Hello all,
For one of my first posts I’d like to stress the importance of a proper data backup… what is a proper data backup?
Almost everyone these days have photos and documents that may be irreplaceable stored on their PC, laptop or mobile device. If that tech decides to fail one day, it may just lose all your data – and it may not be recoverable. Here are a few ways to help negate a possible loss.
- External Hard Drive / Second Internal Hard Drive (PC)
An external hard drive is the easiest, most straight forward way to backup your data. Simply plug it in to your USB port on your laptop or PC, allow it to pop up on your screen as a folder, then literally drag and drop your files onto it. Be sure not to delete your data on your computer thinking you can free up space and your data is safe – what if you dropped that drive on the ground? Keep the data on both the computer and the external hard drive. This way, if either tech fails, your data is secured on the other. This is the same for a second internal hard drive.
- Flash Drive/Thumb Drive/USB Stick
Flash drives are another very popular way to backup precious data, though only meant for a short while and usually for transporting data to another device. These little drives are known to fail and eventually become corrupted over time, so keep that in mind. Great option if on a budget though! Especially for students (be prepared to buy a few of these if you use them everyday!)
- Cloud Storage
If you haven’t already, check out Dropbox, its a cloud storage service, extremely easy to use and can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection and browser. You may signup for free and be allotted a limited amount of storage, or purchase more storage if you wish. This is another great option for students! Dropbox can be accessed on your phone as well, through the browser or through the app.
- NAS (Network Attached Storage)
My favorite way to backup data is through a NAS. If you have a few hundred bucks to drop you can get a little box that has one or more hard drives in it and is accessible through your router. When setup correctly you can browse the data as if it were a drive physically installed on your PC. Most boxes start with two hard drives. One drive is accessible and stores your info, whereas the second drive creates an exact duplicate of the first drive so in case of a failure – your data is safe on the other (this is called a mirror). You can feel safer deleting the data from your PC to clear up some room if you have this setup. Just make sure you replace a drive if one reports being damaged or corrupted.
- Spare PC
This is a more advanced setup but you can take an old computer and turn it into your very own file server! Once its setup all it needs is the power and Ethernet connection. Everything else can be accessed remotely though your main PC. There are many configuration options, including storing multiple hard drives, even different sizes! For most users all that’s needed is a single drive setup, like what a basic NAS box offers. If interested, check out the FreeNAS website for more information.