Backup Your Files!

I've learned several important lessons from my recent computer crash experience. I knew all this stuff before. I've always said to do what I say, not what I do. Those lessons have really been reinforced recently.

• Back up regularly. You can only restore to your last backup
• Set up an automatic schedule. You won't remember to do it. Let your computer remember
• Use a reliable media. All media fails. Back up to Cds, DVDs, USB drives, or external drives
• Use other people's servers. Most of my mail is on Gmail. It's still there. So are the links to some files I had downloaded.
  
• Having a backup image is good. This will restore all your programs as well as your data. However, you must restore to the same hardware configuration that you had when you did your backup.
• Individual file backups can allow you to move files to a different computer and/or operating system.
  
  
  

I haven't set up an automatic backup for my new computer. I have it on the list to implement and schedule a regular backup this week. I'm also going to check into sites that let you upload your backup files. I'll write more about this in another post.