5 Ways To Backup Your Data...

The data on your hard drive is the most critical item inside your computer, and the only item which can not be replaced. It may be an unwanted hassle and expense to replace a defective memory module, monitor, or processor, but there is no replacing data once lost.

In addition to the possibility of a simple hard drive failure, the threat of internet borne worms and viruses has become an increasing risk to data loss or corruption. Although you may not be able to provide absolute protection to your hard drive, there are various ways that you can ensure that the data on your hard drive is protected. Five methods of backing up your data are summarized below?

1. USB Flash Drives

Although I am not recommending that flash drives be used for the actual data storage, they are a convenient means of transferring data from one computer to another. Important files can be quickly loaded onto a device such as the MINIDISK-512-DGRY-CS USB 2.0 Flash Drive, and transported to another computer for safe keeping. Installation and operation is extremely simple, and other than perhaps having to install a software driver, the use of a USB flash drive is a matter of having an available USB port on your computer. Just about every computer produced over the last several years has USB ports included, with more modern systems supporting the USB 2.0 standard. USB 2.0 allows for data transfer rates of up to 480 MB/s, which is a tremendous improvement over the original USB speed limit of 12 MB/s, and allows a user to fill their drives with data in a relatively short period of time.

Although the storage capacity of flash drives has increased greatly over the last year or so, users are still limited to common sizes of 512MB and 1GB. Mass storage is obviously not an option, but even 512MB may be enough to backup your "My Documents" folder, several albums of MP3s, or other important files to be stored elsewhere.

2. CD and DVD Writers/Re-Writers

The falling prices of CD and DVD writers/re-writers have made them a staple of just about every modern computer. These devices can typically be found installed in a computer case, but external devices supporting USB 2.0 or Firewire are available for greater flexibility and ease of installation.

A combination drive, such as the NU Technology DBW-521, will provide the user a high speed CD reader/writer, as well as a DVD reader, for under $40. The extremely low price of the drive (and the blank media) makes for an inexpensive means of creating data backups, and the re-writable media increases the convenience by allowing the same disc to be erased and reused many times. The main limitation of using a CD writer for data backups is that the discs are generally limited to a capacity of 700MB per disc. Not nearly enough for a full backup, but adequate for archiving key files.

The popularity of DVD writers/re-writers has surged thanks to dropping prices, and they are pushing the stand alone CD burner towards extinction. DVD media affords the user far more storage capacity than a CD, and DVD burners can generally burn CDs as wells as DVDs. The recent availability of double layer DVD burners, such as the Sony DW-D22A-DO-N, represents a large boost in the capacity of writable DVDs, taking the previous limit of 4.7GB per disc and nearly doubling it to 8.5GB.

With proper storage, CD/DVD media can provide long term storage that can not be jeopardized by hardware failure. The data on a CD or DVD can easily be read by just about any computer, making it a good choice for archiving files that aren't excessively large.

3. External Hard Drives

As the name might imply, external hard drives are generally the same type of drive you might find inside your system, but housed in a smaller, external enclosure of its own. The enclosure will feature at least one data interface (such as Firewire, USB, or Ethernet), and the capacity is only limited by the size of hard drives presently available and the user's budget.

The Ximeta NetDisk is an example of an external hard drive that provides a user the option of connecting an additional 80GB, 120GB, or 160GB of storage to their system by using either a USB 2.0 or Ethernet connection. Installation for such a device is rather simple, and may involve the installation of some basic software, as well as making the necessary connections between the computer and the external enclosure.

The capacity of external hard drives makes them ideal for backing up large volumes of data, and many of these devices simplify the process by including software (or hardware) features to automate the backup.

For example, some Seagate External drives feature a "one-button" backup option right on the case.In addition to being a convenient method of backing up large volumes of files locally, most external hard drives are compact enough to be portable. The inclusion of a common data transfer interface, such as USB, allows an external hard drive to be connected to just about any modern computer for data transfer, or for more than one computer to share the external hard drive as a back up.

4. Additional Hard Drives

By simply adding an additional hard drive to you system, you can protect yourself from data loss by copying it from your primary drive to your secondary drive. The installation of a second hard drive isn't difficult, but does require a basic understanding of the inner working of a computer, which may scare off some users. We do offer a "how-to" section on our site for many tasks such as installing a hard drive into a computer system.

To take the installation of a second hard drive to another level of security and reliability, the hard drives may be installed in a RAID array. RAID stands for a Redundant Array of Independent (or Inexpensive) Disks, and can be configured in several manners. A thorough discussion of RAID and all of its variations would be an article all by itself, but what may be of interest to this discussion is what is known as RAID 1. A RAID 1 array requires two hard drives of equal size to be installed on a RAID controller, which will then mirror one drive to the other in real time. Many motherboards now come with RAID controllers onboard, but the addition of a PCI slot controller card, such as the Silicon Image Sil0680, is an inexpensive purchase that will add RAID to any system. With a RAID 1 array in place, if one hard drive should ever fail, the system won't miss a best by continuing to run on the remaining good drive, and alert the user that one drive may need to be replaced.

