backing up your data - do I really need to do it?

Backing up your data is probably the single most important task when using a computer, and yet one of the most neglected.  If you've ever spent several hours working on a project, only to have your computer spontaneously crash before you hit the "save" button, you'd understand just how frustrating losing your data can be.

Now, imagine losing your important files - family photos, school assignments, business documents, gone for good.  Although most of us adopt an attitude of "it'll never happen to me", the truth is, it probably will at some stage - it has happened to me.  As computers become more and more part of our lives, this type of thinking is fraught with danger.

causes of data loss

The most common cause of data loss is physical failure of the media the data is stored on.  If you're like most people, all your data is sitting on your PC's hard drive.  Guess what, that hard drive will not live forever.  Normally, hard drives live for years without incident but eventually they die, they all do.  To use a famous quote "It may not happen overnight, but it will happen".

Another possible cause for data loss is through a power failure or power spike.  This can result in loss of the document you were currently working on because you did not save it before the power failed and your PC shut down, or in loss of your entire hard drive because a power surge fried your motherboard.

Data loss can also happen through virus attacks.  There are plenty of nasty computer viruses out there that will delete files on an infected computer or render a computer unbootable.

External factors such as flood, fire, or theft can also result in you losing your data.

Last, but certainly not least, data loss can simply happen as a result of accidently deleting files that you didn't mean to.  All of us from time to time can get a little too trigger happy when in comes to deleting files we no longer need and before you know it, that important file that you had been working on for the last 3 months has disappeared and cannot be found.

When you think about it, it doesn't take very long to realise backing up your data is a very important job, one that should not be neglected.  So, having come to this conclusion, how do you back up your data?

how to back up

When talking about computers and i.t, a back up is simply a copy of your important files or data stored separately from the original.  The important part of this definition is "stored separately from the original".  It's not much good having your back up data stored on the same hard drive as the original if that hard drive dies, or your computer is stolen.  It is worth stating this point again, your back up data should be stored on a separate medium from the original.  That being said, the next obvious question is what types of back up medium are there.  I'm glad you asked...

optical media such as CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs

• CD - Probably the most well known type of optical disc is the Compact Disc.  There are two major types, recordable and re-writable.  Recordable CDs are a write once medium, meaning that once data is written to a CD, it cannot be modified.  Re-writable CDs allow data to be written, erased, and re-written multiple times.  Whilst CDs are a cheap (currently around 20c per disc) and a reliable back up medium, their capacity of around 700MB is somewhat limiting.  It is worth noting that recordable CDs are considerably more reliable than re-writable CDs.  This point holds true for DVDs as well.

• DVD - DVD stands for Digital Video Disc.  A standard DVD can store around seven times more data than a CD at around 4.7GB and dual-layer and double-sided DVDs can store even more.  Again, there are two major types, recordable and re-writable.  DVDs are also well priced (currently around 30c per disc) and in my opinion are a better backup up solution than CDs.

• Blu-ray - Blu-Ray discs are the new kid on the block.  Named after the colour of the laser, a single-sided disc can hold 25GB while a dual-sided disc can store around 50GB.  Blu-ray discs are slightly more expensive (currently around $5.00 for a standard disc).  Whilst DVD Burners are currently around $70.00, a Blu-ray burner will set you back around $200.00.  As Blu-ray becomes more accepted, I am sure this price will drop.

external hard drives - Using an external hard drive as a source of data back up is the method I prefer and recommend.  They’re easy to use with most devices connecting to an existing computer via a USB port, and whilst they're not full proof, their failure rate is much lower than back up media such as CDs.  External hard drives are quite reasonably priced starting at around $100.00 depending on storage capacity, and obviously they can be written, erased, and re-written to as required.

usb flash drives - As the name suggests, usb flash drives, usb keys, usb thumb drives or simply usb drives connect to a computer via a usb socket.  Popular because of their small physical size and their ability to quickly copy data from a computer, these devices range in storage size up to several gigabytes.  Prices again range depending on storage size but expect to pay around $30.00 for 8GB.  These devices really come into their own in data portability, rather than data capacity, however if you only have a small amount  of data that you would like to back up, this media type is worth a look.

online backup - Recently, there are more and more companies offering online backup services.  It is my opinion that the potential problems of unreliable internet speed and stability as well as the obvious risk of security far out way any advantage with this type of back up solution.

how often should you back up?

How often you should back up your data really depends on how often your data changes.  As a rule of thumb, if your data changes frequently, back up frequently.  You don't want to have something happen to your data, then restore your back up only to realize that it is 6 months old.  In most cases, performing a back up of your data will be a relatively quick process.  Compare this to the time it would take to re-create your data from scratch, if infact you can actually re-create your data.

One more point worth mentioning, it is also a good idea to store a copy of your back up data in a separate place from you computer where it can't be harmed or won't be lost when your house burns down or your computer gets stolen.  Never forget how important your data is, especially when it comes to photos.  Once they're gone, they're gone for good.  Some data can never be replaced...