Backing-up your files, Folders, etc. so
you won't have to 'sweat' that hard-disk crash - and if it's Windows it
WILL CRASH... (that's not to say other Operating Systems don't crash,
they do, just not nearly as often as Windows. This means
EVERYONE needs to know and understand the strategies, even if they are
'weak' at implementing the processes...
Backup Rule One:
no matter what it is, no matter it's
value (or lack thereof) - you will EVENTUALLY lose this file.
Backup Rule Two:
read Backup Rule One, memorize it, expouse it to all
your computer-friends until they get sick of you
Backup Rule Three:
See Backup Rule Two
Strategies
for backing-up files and Folders:
1.)
backup everything on my
computer every chance you get, every day, regardless of the
'resources' it uses to do this - everything I have is the most
important thing on the planet and I will die if I can't find the
grocery shopping list I used 4 1/2 years ago
2.)
make some 'intelligent'
(read this time-consuming and thought-provoking)
decisions on what files / Folders I
might need to back-up, on what time-frames, for what purposes, to what
media
3.) something in-between 1.) and 2.)
4.) delegate this responsibility to the systems-administrators and/or
they have 'dictated' to me what will happen, and I have no choice
Processes for backing-up files and Folders:
Like other things in the computer-world - there are several
different ways to think about Backing-Up things...
- Manual - create a script
or a 'macro' - by 'hand' to 'manually' tell the computer what you want
backed-up and when
- Automatic (some see this
as AutoMAGIC) - it's about the same thing... - delegate the
responsibility for your back-up activities to a piece of software and
usually some hardware that will (after you configure, and start the
system) will always (you hope) initiate the process that implements the
strategy you have chosen.
Another way to think about Backing-Up:
- Incremental - Back-up
only what has changed since your last 'Full' backup
- Full - back-up EVERYTHING
on your hard-disk and/or everything else you may be 'linked' to?
last updated: 18:21 p.m. - Monday,
29 January, 2007; revID: 1a