Where Do I Back Up To?


Where to back up files to really depends on what you decide you need to back up, and in this case "where" includes both the device (as in the thing you put the bits and bytes on) and the location (as in where do you put the thing that you put the bits and bytes on):

  • The device For critical files, which for the sake of discussion we assume is a handful of relatively small files (the total is less than 1 GB, for example), you are probably okay with using a memory key (we discuss these and other devices later in this chapter) or an online service. For all the user files or a system image backup, you probably ought to consider a zip drive. Zip drives have storage ranges from a few to hundreds of GB of memory. We walk through a couple of user scenarios later in this chapter. There is also the option of installing a second internal hard drive onto your computer; because this means opening your computer, however, we recommend that you avoid this option (and we're not going to tell you how to do it anyway).

  • The location Where you keep your storage media depends on how safe you want or need the data to be. For critical files, you should keep your backed up data in a different physical location than your PC. This prevents a disaster (a house fire or earthquake, for example) from destroying both your PC and your backed-up files (unless, of course, it is a really big fire or earthquake, in which case your stored files will not be much of a concern to anyone but future archeologists). There are a couple of backup strategies here: "store-and-port" options, in which you back up and then relocate the storage media; and "online" backup, whereby you upload your files to an Internet server far away from where you are.




Home Network Security Simplified
Home Network Security Simplified
ISBN: 1587201631
EAN: 2147483647
Year: N/A
Pages: 130

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