Are you sitting on a backup debacle?

Jen’s quick-and-dirty guide to backing up your precious files

“I should back up my hard drive.”

Everyone I know says this. I’ll bet you’ve said it yourself. I say it to myself, too.

Last week, however, my hard drive died. The bad news? I lost everything on it. Photos, articles, recordings of classes – everything I’ve created in my business over the last 2 years. All my personal genealogy research. Everything.

The good news? It was only my backup hard drive that died – and not the one inside my computer. So I still have copies of everything. Whew.

If your hard drive died today, what would happen?

Last spring I wrote an article about this topic – and my recent brush with computer mortality made me want to update this info for 2009.

The role of computers in the 21st century

Remember the days of 300bps modems and 5 1/8″ floppy disks? Back then, home computers were a convenience, a novelty. Today, they’re essential.

Computers are the ultimate in delegation.

They store your digital photos, documents, images, web sites, and whatever else you can dream up. They hold for us the valuable tools we share with our clients.

Essentially, computers are your first employee. What you cannot process, your computer does. What you can’t remember, your computer does. What you can’t do as quickly or efficiently, your computer does for you.

Your computer has become the backup for your brain – and thank goodness for that! The question is: what is the backup for your computer?

Jen’s juicy details about backup storage:

Here’s what you need to know If you’re looking to retrieve all the information on your computer in the event of that evil click.

Type One: Small but mighty

Small storage devices like DVDs, thumb drives, and other mini drives are usually very portable and hold up to about 8 gigabytes. A “gig” or “G” is a unit of measure for storage capacity. (It used to be MB or “megabyte,” but storage capacity is getting bigger. There’s even a terabyte now – which is 1000 gigabytes.)

Anyway, if you’ve only got small amounts of data (like Word files), burning DVDs or storing stuff on a USB thumb drive or two will probably do the trick.

The disadvantage is that you must import the information manually which is time consuming – making you more likely to put it off when frequent backing up is better. Smaller devices also tend to be more expensive per gigabyte, so if you anticipate needing more storage down the road, read on.

Type Two: External hard drives

The second kind is an external drive which has anywhere from 100 to 1000 gigabytes of space. The difference is that they sit on your desk and will automatically copy all the documents on your hard drive as often as you like.

In 2009, for about $85-150, you can have a quality drive backing up your computer tomorrow. Really. You just plug it in and back it up. And most offer software that allows you to schedule the backup times – way easier than programming a VCR.

In my local circulars, I found two 500G drives on sale for $60 (*about half what it cost a year ago) you should look out for. The Western Digital “My Book” and the Maxtor “One Touch” both seemed like a good price, but do your homework. Both companies had a litany of gripes from particularly dissatisfied Amazon customers.

For $20 more, Cavalry makes a 500G external drive that got very good reviews at PC Magazine and seems to have a better reputation overall. That seems like a worthwhile upgrade.

Note: You can buy a terabyte (TB) now for about $100 (what 500G cost last year) if you think you want that much storage.

Type Three:  Offsite storage and online backup services

Remote storage is provided by reputable online companies who upload your computer’s contents to their protected servers. I found a excellent, thorough article from ConsumerSearch that evaluates the companies that currently offer this service.

There are tons of advantages to using offsite storage. One is that if your hardware or computer gets burned, stolen, or damaged, your information is retained. It’s easy to use. It comes with customer support. It’s just plain great.

With about 15 strong contenders out there, Mozy.com is a service that has gotten consistently high rankings from a wide variety of sources. They offer unlimited backup storage for $4.95/month. They include easy-to-use software, automatic uploads, and more.

There are very few disadvantages to using offsite storage. Most info I read recommend using offsite as a secondary backup, not primary. But even if it’s the only option you choose, it’s still way better than no backup at all.

Are you ready to protect the documents you’ve so lovingly created for your business?

Things to Try:

1. Find out how much storage you need.

Take stock of your current data: If you have a PC, right click on your C drive and select “Properties” to see how much “used space” (not RAM) you’ve got. That’s a start. But also look in your “Shared Documents” file and on your Desktop – these files aren’t automatically included.

Consider the future: Do you anticipate saving many large files (audio, video, photos, etc.) in the next 2-4 years? Take all of this into account when deciding how much storage you need.

One recommendation I read was to buy twice the amount of storage you need so that your computer can easily access your data. Just like pulling out a book is easier when the shelves aren’t crammed.

2. Commit to taking action

If you’re ready to start backing up your documents, make a commitment to do it. Tell some friends and get support to follow through with it.

(You can also choose to postpone deciding – that’s a legitimate option, you just have to promise not to be harsh to yourself if something happens to your documents. Be ready to start over again from scratch.)

Your next step is to decide whether you want one backup or two. Many places I researched recommend having both an in-office backup system and a virtual one. Having a double back-up dramatically decreases the risk of loss against every contingency that insurance salesperson could conjure up.

3. Talk to a qualified professional.

As far as backup options are concerned, I’ve just scratched the surface – because I’m not a computer professional (and I don’t play one on television). Talking to the Real McCoy will help you customize solutions that meet your specific needs.

If your computer goes on the fritz unexpectedly, restoring your data will only be one of several immediate concerns. You absolutely need someone on your team who specializes in small business computer issues. Get to know one now, when there’s no emergency and build a working relationship with them.

To get started, Google “small business computer repair” in your town or ask people you trust for referrals. Then check out their websites or call up them up and to find out what their specialties are. Go with your intuition and take action.

A final thought

If you’ve been thinking about backing up your documents for a while, do it today. By my next newsletter, I am making a commitment to you that I will have fixed my backup hard drive. That gives me two weeks.

Will you join me in the challenge and decide on a backup solution or use the one you’ve got?

I’m going to heave a huge sigh of relief when all 60 of my precious gigabytes are protected once again.