| Which Data Should You Back Up? |
Computers are versatile and very powerful machines that can be used for any kind of purpose depending on the kind of software they are running. They have over the years become quite capable and potent, and can do anything from complex calculations and running full-length movies to browsing millions of websites.
The computer hard disk has become the filing cabinet used by us to store important information. We take it for granted and expect the computer to boot up every morning so that we can work on it unhindered. But did you know that hard disks are not as reliable as you think them to be? They can crash due to hardware errors or impact trauma and take down all your data with them. It is essential for you therefore to back up your critical data regularly on any suitable removable storage device, such as CDs, DVDs, tape drives or USB drives.
A commonly used computer hard disk has a huge capacity of anywhere from 80 GB to 240 GB. It can hold a tremendous amount of data which is obviously beyond the capacity of most devices used for backups. The latter typically have capacities ranging from 1 GB to 8 GB only. It is therefore important to be selective and copy only that data which you just cannot do without. The following categories of data are good candidates for a regular backup.
Family and Travel Photos
Photographs, especially related to family or travel, are simply impossible to be recreated. How can you get back pictures of your world tour or your wedding once you have lost them in a hard disk crash? Digital pictures once lost are gone for ever, unless you want to get them recovered professionally, which will cost a lot of money and time.
Personal Diary
Some people have a wonderful habit of writing a personal diary every day. It is a medium to give expression to one’s innermost feelings and has a cathartic effect on one’s soul. The personal diary that is a collection of writings over several years is a chronicle of a person’s life – the trials and tribulations, the happiness and sorrow he or she has faced at different times. Losing the personal diary in one stroke is a full-fledged disaster that is best avoided through data backup.
Address and Phone Book
Addresses and phone numbers of personal and official contacts constitute a valuable resource that has to be carefully guarded. Most of these are now stored in a digital format because of some wonderful software programmes such as Microsoft Office Outlook available for computers. It is a good idea to take a backup of the details of your contacts onto a CD or USB drive to prevent any inconvenience in case of data loss. Such directory would take a lot of time and effort to be created again from scratch.
Correspondence and Emails
Official and personal correspondence and important emails deserve a regular backup. Most people do not bother copying important emails to their computer hard disk in the firm belief that they are safe in their inbox. But email servers are known to crash and wipe off all data. This can be a disaster as not only the emails but email addresses may also get lost in an instant, leaving you high and dry, without a way to get in touch with your contacts.
Financial Accounts
Many individuals are quite organised about their financial affairs and keep a track of all their expenses. There are a variety of software programmes available for computers that are specially made for accounting purposes. Such accounts are created over many months by painstakingly feeding every detail of financial income and expenses.
They take a lot of time and effort to be created again. Files created by accounting packages are very small in size since they are just a combination of text and numbers, with no graphics. They can easily be copied onto a floppy disk or a CD for safe storage.
Intellectual Output
Some people love to write for passion or profit. Others create artwork or other intellectual property of great value. This output is something that is very valuable and quite difficult to recreate. Articles, book chapters, poems, songs and graphics have to be guarded zealously from data loss.
A variety of data storage devices can be used for taking a backup of critical data regularly. Though copying computer files every day may seem like a huge hassle and waste of time, you will thank your stars for the practice once you suffer data loss.
James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you are concerned about data loss and would like more information on Data Recovery see http://www.fields-data-recovery.co.uk
Article Source: UnArchived Articles
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