More and more, our lives are tied to computers. Some of my most valuable assets are digital - photos of my family, software I have written, notes and documents I have compiled, financial records - the list goes on. If I were to lose all that, it would be more than just inconvenient.
Computers are complex machines, and like all complex machines, they sometimes fail. Hard drives become damaged or corrupted, or simply quit working over time. Viruses can erase or permanently change data. Even our own mistakes can cause us to lose something we intended to keep. A good backup system is a critical safety net for those "uh oh" moments in life.
Backups also come in very handy when you want to upgrade your computer. You can make changes to your existing system, or purchase an entirely new system, without worrying about losing valuable data in the transition.
There are a number of options for backing up your computer, ranging from a manual process of burning CDs or DVDs to a fully automated system that uses multiple tapes or discs and runs on a schedule. As usual, I'm not going to try to describe specific systems, but instead give you some guidelines as to what you should look for in a good backup solution, so you can make the choice yourself. However, if you would like to read about the system I am currently using, take a look at My Backup System.
Most people think that the only safe thing to do is to back up the entire computer. While this is probably most convenient in terms of recovery. it's not necessarily the most efficient way to perform regular backups. You will need storage space that is at least the same size as your existing hard drive if you want to make sure you can back up everything. You will also spend a lot of time backing up files that you don't necessarily need an extra copy of.
Your operating system and the software that is installed on your computer can all be re-installed if necessary. Even if you had a major disaster, and had to buy that software again and start over from scratch, the point is that you could do it. However, your precious data, such as photos, financial records, etc. cannot be re-purchased once they are lost. Those are the files that should be the main focus of your backup plan.
This isn't to say that you shouldn't back up your whole computer - just that you should make a conscious decision about what you will back up and why. If you can afford a solution that will backup your entire computer, then do that. Just don't let the cost of backing up everything prevent you from backing up anything.
If you are not going to back up your entire computer, then it's critical that you can easily identify what you do need to back up. The best way to make this easy is to save all your files in one central location. Many people use the "My Documents" folder in Windows for this purpose - creating sub-folders for photos, documents, music, etc. This is a good practice because you can easily back up that one folder and be confident that you have everything.
Well, almost everything. Some programs store their data in other places that you don't get to choose. Some good examples are your mail folders in Outlook Express, and your favorites or bookmarks in your web browser. Often, you can change these default locations so that they are within your My Documents folder or whatever folder you choose. At the very least, you should be able to view the locations of these files so you can include them in whatever backup system you use. You should read the documentation or the help files for the individual programs to determine the options available for each one.
An old backup is better than no backup, but not a lot better. It's easy to back up your computer a few times, and feel like you've done your job and it's taken care of. Months later, however, you may have a problem and realize that your most recent (and possibly most important) data is gone forever. Be sure that whatever backup plan you come up with includes a regular schedule.
Some backup systems offer "incremental" backups, meaning they only copy files that have changed since the last backup was performed. This will save you a lot of time, but can be a bit of a headache if you lose some data and have to dig through multiple discs or tapes to find the correct version of a particular file. Make sure that if you are doing incremental backups, you still do a full backup on some kind of regular basis. A common practice is to do a full backup once a week, and then an incremental backup each night. If your data does not change that often, then a monthly full backup with weekly incremental backups might be enough for you. Just remember that the longer time you have between backups, the more your data will be out of date in the event disaster strikes.
The cheapest way to back up your computer is to do it manually - usually by copying files from one drive to another, or burning them to CDs or DVDs. However, this usually becomes a long, boring process that is no fun and ends up being put off or not getting done at all. One of the keys to backing up often is having a solution that happens automatically, so that you don't have to spend a lot of time and aren't tempted to skip it.
A number of hard-drive based solutions offer a one-touch backup, so that all you have to do is press a single button or launch a program and the software does the rest. This is definitely better than a manual process, because you can press the button and walk out the door, or do it right before you go to bed, etc. However, you still have to remember to do it.
The best solution is one that can be scheduled to happen overnight. There is software that will do that for you, or, if you have an interest in programing, you can write a simple script yourself and schedule it using your operating system's scheduler. Either way, you should end up with a solution that runs consistently, and only needs to be checked up on from time to time to make sure it's working.
See Also: My Backup System
Whatever you do, don't trust your backup solution implicitly. You should periodically check to make sure that your files are all there and you can get them back if needed. It's a good idea to have a "fire drill" once in a while and try to get some files back from your backups. You'll be glad to find a problem before you have lost everything instead of afterwards.
I've seen many people make backup tapes, CD's, DVD's, etc., and stick them in a drawer right next to their computer. While this is convenient when your computer crashes or you need to recover a single file, what would happen if your house caught fire while you were out of town? What good would your backups be then?
If you have a safe deposit box at a bank, or even a locked drawer at your office, you can safely store a copy of all your data off-site in case an absolute disaster destroyes your house and everything in it. This may seem extreem, and maybe it is for you, but it depends on the value of your data and the risk you are willing to take with it. Remember that your insurance company can buy you a new computer, but they can't do anything to replace the data you've lost. So many people who have lost a house in a disaster say the one thing they wish they could have saved is all the photos they had. Thanks to the digital photo revolution, we can do that!
Whatever backup solution you choose (hard drive, DVD, tapes, etc.), get twice as much as you need. This way, you can have one set at home, doing regularly scheduled backups (nightly, perhaps), and one set off site for safe keeping. On some sort of regular basis, you should take the copy from your house and swap it with your off-site copy. That way, even if your house is destroyed, your safe set of data would only be as old as your last swap. Just make sure you always take the copy from your home to swap it with the off-site copy, and not vice versa. Bringing your off-site copy home to swap it means that for a brief period, you have all your data in one place. The risk of something happening is probably small, but you would regret it if it did.