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Guide for creating backup versions of files.

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Backing up data is a very good idea. It is very easy to misplace or delete important files. Therefore, to ensure that your files are both safe and can be found easily, it is smart to store them in multiple locations where you will be able to retrieve them easily.

Ensure that you have picked a device that has enough space to backup your information. An external hard drive can range up to multiple terabytes vs a DVD that can only hold a maximum of 4.7 gigabytes and may not be rewritable.

Backup Methods

There are several different ways of backing up data. The following is a list of a few simple ways along with some advantages:

External Hard Drive (USB, Firewire, eSata, Flash Drives)

Backing up to an external hard drive. An external hard drive can be small and portable,such as a flashdrive or mp3 player, or it can be larger in order to offer a lot of storage capacity. Using external hard drives allow you to have a backup copy of your important files in an easy to access location if your computer hard drive stops working.

Backing up files onto an external hard drive is fairly easy, in most cases it can simply be plugged into the computer's USB port. After it is recognized, you can go to My Computer by pressing the Windows logo+E keys, or simply by going to Start>>My Computer (on Mac computers the hard drive should appear as an icon on the desktop). Once there you should see the new hard drive as an icon for the new hard drive. Double click to open it up. Once the new window opens, any files you wish to save can be simply dragged into the new window. The files will then be copied to the external hard drive where they will be stored until you remove them or the external hard drive dies.

CD/DVD

A CD-R/DVD-R (or RW) offers a secure external storage space to backup data. CD's are reliable and can make for easy storage of data, however, they are susceptible to scratching and environmental damage.

The backup process is similar to that of an external hard drive. This can be done by inserting a blank disk into your disk drive. You can then access it by clicking the Windows logo button+E. Once there it will appear where your disk drive is usually located (on Mac computers the disk should appear as an icon on the desktop). Double click on the icon to open a window for the disk (Note: Formatting process may occur at this point). With the window open, files can be dragged onto the disk. Note: burning software is available to make the process easier and give you more options.

Web-Email Account

Using web-mail (such as Gmail, Outlook live, Yahoo, ect.) is an easy way to transport and secure small amounts of information such as a few documents or pictures. This keeps it safe from any hard drive it is accessed on and is only reliant on the mail client's servers. It is able to be accessed easily anywhere you have Internet access.

This form of data backup is simple. Documents can be sent through email to your own or someone else's mail account if you so choose. Documents can be sent in an email via the "attachment" function of the web-mail
Some mail servers allow you to send file types that others will not), the file can be found by browsing the computer and selecting it.

Dropbox

Dropbox is an application that allows you to backup files and have access to them from any computer running the Dropbox application. Because files are saved to the Dropbox server and not directly on your computer they are safe from hard drive failure and similar problems.

Up to 2GB of online storage space is available for free. Documents can be easily accessed from any computer with Dropbox. Signing up through this link gives you a bonus of 250MB. DropBox

Sources and Relevant Links

Gmail
Outlook live
Yahoo
DropBox

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