Free-Backup.info

What is Data Backup?

Data backup is the saving of your files in a location remote from your computer. We perform data backup to protect against cases in which our files are lost or destroyed from our primary computers. If we have our files saved in reserve on a backup disk, then we can restore our files to our computer in the case of a crash or loss of data. This is important to anyone who uses a computer as there are some files that are simply irreplaceable, and if they are lost then they are lost forever.

While there are some data recovery companies and programs that might be able to restore lost data, backup is a much easier process as well as reliable. If you have your data in backup then you know it is there and that you can restore it if you need it, and it is much wiser than depending upon a data recovery system that may or may not work and will most likely be quite expensive.

How do I Backup my Data?

The process of data backup involves storing data on a disk or drive separate from your primary computer. This can be on a floppy disk, a CD-ROM or DVD-ROM, a Zip disk, a remote computer or an online server. The emphasis is on having two or more copies of your files, in this way if something happens to one then you will still have the other.

Say, for example, that you are writing a report for your business. You can save this report both on your computer and onto a 3 and a half inch floppy disk. If anything happens to your computer, say you are infected by a virus which deletes all of your documents, once you computer is fixed you still have access to your report on your backup disk. This will keep you from losing your data even if you have a major malfunction on your hard drive.

What is the Best Data Backup Solution for Me?

There are many backup solutions, you will have to decide which is the best for you. Different storage disks will have different amounts of data storage possible, and will cost differing amounts of money. Some hardware such as ZIP disks are designed specifically for backup, and can be used very effectively in backing up your files. ZIP disks have a storage size of 100 megabytes, and JAZ disks made by the same corporation (IOMEGA) give you a gigabyte of data storage.

This is very impressive, far more than a simple floppy disk will give you. However, you will have to install a new drive onto your computer in order to use these formats.

DVD-Rs and DVD-RWs can be used for data storage, and they can hold more information than even a JAZ drive, with 4.7 gigabytes of space. This is larger than many hard drives of only a few years ago, and can be a very powerful thing in backing up your computer. How many files do you want to store? What price are you willing to pay? How well do these formats work? These are the questions you want to answer when choosing your data backup system.