Earlier in the month we wrote a blog about getting a new computer or fixing your old one if it breaks. We mentioned the fact that you should back up your precious files and pictures so it is easier to move them and so you don’t lose them if something on your computer breaks.
We received a lot of questions from people about how they can do that and whether they should back up their home computers. So we decided to write a blog about it, to let everyone know their options.
While most people think Backups and Cloud storage are for businesses, we also think that home users should use these for their own files too. The solutions we cover here are really not meant for businesses, so if you are interested in solutions for your business then please contact us and we will be glad to help. Even small businesses on a tight budget have greater needs than most home users and so we have plans to help you.
What is Cloud Storage and How Does it Differ From Backups?
A backup is a copy of the original file kept in a different location (preferably not on the same computer), which is sometimes compressed to save space. The backup can then be (expanded and) restored to the original location or another location if something should happen to the original file (deleted, disk or computer broken or stolen, virus attack etc.).
Cloud Storage is using the internet to store your files, which is the same as storing them on someone elses computer. An example of cloud storage is when you upload your pictures to flickr or Facebook. There is now a copy on their computers and they back them up. So if you do lose it on yours then you can get it back from them (though it may be a reduced size in this example).
How Do I Use Them and How Much Does It Cost?
Costs vary, but they start from FREE (we like that word!).
Lets start with backup. Most computers have some sort of back up program built in. You click it, start the wizard, tell it what you want to back up and how often (e.g. nightly) and where to store it and as long as your computer is on it will back them up. We suggest you have a large enough second drive to hold your backups and keep a few (usually a weeks worth). A portable hard drive is fairly inexpensive (less than $100) to hold all your data, or you may be able to share it with one or two computers in the house. If you don’t have one then we suggest a USB stick (they can be 32Gb and getting bigger) and either copy the files over or use the backup program.
The reason we say another drive is so that if your computer breaks, is stolen or gets a virus then you have the files somewhere else where they can be recovered. There is nothing more disheartening than us explaining to a customer that we cannot recover their family photos when a drive fails and they didn’t have them backed up. Those moments in time are lost forever.
Another way is using online backups. There are many companies including ourselves who provide this service for a small monthly fee. This time you download their small backup program, configure it in much the same way (files, how often etc.) but this time you have to be connected to the internet and they send it to their servers for storage. This is backup and cloud storage in one. Now your files will be safe even if a disaster struck your home.
A word of warning about some of these company’s advertising. When they tell you they have unlimited backups or storage, don’t get overexcited. You can only upload so much data at a time over the internet. Gigabytes of data takes days of non-stop sending from your computer and the next backup cannot start until that one finishes. So take a step back and have it explained to you properly and don’t choose one company over another for unlimited data only. It is just a marketing ploy.
The downside of these backups is they are only backing up your file and not your full disk. This usually makes little difference to the home user (but is critical for business use) but it means that if your computer fails and you have to replace or fix it and start again you will have to install Windows, all your programs, the online backup program if you used it and then restore your files – which can take a long time and then not be guaranteed to work.
There is another type of backup that takes an image of your disk and backs that up, meaning the full system. It works in a similar way to the other backups but it is doing everything and not just the files. Then your whole system can be restored including Windows, your programs, your desktop, favorites and everything else in one click. We provide this type of backup for home users starting at $10 per month.
Whichever type of system you use you should always periodically check the state of the backups and do a temporary restore to make sure the file will work. The number of backups we have seen that were never tested until they were actually needed only to find out there was a corruption and everything was lost is staggering. All for the sake of a few minutes to check. With the free backups on your computer it is hard to check. With these online programs it should be easier.
With our system, because we image the whole disk we can perform two checks. First we can open the whole backup as another drive (e.g. F drive) on your computer and you can copy files over from it or just open them up as if they were on your main drive. Secondly we can create a virtual copy of your computer on your computer or another computer to make sure the whole system works if needed. Not bad for $10?
As we mentioned before, Cloud storage is similar and often goes hand in hand with backups. There are a number of places, including Google that will allow you to upload files for no charge. Other places will let you store and share certain types of files. And if you have email hosted by these companies and have a lot of storage (e.g. Gmail will give you something like 2Gb of email) then send yourself your important files as attachments and store them in a folder on your email account.
For those students looking for places to store their school coursework etc. then look out for our blogs and next months newsletter. This will focus on “Back to School” and one installment will be on storing and sharing those documents.
