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EwT
TechTips: Backup, Backup, Backup
You’ve probably
heard our preaching on this topic, and we do our very best to check our
customer’s backups. In a disaster, you can never have enough of them.
File backups are backups of individual files, while “image” backups
restore the entire computer back to a point in time. Both are important
and image backup is a part of Windows 7 and the previous version,
Windows Vista.
Here are some
best practices:
·
Perform file AND image backups if
possible to have the most recovery options available.
·
Make sure you have at least one full
backup “off-site”. We perform this function for many of our customers
as part of our weekly/bi-weekly service.
·
If you use hard drives or USB memory
drives, rotate them.
·
If using Vista or Windows 7, ALSO
periodically perform an “image” backup of your entire computer to a
pocket hard drive (select “Backup and Restore” in Control Panel—follow
the wizard). Note that most USB drives don’t have the capacity for a
total system image.
Simple File Backups – Here’s how…
1.
Plug in your USB memory drive or
external hard drive
2.
Open the folder containing your
files (My Documents, etc.)
3.
Select the desired file and then
right-click, Send to, select the letter of your USB drive.
(You may also select several files and use Copy-Paste with files as you
would text).
Total System Image Backups using Windows 7 or Vista Business –
Here’s how…
1.
Plug in your external hard drive (USB
drives are typically not large enough)
2.
From the search box on the Start
button, type backup and select “Backup and Restore”
3.
Select “Image backup” in Windows 7,
or select the “Complete Image” option in Windows Vista
(Business or Ultimate versions only). |
