Data Backup Solutions
If you have any knowledge and understanding of computers, you know that you cannot rely on them. A good simple rule of thumb is: if something is important to you, do not store it on your computer!!!
It is not a question of if you might one day lose some data from your computer, it is a question of when. Sooner or later, you will have a serious computer malfunction that will cause you the loss of some or all of your data. Unless you fancy spending $250 per hour to specialist forensic services to recover the traces of data that remain on your burnt-out hard drive, you are strongly advised to initiate some kind of backup routine. Backing up your data is probably the single most important thing you can do with your computer.
There are a number of possible methods to secure your data and we shall consider the merits, strengths and weaknesses of each below.
The simplest and easiest way to make a backup is to copy the file(s) you want to keep onto a floppy disc. You can remove the disc from your computer and store it in a safe place. The floppy disc is ideal for saving a few files or a few pictures, your Windows Address Book, your Favourites - even your accounts if the file is not too big. The main drawback of the humble floppy disc is its size: you can only store 1.4MB of data on a floppy disc - about the size of 30 small word documents. Still, that can be better than nothing! Nearly every computer has a floppy disc drive and the discs themselves are inexpensive. Despite the limitations of the floppy disc, its occasional use should not be overlooked.
Floppy disc drive - ~ $40
Floppy Discs - ~$10 for 20 discs
Iomega Zip Drives and Jaz Drives
Iomega have been involved in manufacturing backup storage devices for many years. The Zip Disc is essentially a big fat floppy disc that can store 100MB or 250MB of data - up to 175 times the amount of data that can be stored on a floppy disc. Internal Zip drives are similar in appearance to a floppy disc drive and are usually installed adjacent to the floppy disc drive in the computer. There are also external versions of the drives which connect to the computer via parallel port or USB connections. These drives are most useful for regular backups of mission-critical data, such as accounts and payrolls etc. Most often, they will be used on a daily basis and for storing medium sized files - anything larger than 1.4MB. Being like a big fat floppy disc, they are very easy to use - you just drag 'n' drop the files you want onto the disc - and can be easily stored offsite or in safe storage.
100MB Zip Drive (internal) - ~ $160
250MB Zip Drive (internal) - ~$240
100MB discs ~$25 each
250MB discs ~$40 each
The old-fashioned way to back up large amounts of data was by using Tape Drives. In the days when hard drives were only 540MB or 1.2GB in size, the 8GB tape was the only viable means of storing large amounts of data. Despite the fact that Tape Drives are often still being used, this is the most obsolete data backup option now. Other options are cheaper and easier to use.
Basic DAT tape drive costs around $800 - $2,000 for 10-20GB storage space, but up to $8,000 for large Tape drives (200-600GB). Many DAT drives are SCSI drives - which means the additional cost of a SCSI adapter card which will need to be installed. There is also the cost of DAT tapes to consider, around $60 per tape.
One main disadvantage of using tape to back up data is that, unlike a floppy disc, zip disc or hard drive, you cannot see the contents of the tape from within your computer. And because of this, you can never see for yourself what data has been backed up! (if at all). Compression software (eg MS Backup) needs to be used, which makes the data difficult and time-consuming to both save and restore. It is also difficult to see what individual files have been backed up as it is all saved in one large .qic file. Equally, individual files cannot be recovered and restored with ease.
Not recommended.
CD Writers have come a long way in the last few years and now have good speeds and reliability of performance. The latest CD writers have up to 52x writing capabilities. Costs have fallen dramatically also and you can pick up a CD-RW drive for around $60, depending on the brand (LG, Asus etc). Discs now cost less than $1 each for CD-R.
Blank CD's hold about 650-700MB data (about the size of 3 Zip discs costing $40 each!). However, this is not usually enough storage space for serious data backup. CD's are good for medium-sized data backup or for permanent storage of data records (last years accounts, emails, documentation, music files etc).
However, CD writers are not necessarily very easy to use and a certain familiarity with using the cd-burning software is required. Also, burning CD's is more time consuming than other data backup options - you cannot just 'drag 'n' drop', you have to burn the data to CD - perhaps up to 20 minutes per CD.
The same is also true of DVD writers. Although DVD's can store a lot more data - usually 3-4GB of data - they are really best used for permanent data backups or for archiving film or music files.
The cost of new hard drives is such that this is the most cost-effective option per megabyte of storage space. 80GB hard drives cost around $110 depending on the make and the exact size and specifications. For effective backup protection, the hard drive needs to be installed in a Removable Hard Drive Caddy (cost ~$50-$90), so the drive can be removed from the computer and stored in a safe or taken offsite.
In effect, a removable hard drive is just like an even bigger and fatter floppy disc than the Zip disc. Like these other discs, they are easy to use for data storage via Windows' 'drag 'n' drop' capabilities. You can see what is on the drive, so you can see your backed up data - and it is easy to recover data back to its original location. Because every computer can accommodate a hard drive, there is also the flexibility that the drive can be mounted into any computer. If the data Backup computer has filed, you can just put the removable backup drive into another computer and carry on from there immediately.
Hard drives are easy to install in any computer and no additional hardware or software is needed. Removable hard drives are good for permanent storage, good for offsite or safe storage and good for small, medium or large amounts of data backup.
It is also very cost effective.
Windows comes with backup software called Microsoft Backup, a difficult and complicated program which is slow and time-consuming to use. All the data saved is compressed into one very large file (*.qic) which cannot be recovered except by using the software that created it (!).
We recommend using SpeedBackup, a simple and easy to configure data backup program that backs up all your data with a simple double-click of your mouse. This copies the data you wish to backup onto your storage medium exactly as it was on your computer - which makes recovering it as easy as 'drag 'n' drop'. SpeedBackup is a fast and effective solution for all your data backup needs.
For further information and licensing details, see the Speedbackup page.
For other options, see this website listing many Data Backup Options
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