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Need for Backup

You need to backup simply because the data which you blindly believe to be safe can be lost, anytime. All it takes is a power outage, or a virus attack. So never, ever live in the misunderstanding that your data is safe, until you backup. Now if you are convinced about the need for backup then the next thing that should pop in your mind is what qualifies for backup. Even though some of the popular software available in the market have ready made backup options, you might want to know what is important, just for knowledge's sake!

What to backup

Now if you think you are not working with anything that is really important, then you are badly mistaken again! In case of a system crash, would you like everything to be the way it was when you boot up again or would you rather have it as a clean fresh system with just the operating system to greet you? If you want everything, the hardware configuration, the system drivers, your custom configured media player or your saved game in that favorite strategy game, then you need to backup the files that matter!

Coming to the files that matter, here are some things to ponder about. Registry is the place where system keeps all the important information about system configuration. So registry backup is a good place to start! Now, if you spent a good amount of time searching and downloading your device drivers, then you are better advised to have a safe backup all your hardware device drivers, including your modem drivers and video card drivers.

Another simple rule to follow is: backup the installation/setup files of all the software that you like and want to continue using, even after a possible system crash. You might also want to backup the "save/d game" folder of all your favorite games!

Now, for all those software that you purchased, you might have a product key/serial number/registration code that gives you ownership rights on the software, so backup files related to all that information.

How to Backup

Well, you can pick up the files that you want to backup and copy them on to a removable media, like CD, Floppy or memory sticks or anything that you consider to be safe from common threats. Well if you are still not sure as to which files are important, then download a backup software from the internet and let the tool do the job for you. There are several backup options available like online backup, network backup, server backup and so on.

The trick is to pick the right one that matches your needs and your resources. If you have lots of time at hand, then you can even consider the option of creating a disk image and then storing it on a removable storage media. The good thing about disk images are that they let your virtually rebuild your system to the exact state it was when you imaged it.

Lison Joseph is a contributor at Free-backup.info -- the home of the popular Amazon S3 based online backup service -- Back2zip. This article available at http://free-backup.info/simple-rules-on-what-to-backup-and-how.html