whether it be through laziness or ignorance, most people don't. There really is no excuse, so dont come crying to me if you dont backup and you lose all your data.

There's many different ways to backup your data, some are quite reliable, others aren't. These are the most common options:

1. Running a RAID1 array (or other array that uses mirroring). I don't consider this to be a backup option at all. If the files are deleted, corrupted or the drives are formatted, then having them mirrored wont make any difference. If they're gone from one, they're gone from the other/s. This will only save you if one drive dies.

2. Creating a copy of the files on another folder or partition on your hard drive. This method will save you if you accidentally delete the originals, but if the hard drive fails, or all the files are corrupted, then you're no better off.

3. Creating a copy of the files on another hard drive. This is a better option than copying to another partition, because if either hard drive dies or the originals or copies are deleted, you'll have the data on the other, but if both fail at the same time (I've seen it happen), or if the files on both drives are wiped out or corrupted by a virus etc. then you're still no better off.

4. Creating a copy of the files on a removable external hard drive or on a networked pc. This is a reasonable option if you have a large amount of data to backup, as transfers to an external hard drive connected via firewire or usb2.0, or across a 100mb/s network connection will still be fairly quick. It's still not foolproof though, the other pc could become infected with a virus or the files could be corrupted in some other way, and if you leave your external hard drive plugged in all the time, then it's no different than if it was an internal drive.

5. Creating a copy of the files on removable media such as DVD+/-R/RW or CD-R/RW. Not as fast as transferring to an external drive or networked pc, but unless the discs are lost, damaged or stolen then you'll be able to get your data back. In terms of cost per MB of storage space, you cant beat single sided DVD+/-R at the moment. Forget about floppy discs, they're just not reliable enough.

There are other options such as transferring to tape drives or to an FTP server on the net, but these options can be slow or expensive and aren't a great option for home use.

I'm sure some of you are thinking "hey, I've got a 200gb drive, backing all that up to CD/DVD etc. would require many discs and would take ages". Well, you'll probably find that less than 1/4 of the data on your drive really needs to be backed up, and not all of it needs to be backed up often. Also note that once you have a backup, you don't have to backup everything again, just the files created since your last backup.

I generally find a combination of methods works best.

For irreplaceable files (such a photos, work files, basically anything you've created), i recommend making a copy of all new files on another hard drive, external drive or networked pc once a week or so (or as often as you want to), and do a backup to a multisession CD or DVD once a month. If you don't have another internal or external hard drive or another pc on a network, then just backup to a multisession CD or DVD once week instead. In the event of a hard drive failure or file corruption on your primary hard drive, the most you'll lose is a week's worth of files, and if the other hard drive, external drive or networked pc fails at the same time, you wont lose more than a month unless you also manage to lose, damage or have you backup disks stolen. This would only happen if your house catches fire or have everything stolen, so keeping an additional copy of those files on a CD or DVD at a friends or relatives house and updating it occasionally isn't a bad idea, or if you have a fireproof safe you could store them there.

For files that are replaceable but may prove difficult to replace (installers for old software, downloaded pictures, music, movies etc), i prefer a backup of new files to cd once every few months to CD/DVD (if the amount of data isn't too large) or to an, external drive or networked pc, or a combination of all (small files to cd/dvd, larger files to another drive/pc). You can do this once a week, but it's probably overkill.

For files that are replaceable or aren't particularly important, but are convenient to keep after a hard drive format and reinstall of the operating system (drivers, installers, music ripped from cd's you own, game saves and so on), i prefer to just copy to another partition, internal drive, external drive or networked pc before formatting and reinstalling.

Operating system and program files etc. don't need to be backed up. These are all stored on your install discs, so backing them up is just a waste of space. Keeping a drive image of your OS install (when it's fresh) can be handy though, particularly if you find yourself reinstalling your OS often.

If you follow a schedule like that, you'll probably only find you need to spend a few minutes each week backing up your irreplaceable files, then a little more time once a month or so burning to CD or DVD.

What software do you need? Well, Just using explorer and nero or another burning program will do, or you could use microsoft's backup software which is installed by default in Windows 98, 2000 or XP pro. If you use Windows ME or XP home, the backup installer is on the cd, but isn't installed by default and isn't in the add/remove windows components options either.

To install it using Windows ME see here: http://www.helpwithwindows.com/windowsMe/tip-0006.html
To install it using Windows XP home see here:
http://www.theeldergeek.com/backup_f...me_edition.htm

There are many third party alternatives, far too many to cover here, that may have features to make it easier or faster for you to get your data backed up. Some are free, some aren't. Some are worse than the standard backup software that microsoft provides.

