How-To Guides: How to Back Up Files

It happens to almost every computer user eventually. You turn on your computer and nothing happens. Or you hear a strange sound and receive a message about a disk crash or failure. The computer technician arrives and breaks the bad news. While he can repair your computer, all of your files are gone. Destroyed. He asks for your backup so he can restore them. You look at him blankly and say “What backup?” And then you realize that all your hard work, all your center records, lesson plans, etc. are gone. And you wish you had taken the time to make a back up. Backing up your data is crucial and it is not difficult. Learn how to back up your data and get in the habit of regular back ups and if your computer “crashes”, you’ll be able to smile, and say “No problem. I have a back up.”

Follow the following steps to back up your important files.

NOTE: If you want to back up your Outlook files, close Outlook before you begin the backup procedure.

• Click on ‘START’. Select ‘All Program’, ‘Accessories,’ ‘System Tools.’
• Click on ‘Backup.’

• Click on ‘Next.’

• The Backup or Restore screen offers a choice between backing up files and restoring files. Since you are backing up files, click on ‘Back up files and settings.’

Your next choice is where to back up your files. You could back them up to another folder on your hard drive but if your hard drive fails, you will lose both the original and the back-up files. Instead, choose to back up files on a portable device that you can store at a different location or on another computer. You can also email it to yourself at a non-CyberStart email address and access it when you need it. (Do not send it to your CyberStart email because when you open it, the contents are stored on your hard drive and will be lost if your hard drive fails.)

• You can save your backup to a floppy diskette (drive a:)or if you have a writable CD-ROM drive to a CD (drive D:). Click on the arrow to choose a place to save your back up, and then type in a name for your backup.
•  Enter a name that will remind you what the file is at a much later date. Click on ‘Next.’

Name

• What files to back up is another choice. On CyberStart computers, because there are staff and child logons, you will want to back up “Everyone’s documents and settings” as that includes each user’s files, Internet favorites, desktop and cookies. This will also back up Outlook folders and contacts. Then click on ‘Next.’

• Verify that your selections are correct and click on ‘Next.’

• Before the actual copying begins, you will see the above screen. You can click on ‘Finish’ to start the backup but for this lesson, click on “Advanced’ so we can select other options.

Our first choice is type of backup. There are five choices. As you scroll through the choices, the menu box will contain a brief description of the type of backup.

• Normal backs up all selected files and marks each as backed up.
• Copy backs up the files that you select but does not mark them as backed up.
• Incremental backs up only those files that have been created or changed since the last back up.
• Differential backs up only those files that have been created or changed since the last back up but does not mark them as backed up.
• Daily backs up only those files that were created or modified today.

• For this first backup, select ‘Normal’ and click on ‘Next.’

• On the How to Back Up screen, accept the default options, and click on ‘Next.’

• As this is an initial backup, neither option is available so click on ‘Next.’ In the future, you can elect to append or replace your backups. If you append you will still have your earlier backups; if you replace you will overwrite the previous backups and have only the most recent backup.

• The backup utility allows you to run your backup immediately or later at a set time and schedule. To run it immediately, click on ‘Now.’  For this example, click on ‘’Later’ and then ‘Next.’

• The Schedule Job screen allows you to determine when the back up will run. In this example, the backup will begin at 5:37 PM each Friday beginning on August 4, 2005. Select your own options and click on ‘OK.’

 

You can also set limits for how long backups will run in case of problems and set controls so that a scheduled backup will not begin while someone is using the computer. In the above screen, options have been selected to:

• limit the backup to 8 hours
• start only if PC has been idle for 30 minutes
• if it has not been idle the required 30 minutes,  the program will keep retrying every 60 minutes until it has been idle for 30 minutes
• stop if someone starts to use the PC during a backup
• if power management is in use and the PC is asleep, it will be awakened to run the backup.

 

• You can select options or not. Click on ‘OK.’

• Because the backup will run when you are not signed on, it needs your user id and password to register you at the time it back ups your date. Enter your user ID and password. Re-enter your password and click on ‘OK.’

• Verify that everything on the above screen is correct. If incorrect, click on ‘Back’ to return to previous screens to make appropriate changes. If correct, click on ‘Finish.’ Is that the right screen or should it be Completing the Backup or Restore Wizard screen?

• Click on ‘Finish’ to begin the backup process. Is this the sam finish as above?

• The backup process is reported on the screen and tells you when a new disk is required.

• Be sure to label and number each disk. You will need to enter them in the proper sequence for the restore process. Remember: never remove a disk while the disk drive is still reading or writing (green light is flashing) but wait until no activity is occurring to remove the disk. Removing the disk during the read or write process may destroy all data on the disk.

• When the backup is completed, you will receive the Backup Progress screen. If you had Outlook open when you ran the backup, you will have a message that some files were skipped.

• Your backup is completed. Remember to store your backup disks in a safe place at a different location. That way if something happens at your center, the backup files will be safe.

Next month, how to RESTORE your files from your backup.

 

 

[Posted on September 2, 2005]