Back up your computer files

Me: "I've lost them"
DH: "Your marbles?"
Me: "The baby pictures'
Dh: "Crap."

If you're (un)lucky enough to have been in this same situation you can skip the next few sentences. Actually, never mind and keep reading because everyone needs a refresher now and then.

Five most important words you'll read about your PC or Mac today: You need to backup your files. I'm not just talking about emailing a copy of Aunt Mabels banana bread recipe to your sister so one of you has it for the family reunion, I'm talking about all of your key files, internet bookmarks, baby photos, emails etc. Remember those five words, there will be a pop quiz.

Its amazing how much of our lives is stored on that little machine isn't it? And think of the ways that we could lose that information: Corruption, fire, theft, your brain child accidentally formatting the computer while trying to ‘fix’ something etc. I’m going to use the next few minutes to run through some ways that you can backup your information to set your mind at ease.

BACKING UP – FILES AND FOLDERS
This is where the magic happens ladies. To avoid the 9pm panic attack while looking for your income tax statement, or the picture of Lula doing the hokey pokey at her school recital, you need to backup your “offline” files and folders. There really is no excuse now, there are options from the ridiculously cheap to the super expensive. Here are a few of my favourites.

Cheap (Free) – Dropbox
Dropbox is a utility that is quickly gaining popularity in the web world right now. It allows you to sync files back and forth between the internet and PC easily and securely. It’s accessible from anywhere (they even have an app for the iPad), but it’s limited to about 2GB of space to start out. I’ll cover the complete ins and outs of Dropbox in a post next week, but starting is as simple as installing their app (available at www.dropbox.com) on your computer. After it’s installed, it creates a virtual drive on your machine that you can copy files into just like you would a c: or d: drive, so all you’ll need to do is copy the files you want to backup into the ‘Dropbox’ location, and the app does the rest.

Also cheap – USB Memory Sticks
USB memory sticks are available almost everywhere now. I’ve seen them at the big box stores, grocery stores, family retailers, and even at the dollar stores. They come in a variety of sizes from 128Mb all the way up to Kingston medias new 256GB version. Much like Dropbox, when you plug the stick into your computer you’ll see it come up as a drive just like you would a c: or d: drive. Then, you’ll need to copy the files you want over to the stick.

Moderately priced – DVD Backups
If you have access to a DVD burner, or better yet, one built right into your computer, you do have the option of burning your files to a DVD. One thing I would remind you to do though is label the disk with a permanent marker or sticker that says the contents and the date of the backup. You’ll want to know when this backup was created if you ever need to grab a file from it.

Moderately priced – External Hard Disks
You can go into a big box electronics store and see an entire shelf full of external hard drives. Although this used to be the Rolls Royce option, you can now get a lot of space (read a terabyte) for under $100. They are plug and play via USB, and your files will copy over quickly. Just like the USB stick option, it comes up as a drive and you will copy the files you want to backup into the location.

IMPORTANT REMINDER: One important note about memory sticks, dvd backups and external hard drives. Do not keep them in the same place as your PC. I have started keeping my backups in my safe deposit box. It’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

BACKING UP – EMAIL

If you’re using email on your computer, chances are you are using either webmail or a desktop client to access it.

Webmail is great. They indirectly take the hit for your backup needs. But, as Erica learned today, if you can’t log in you have issues. I set up my gmail accounts as ‘POP’ accounts and use a desktop client to grab the mail on my desktop so I can back it up as well.

When backing up with a desktop client you’ll find that most (if not all) have either an export or backup feature. (Outlook’s can be found by using the export wizard at File -> Import & Export -> ‘Export to a file’ and specifying the location. Thunderbird and Eudora have similar functions). Then, you should back that file up using the same methods we talked about earlier while backing up your files.

BACKING UP – INTERNET BROWSER LINKS

I would be lost without my internet links. Here are 2 of my favourite ways to back them up, online and to my hard drive.

Online - http://www.delicious.com/
Delicious is a service that allows you to store your internet links on a web page that is accessible anywhere. In their words “Delicious keeps all your bookmarks in one place so you will never lose track of your bookmarks again. Since we store your bookmarks online, you can get to them from any computer, whether you're at home, at work or on the road..” I couldn’t say it any better.

Offline
To backup your browser preferences from Internet Explorer use the export wizard by opening Internet Explorer and going to File -> Import & Export -> ‘Export Favorites’ and save them to whatever location you like.

If you are using Firefox you can follow their instructions here.

So there you have it. There are literally hundreds of other ways to backup your information on your computer, but these are the easiest and most common. Remember the pop quiz I promised? What were the 5 words I said you needed to remember … You need to backup your files.