Anyway, i hope after reading this you'll implement a backup schedule (if you don't already), and hopefully I wont see anymore threads about lost data.

[ShyShy]

Got tired of us yelling for your help, eh?

[Atmo]

No, i just think that in this case, prevention is better than the cure.

[ctn|chrisw]

hehe good thread =) I just ordered another backup drive the other day, my netdisk is running out of space so I ordered a buffalo linkstation. Its sweet cause if you need more space it will take a normal usb hard drive for more space instead of needing more linkstations.

[Widdykats]

This is why, when you're in deep doo-doo, computer wise,
you send for

[squakMix]

Something I also recommend: make a back up, or order for free online from microsoft.com service pack 2 and all it's updates. I cant tell you how many people I've talked to that've reformatted and gotten screwed again because they were missing the windows updates and got f'ed in the ass by some IP crawling windows exploit bug.

[deeder7001]

is there going to be a quick and dirty guide #2 any time soon?

[Widdykats]

psst. Ya' gotta use "The Atmo Signal"

[deeder7001]

[Widdykats]

Wait for it......

[MegaRock]

Two words - Norton Ghost.

[ctn|chrisw]

Originally posted by squakMix
Something I also recommend: make a back up, or order for free online from microsoft.com service pack 2 and all it's updates. I cant tell you how many people I've talked to that've reformatted and gotten screwed again because they were missing the windows updates and got f'ed in the ass by some IP crawling windows exploit bug.

This is why you slipstream.

[Starbucks]

I have about 3TB worth of data that I simply can't lose. With large amounts of data, the only solution for me was to put 3TB of working data on a RAID-5+1 array and get a whole other 3TB array on RAID-5 for backing up. I have a nice little software for Cobalt that will automatically perform backup every day. Especially useful if you forget.

So far I've had multiple drive failures and have successfully rebuilt arrays.

Couldn't ask for a better solution.

[Myxomatosis]

Originally posted by squakMix
Something I also recommend: make a back up, or order for free online from microsoft.com service pack 2 and all it's updates. I cant tell you how many people I've talked to that've reformatted and gotten screwed again because they were missing the windows updates and got f'ed in the ass by some IP crawling windows exploit bug.

Seriously, within 5minutes while I was looking for a free firewall.

[Atmo]

Originally posted by deeder7001
is there going to be a quick and dirty guide #2 any time soon?

Yeah, i'm working on a system cooling guide at the moment. It'll cover whether additional cooling is actually needed, fan placement, intake vs exhaust, how to keep noise levels down, temperature monitoring and so on.

[shakey_snake]

How about a Quick and Dirty OS?

[Atmo]

Originally posted by shakey_snake
How about a Quick and Dirty OS?

Relating to what?

Which OS to use?
Security?
Tweaking?
Maintenance?

[shakey_snake]

It was a joke.

Quick and Dirty Operating System -> QDOS -> MSDOS.

Nevermind.

[fwgx]

I can't imagine that one being exactly 'quick'.

We covered database backup on an MS SQL server admin couse we did this week which has made me reevaluate my backup strategy. Might have to get a dvd burner first though.

[deeder7001]

where is quick and dirty guide #2 at?

[Atmo]

I started drafting the cooling guide, then decided it was too broad a topic to cover everything in one post.

There is an erganomic computing guide i'm about halfway through though, if i get enough spare time i might get it finished this week.

[deeder7001]

cool.

[Smeggle]

Originally posted by Widdykats
This is why, when you're in deep doo-doo, computer wise,
you send for

Ah he he he he he he he he ROFLMAo ..

widdy? You just crack me up sometimes - you lovable nutty kitty you

Megarock
Two words - Norton Ghost.

And if your drive is corrupted? What then? or formatted accidentally? no good...

Removable media only is the option I use..now I just got to find somewhere to put a shit load of cd-r's without tripping over the little feckers all the fecking time!

[k_rock923]

whatever happened to unformat.exe? Isn't that a dos utility?

[corkhead0]

Are there any good utilities out there for burning backups to DVD+RW? I need to back up about 200 gigs of data. I was using nero's backup software but if one disc fails half way through, nero spits out an error and doesn't give an option to try the same disc again (ruining days worth of progress). I would just use nero but I would like to have someting where I could pick a few folders and have the program order them automatically instead of picking through them one disc at a time.