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Rozanne Paxman
Save Your Mind (and your files)
Click. Click. Click.
I looked up from my computer monitor and glanced around the room. "What an odd sound," I thought. Because the clicking disappeared as quickly as it came, I shrugged my shoulders and went back to work.
Click. Click. CLICK.
"There it is again," I thought. "How weird."
Once I realized that sound had disappeared again, I dove back into the spreadsheet I was wading through. Before long, my thoughts were interrupted once again.
Click. Click. CLICK. Click. Click. CLICK. Hmmmmm... Tick.
That time, I didn't have to wonder what was behind the sound. The empty black monitor screen was the ugly indication that my hard drive had failed.
I wish I could say that this was the only time I have experienced hard drive failures, but I cannot. It's happened enough over the years that I honestly can't tell you how many drives I've lost. (I've been a computer user for a long time.) I can say that it has happened enough times that I now understand why I must back up my files. I also understand that if I become complacent on the issue, I'll eventually lose files.
Over time, I have developed some methods of backing up files that are easy and require little interference on my part. Here is my current regimen:
1. When I get a new computer, I make sure I have enough internal hard drives installed so that I can back up critical files from my C: drive to another drive. This makes restoring the computer easy, should that become necessary.
I used to use software that automatically backed up my entire C: drive to this drive. After having a number of computers rebuilt or reformatted, I began to see why it's a good thing to start with a clean operating system install each time. Now I only back up documents, photos, spreadsheets, music (my iTunes library), Photoshop/PSE plug-ins (such as brushes, styles, etc.), financial data (from Quicken) and the like. In other words, I back up data rather than software configurations and settings. Not only is this easier, it takes less storage.
In the screenshot above, you can see that I have a drive named Manual Backup of C drive (L:). This is where the data from my main drive is backed up. I use my K: drive as my Photoshop scratch disk (a discussion for another time) and I have all of my photos, layouts, design files, and writing housed on my F: drive. They are backed up using the next two methods.
2. I have a few external hard drives that I use to back up these same items. Because I have a lot of data on my machines, I bought three Western Digital external hard drives in three different colors. I have color-coded which files are backed up on each drive. I like having these drives around because if something should happen, it will be simple to restore my files to my internal hard drives again. I use SyncToy to simplify the backup process. (See the SyncToy discussion below.)
3. I use Carbonite. Carbonite automatically backs up all of my files to one of their company's servers. The transfer is handled securely and automatically each time I am connected to the Internet. Because I have massive amounts of data on my computer, I have learned that restoration of all of this data takes a long time. Because I might need something quickly, I use the external hard drive method. This means that Carbonite is the backup process for my main backup processes. (If possible, it's a good thing to have multiple methods of backing up your files. Many companies use three different methods to ensure they don't lose their files.)
Carbonite places little dots by the file names to indicate the state of the backup. In the screenshot above, you can see that most of the files have been backed up to Carbonite's servers because there is a little green dot by the file. If there is a yellow dot, I know that the file hasn't been backed up yet.
I used to burn backups onto DVDs. But now that external hard drives are relatively inexpensive, it's cost-effective to do it this way. It's also faster. (I've considered using external hard drives to back up my external hard drives, but since I already am backing up files elsewhere, I decided that this would be a little over-the-top.)
Hard drives will fail. If you have your files on a single drive, you are in as much danger of losing your files as you would be of falling off a bridge if you were standing with your shoes hanging half-way over the edge.
By the way, any hard drive can fail. This is not just a PC problem. Mac drives fail, too. I know of one Mac-using designer who lost her hard drives three times in quick succession. She learned the hard way to back up her files.
SyncToy
If you are a PC user, there is a nifty free software tool you can download from Microsoft's website called SyncToy. SyncToy makes backing up files from one drive to another a cinch. All you do is create some folder pairs and run the initial backup. Then each time you run the tool again, SyncToy looks for changes and backs up the changes. This makes the process fast because it isn't repeating work it has already accomplished.
larger view
Here is a screenshot of my SyncToy folder pairs. The Left Folder is the file you are backing up. The Right Folder is the location of the backup. The Name makes it easy for me to identify which data I am backing up in each folder pair. (You choose the name when you set up a folder pair.)
If you look closely, you will see I've named most of the pairs in such a way that I can instantly tell which of my colored external hard drives I have used. Then, when I want to back-up those files, I open SyncToy, select the pairs that correspond with the folders on that particular external hard drive, and run the tool while I work on something else.
I back up the files via SyncToy a couple of times a month. That way, should I have to restore my files, I can grab most of them from my external hard drive and only have to restore the brand new files from Carbonite's servers. This will speed up the restoration process. If the external hard drive has failed, I will only have to download the files from that particular external hard drive. (I have things split up on different drives, right?)
If you haven't come up with your own backup process, I strongly urge you to work on it immediately . Don't stall. Don't put it off. The photos and layouts you may save will be your own.
- Ro
Muse: To be absorbed in one's thoughts; engage in meditation. Not intended to solve the world's problems, another person's problems, or to cover topics completely. One does not have to agree with musings to enjoy them, just as one does not have to be the same as someone else to appreciate who they are.
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