How To Backup Your Hard Drive
We all know that we should back up our system as soon as possible. But if you're like most of us, you will get to it tomorrow. The problem is that tomorrow rarely ever comes until you experience a serious computer failure and then it's too late.
Taking the time to backup your data or entire hard drive is not as painstaking as it may seem. And the rewards of doing so will be great should your system experience a crash.
WINDOWS AND OTHER BACKUP SOFTWARE
If you have Windows XP you will need to install the new Windows backup utility from the Windows XP cdrom. Just place the WinXP cdrom in your cdrom drive and locate the line D:VALEADDMSFTNTBACKUP.
Here you see the first letter as D but if your optical drive has a different drive letter, exchange the D with your drive's letter. To install the utility, click on the file named NTBackup.msi.
The backup utility will be installed to the system tools group. Click Start, All Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Backup. There is a neat wizard that will walk you through the backup process.
WinXP's backup utility will backup your entire hard drive and will make a recovery disk to boot.
One neat third party backup software you can try is NewTech InfoSystems at http://www.ntius.com where you can download their trial version and put it to use for 30 days. And if it's your cup of tea, the full version will run you about $79.95
INCREMENTAL OR DIFFERENTIAL BACKUPS
You should back up your entire hard drive when you perform your first backup. After that it is best to perform an Incremental backup. This type of backup only allows you to backup files that have changed since your last performed backup.
Differential Backups copy changed files that have been added since you last did your entire backup. This type of backup is more detailed than incremental backups and is easier to restore.
BACKUP STORAGE DEVICES
You can backup your files on cdroms and have the files compressed to save both space and backup time. WinXP will compress folders, subfolders, and files during backup.
You can purchase compression software that will do the same, saving you cdrom storage space. The compressed files are automatically uncompressed once they are restored onto your hard drive.
You can also use a second hard drive as your backup storage device. We use two backup hard drives to be certain Ultimate PC Repair is up and running 24/7.
You can either purchase an internal hard drive and install it to your ide cable, or you may want to purchase an external hard drive that connects to your Universal Serial Bus or USB Port.
The advantage of the external drives is that they have very large amounts of storage space, transfer data fast, and can be moved from your computer to any other computer.
We use the Western Digital 170 Gigabyte External Hard Drive and we simply bounce it around to either one of our four computers with the greatest of ease.
USING ONLINE BACKUP SERVICES
You may also consider online services for backing up your data. If you lose all your backup data, say due to a natural disaster such as a flood, your online data is right there waiting for you.
Another advantage of online backups is that you can access, upload, or download your data from any location. It is best to use high speed internet access if you're considering online data storage.
One such online backup service is Istorage located at http://www.iomega.com/istorage and charges from $2.49 a month for 50MBs to $17.95 a month for a big 1,000MBs of storage.
Or you can check out FilesAnywhere located at the url http://www.filesanywhere.com
Still another online service to try is CapSure located at http://www.capsure.com
Backup your system now in one way or another if you have not done so. If you have critical data that you simply cannot do without, take the time to invest in a backup device or one of the many online backup services.
Stop and perform those backups as soon as possible. You will be thankful you did should something go wrong with your computer. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
About The Author
Otis F. Cooper is the author of the award winning PC Super Pack, the Computer Training By Video course. For hundreds more free PC repair tips, sign up for his bi-monthly newsletter and learn the PC free at http://www.ultimatepcrepair.com
 Google News Updated : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 08:05:30 GMT Kilpatrick's rise and fall - Detroit Free Press
Detroit Free Press - BY BILL McGRAW • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • September 5, 2008 Kwame Kilpatrick entered the mayor's office with extraordinary gifts -- charisma, savvy, flair, pedigree, connections, ambition and chutzpah -- everything a 31-year-old needed to make a ... Video: A Timeline of Detroit Mayor's Text Scandal Detroit’s Mayor Will Leave Office and Go to Jail Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:27:50 GMT House committee widens probe of Vytorin safety - International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune - AP TRENTON, NJ: A House committee investigating the safety and effectiveness of the popular cholesterol drug Vytorin and one of its components is turning up the heat on the drug's makers. Many Questions About Vytorin Drug Scare Shenanigans Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 00:32:18 GMT UN warns of Haiti flooding crisis - BBC News
BBC News - Several hundred thousand people need help in Haiti, which is suffering severe flooding after being hit by a series of tropical storms, the UN says. Attempts to Aid Desperate Haitians Hindered by Floodwaters Storms line up to slam western Atlantic, southeastern US Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:05:26 GMT Stocks: A Terrible Thursday - BusinessWeek
BusinessWeek - Major US indexes each tumbled nearly 3% as worries intensified over the health of the economy. All eyes are on Friday's jobs report Market players were probably wondering Thursday why they bothered to come back from their summer vacations. Stocks Are Broadly Lower Tracking Falls on Wall Street Stocks slide on economic worries Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 05:53:27 GMT Jesse Jackson hospitalized for stomach pains - Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune - By Jeremy Gorner | Chicago Tribune reporter Rev. Jesse Jackson was being treated Thursday in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago after falling ill. Video: Rev. Jesse Jackson Hospitalized Jesse Jackson hospitalized after stomach pains Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:00:48 GMT Tropical Storm Hanna aiming for Massachusetts - Boston Globe
