Backing Up Your Computer System

How many times have you written that report or taken those amazing once in a lifetime pictures only to have your computer crash and then everything is lost forever? Starting all over with that report may be okay, but those pictures? Yikes!

Fortunately, most people now have phones that are able to save things to the cloud or on several devices to help avoid those emotional losses, but sometimes there is really nothing you can do but chalk it up to a lesson learned.

Let’s look at some ways that you can backup your data to prevent your emotions from going haywire!

External Hard Drive

A lot of students get used to carrying an external hard drive to and from school because they tend to use a school computer for all their assignments. Especially with videography or photography, storing information and programs such as the Adobe Creative Software makes it impossible to store if you don’t have those programs on your home computer.

This can save both time and money for student while they are using valuable resources for other purchases, such as tuition!

Personal users may want to free up some of the space on their computer as well with the memory being used for images. These can take up a lot of space, so sometimes having an external source can be prudent in saving money from having to buy more memory.

The down side to an external hard drive is that it can sometimes get lost or destroyed. It can also suffer from a crash causing a loss of most or sometimes all the data that is being stored. In cases of flood, fire or other disasters, it too can be destroyed or not readily taken with you when you have to flee your home suddenly.

Back Up Data on the Internet Itself

There are many internet programs or sites that allow up to a certain amount of free storage space for backing up data. Many charge a small monthly fee that can be upgraded as the data becomes larger.

Some of these services include:

• Backblaze
• Carbonite
• MozyHome

Since these are online, it protects against all types of data loss. Also there is no threat against natural disasters, theft or fire damage. However, they can start to add up financially as to the cost. As a personal user, this may not be something you want to invest your money, however as a business, this could be a good time to look into other options, such as cloud services to see what options work better.

It is best to stick with internet services that have stood the test of time, as they won’t disappear suddenly, taking all your stored data with them. There are new company’s starting up all the time, and it’s hard to say how long they will last without the monthly fees helping them survive.

Burn Onto CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc, or USB Flash Drive

As with an external hard drive, these are also good options. They are a bit more affordable and are very portable. You could have different drives or CD’s for each topic making it easier to sort through.

Unfortunately, they are also easy to misplace or lose entirely. Flash drives can be just like those elusive socks put in the dryer that seem to always get separated from each other! Since they are small, it’s easy to leave in a pocket or on someone else’s computer.

They also don’t have a very high capacity to store a large amount of data. For larger files, this can be annoying at best when trying to work with files that are being used on more than one drive.

Back Up Storage Using the Cloud

There are many cloud programs or sites that allow up to a certain amount of free storage space for backing up data.

Some of these services include:

• iCloud – this service includes 5GB of free storage and syncs with other Apple products.
• Google Drive – associated more closely to Android products and includes 15GB free storage.
• OneDrive – accessible through Windows 10’s file explorer and includes 5GB free storage.
• Dropbox – offering personal and business subscriptions. The personal account includes 2GB free storage for data.

Find the Services Best for Your Company

With all the options available, it may be time to look over your company needs and determine which backup plan is best for you. As a personal user, your needs may be entirely different and so using a smaller, easier to use plan may be the best option.

At any time, our services are available to be discovered and utilized. Give us a call or contact us today!