5. Online Storage

Online services, such as Xdrive, allow users to upload their files to a server for safe keeping. Although it may be convenient to have the data available wherever an internet connection is available, there are a few limitations.

The services generally charge a monthly fee relative to the amount of storage space required. At Xdrive, for example, 5GB of storage costs $9.95 per month, which can quickly add up to more than one would spend on any of the other options discussed.

Security is supposed to be very tight on these services, but no matter how secure it may seem, it is still just a password keeping prying eyes from your potentially sensitive documents.

The speed of your internet connection will also weigh heavily on the convenience of your backup, and no matter what type of connection you have; it can't compete with local data transfer rates.

Final Words

Although not a comprehensive list of options available for backing up your data, the five items listed provide some simple and relatively affordable means to ensure that your data is not lost. Data loss is an extremely frustrating and potentially costly situation, but one that can be avoided.

http://geeks.com/pix/techtips-11-04-04.htm

Jason Kohrs
Computer Geeks tech tips and computer advice

---

A Look Inside The Elusive Inkjet Industry

The Inkjet printer industry is booming. Office supply companies report... Read More

JunxionBox -- WiFi Access Everywhere

Now you can more easily access the Internet wherever mobile... Read More

How to Avoid Getting Ripped-Off When You Purchase A New Printer

It's no big secret that printer companies like HP and... Read More

What is EEPROM ?

EEPROM stands for Electrical Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory and... Read More

Testing Flyback Transformer - How to Test and When to Replace It

Nowadays, more and more monitor comes in with flyback transformers... Read More

LCD Vs. CRT

When buying a new computer, or upgrading your monitor, you... Read More

Testing Capacitor-How To Test A Capacitor When Breakdown Under Load

Have you ever come across power problem where once you... Read More

How To Format A Hard Drive

Here's how to format a hard drive (Legal Stuff: We... Read More

The Road Ahead

We live in an area that has begun to... Read More

How To Refill Your Ink Cartridge

Forget about emptying your wallets every time you see the... Read More

Give Your PC a Monitor Makeover

Whether you are crunching figures at a front office job... Read More

How To Stop Junk Faxes From Wasting Your Paper and Toner

Junk faxes waste the resources of every business. It is... Read More

The Newest Thing in Lighting - LED Lighting and What It Can Do

The other day my son said to me, what else... Read More

Selecting a Laptop

Small Can Be BeautifulWhen purchasing a new computer, you may... Read More

How to Add or Remove an IDE ROM drive

CD ROMS - If you're adding or removing an internal... Read More

Video Cards: Is AGP Dead?

If you've been looking to upgrade your computer video card... Read More

HIPPA Goes Mobile and Wireless for Hospitals and First Responders

It appears we need to further streamline health care and... Read More

A Guide to Refurbished Laptops

Computing freedom, independence, and mobility don't have to come with... Read More

Bluetooth Basics - Bluetooth Technology Tutorial

Bluetooth BasicsBluetooth technology is nothing new, but in many respects... Read More

Testing a Transformer- How To Accurately Test A Transformer

There is two types of transformers in the market- linear... Read More

Be Free with Wireless Speakers

Are you tired of laying wires through your house, creeping... Read More

A Guide To Bar Code Reader Downloads

Bar code readers have proven themselves to be essential tools... Read More

Setting up a Tape Backup Strategy for your Business

So you know a little bit about tape backup, but... Read More

How To Upgrade Your PC

Before you upgrade your PC hardware it's best to search... Read More

The Printer Cartridge Game

Think you got a great deal on a printer? Like... Read More

Flash Your ATI Video Cards BIOS

Flash your ATI video card BIOS.You will need the following:1.... Read More

What Tablet PCs Can Do for You

Tablet PCs are great. If you are a mobile person,... Read More

How to Solve Multiple Paper Loading Problem in HP5L and HP6L Laser Printer

Have you ever encountered before the problem of having multiple... Read More

How to Choose The Right Laptop Accessories?

The notebook computer is coming of age. For the first... Read More

Choosing The Right Bar Code Reader

The importance of a bar code reader in this day... Read More

War of the Disks: A Close-in Analysis of the Hard Disk Drive vs. the Solid State Disk

Much has been written about solid state disks (SSDs) becoming... Read More

Computer Components for Idiots

There are many fancy add-ons for computers, but the basic... Read More

How to Shop for Inkjet Printer Cartridges

Keeping Shipping Costs DownWhen shopping for inkjet printer cartridges online... Read More