Thats right, backing up your computer is like buying insurance, very few people like doing it, but people are extremely happy they did when something goes wrong.
There are a number of reasons why people will not backup their computer data.
- It can cost money to do
- It can take time/effort
- No one expects the worst to happen
- People do not value what they have until it is gone
These are just a few of the reasons, but they are all potentially large reasons for inaction. Lets try and break down these barriers and take an easy approach that is worth while.
Most of us use our computers everyday, we write emails, save pictures, compose papers, design images, store business information, and many other things. Much of what is produced will have little to no impact on your life should it be lost. Really people, how many of you have gone through all of your documents and looked at how many saved items you have that have absolutely zero value today. This data does not matter. If you lose it, the impact will be negligible.
That being said, there are other items the have financial, legal, or emotional implications if they are lost. Do not toy with this items, you need a plan that makes sure these files are saved. There are quite a few different options, lets lay them out.
- Get your pictures online, use Facebook, Picassa, Flicker or any of the other free picture hosting services. These professional companies will take the responsibility of maintaining your pictures for you. If you have photos you would prefer not be online and viewable, copy them to a USB drive and toss the drive in a lock box.
- Pay for a service like Mozy home backup. It is $6 a month and you can easily install and set it up and forget it. The software runs on it’s own and grabs files that you put in targeted folders.
- Buy an external harddrive and either manually copy over important files or use the operating systems automated backup capabilities to backup your computer. Only use the harddrive when you want to backup files.
- If your size requirements are small, less than 2GB use a service like dropbox, if you use this link to sign up you’ll get an extra 250mb.
The most important thing is to have a backup that is on a physically different device than your computer. The best solution is an online service that will ensure your data is safe.
I have a fileserver I setup at my house for backups, I also use dropbox and facebook for important data/pictures. That works for me, find an option that works for you and meets your emotional, business, or legal needs. It should be simple. Please, do it. If you have questions, leave a comment or send me an email and I would be happy to answer.