Boston Globe - By Andrew Ryan and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff Tropical Storm Hanna is expected to churn up the Atlantic coast and lash Massachusetts this weekend with winds gusting up to 50 mph near the coast and up to four inches of rain. Video: Hanna Nears US, but Stronger Ike Looms Area departments gearing up for Hanna's arrival Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:23:14 GMT Arthritis Drugs Linked to Risks From Infection - New York Times
New York Times - By AP WASHINGTON (AP) - The Food and Drug Administration ordered stronger warnings Thursday on four medications widely used to treat rheumatoid arthritis and other serious illnesses, saying they can raise the risk of possibly fatal fungal infections. Deaths Heighten Arthritis Drugs Warning Nation Digest 4 arthritis drugs get tougher warnings Publ.Date : Fri, 05 Sep 2008 01:38:34 GMT Get Paid for Surveys |
PARLOT::Ebooks, Scripts,
Websites, and more... You may ask, isn't tape an anachronism in the age... Read More The other day my son said to me, what else... Read More Cheap laptop computers are coming to a store near you.... Read More We live in an area that has begun to... Read More If you've been looking to upgrade your computer video card... Read More Computers often break down at the worst of all times.... Read More Here's how to format a hard drive (Legal Stuff: We... Read More Notebook computers are becoming very popular. They seem to be... Read More Time is one of the most important things we have... Read More Bluetooth BasicsBluetooth technology is nothing new, but in many respects... Read More The number of different formats available in DVD drives can... Read More Printer cartridge overheads can be a major expense for any... Read More It's no big secret that printer companies like HP and... Read More A couple of the recent Tech Tips from www.geeks.com have... Read More CCNA and CCNP candidates hear it all the time: "you... Read More Do You Feel Used by Computers?A look at second-user computer... Read More Surge Suppressors ? A First Line of DefenseAll home theater... Read More Soon the human brain will be completely interfaced with the... Read More Moving the office network? How hard could it be? Anybody... Read More Digital voice recorders have become increasingly popular over the last... Read More Computers and their accompanying printers were huge years ago. In... Read More Contrary to popular belief, tape drives are generally robust and... Read More In the first two installments of this series of Tech... Read More When bought personal DVD player, the very next thing to... Read More High density digital versatile disc is a digital optical media... Read More
Adsense
websites
Alternatives to Tape Backup
The Newest Thing in Lighting - LED Lighting and What It Can Do
Learn to Find Cheap Laptop Computers on the Internet
The Road Ahead
Video Cards: Is AGP Dead?
Computer Hardware Preventive Maintenance Software
How To Format A Hard Drive
10 Solid Reasons To Make Your Next PC A Notebook
Looking for Information on CD Duplication and Replication?
Bluetooth Basics - Bluetooth Technology Tutorial
ABCs Of DVD Drive Abbreviations
Printer Cartridge Economics -- Four Ways To Make Your Ink Last Longer
How to Avoid Getting Ripped-Off When You Purchase A New Printer
Basics of RAID
Cisco CCNA Certification: Why You NEED Hands-On Practice !
Do You Feel Used by Computers?
Power Protection in the Home Theater - Use of Surge Suppressors to Guard Expensive Electronic Gear
The Merging of Humans and Computers
10 Things to Ponder Before Moving Your Office Network
Sony vs. Olympus: Digital Voice Recorders
Ink Cartridges - A Humble Beginning
Preventing Tape Drive Failure
Expansion Cards Part 3: PCI Express
Best DVDs for Your Personal DVD Player
An Introduction to HD-DVD
Affordable and Reliable Web Hosting Starting at $4.49/Month
3 Easy Step To Locate A Real Bargain On Laptop Batteries
Looking for a real bargain on laptop batteries? How do... Read More
Blu-ray: A Primer
Blu-ray is an optical disc format which is set to... Read More
Introduction to Dedicated Servers
A dedicated server is a single computer on a web-hosting... Read More
Inexpensive Radius Server Gives Wireless Networks The Security They Need
Many small businesses have considered connecting computers and other devices... Read More
Recordable DVD Formats Explained
Picking your way through the ton of information available on... Read More
An Introduction to HD-DVD
High density digital versatile disc is a digital optical media... Read More
The Road Ahead
We live in an area that has begun to... Read More
Learn About The Three Basic Types Of Computer Mouse
1) Mechanical: This is a type of computer mouse that... Read More
Computer Components for Idiots
There are many fancy add-ons for computers, but the basic... Read More
A Review of HP Laser Toners
Hewlett-Packard is, along with Brother and Samsung, one of the... Read More
Special Events Recording in DVD Players Age
The proliferation of portable DVD players has dramatically changed the... Read More
Do You Feel Used by Computers?
Do You Feel Used by Computers?A look at second-user computer... Read More
Upgrading, Adding or Removing a Video Card, Sound Card, or Other AGP/PCI Card
For Video cards - Most PC video cards these days... Read More
Laptop Computer Extras for the Mobile Traveler
A laptop computer certainly provides you with an unprecedented level... 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
The Making of Energy Efficient Datacenters
The Crooked E: The Unshredded Truth About Enron is a... Read More
Flyback Transformer-How to Locate the ABL Line
Whenever there is a complaint about monitor contrast problem I... Read More
Alternatives to Tape Backup
You may ask, isn't tape an anachronism in the age... Read More
ESR Meter - The Capabilities To Check Beyond Electrolytic Capacitor
There is something good about esr meter because besides electrolytic... Read More
The Importance of Ergonomic Products
Interestingly, ergonomics though sounds to be a modern and trendy... Read More
How To Troubleshoot DVD Drives Fast
You really enjoy those dvd movies and games and the... Read More
All In One Printers ? Home Office Workhorses
All in one printers, also known as multifunction printers (MFPs),... Read More
Toner Cartridges - How They Work
In the past computers and their accompanying printers were huge.... Read More
Nvidia Geforce 7800 GTX Review
Nvidia has done it again, with it's newest video card,... Read More
Quality Recovery and Rework - When It All Goes Wrong
When Quality is the Target, but not the Result, what... Read More
Computer Hardware |