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Backup Strategies for Your Data
CTS (Computing Technology Support) recommends that all computer users regularly back up their data in order to prevent losing information in the case of a disk failure. We recommend at the very least backing up files that are frequently changed, especially if they are important (e.g., term papers, resumes). This page outlines some strategies that can help you to avoid losing any of the data stored on your personal computer.
A basic backup strategy involves copying important files to a location not on your hard drive. Having more than one copy of important data is insurance against the loss of that data in an event such as a hard drive or system failure. To make your backup strategy more complete, you should try a trial restore of your backup before data loss occurs.
There are many options available for backing up your data. The option you choose will depend on what your backup needs are and how much effort you are willing to put into data backup. Choose a backup scenario that most closely matches your needs:
I would like to back up only my most critical files on to a device that I can carry around with me.
| Description |
Small USB storage devices drives that plug into a USB port are a convenient technology for backups. They do not generally require any extra software and are very portable. A USB storage device drive can serve as an external repository for important data as a protection against an event such as the failure of your hard disk. However, USB storage device drives do not have the storage capacity to perform full backups of a hard disk or file system or to keep archives of past backups.
To back up files using a USB storage device drive:
1. Plug the drive into a USB port. The drive should appear in your filesystem view (e.g. My Computer).
2. Copy the files you want to back up to the drive's location in your file system by dragging and dropping or using a file copy command.
To retrieve or restore files from a USB storage device drive:
1. Plug the drive into a USB port.
2. Drag and drop (or copy) the files from the drive's location in your filesystem to a location on your computer.
There are also external disk drives available that use interchangeable disks that can have a higher storage capacity than a USB storage device drive. Usually the procedure for backing up and retrieving files from one of these drives is much the same as the procedure for USB storage device drives.
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| Pros |
- very small and portable
- can be reused many times
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| Cons |
- relatively small storage space
- easily lost
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| Requirements |
- available USB port
- USB storage device drive
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| Common names |
- Flash drive
- Jump drive
- Thumb drive
- Keychain drive
- Pen drive
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I would like to back up a large amount of data (but not my whole hard drive) on to a CD or DVD.
| Description |
A CD or DVD-ROM is a convenient format for backing up data. Large amounts of data may be stored on a disc (on average, a CD can hold about 750 MB and a DVD can hold 4.5 GB). Because of this, it is possible to back up all your datafiles to CD or DVD by spanning multiple discs, but this is a time-consuming process and could require many discs.
To back up files to a CD:
In many operating systems, you can copy files to a CD by using filesystem drag-and-drop. If you have a writable CD drive but your operating system does not support drag-and-drop CD writing, you must use CD write software to copy your files to CD.
To restore or retrieve files from a CD:
Restoring or retrieving files from a CD does not require CD write software or a writable CD drive. With the backup CD inserted into your CD drive, find the drive's icon in your filesystem and copy the files to your desired location by dragging and dropping or using a file copy utility.
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| Pros |
- can be stored offsite to protect against the case of physical damage to the area surrounding the computer
- large amounts of data may be backed up on multiple disks
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| Cons |
- if rewritable CDs are not used, a new disc must be used for each backup
- requires proper storage and handling to avoid data loss
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| Requirements |
- writable CD or DVD drive and write software
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I would like to back up my data to a secure network location.
| Description |
CTS provides N: drive file storage to faculty, staff, and students at GVSU. All student accounts have fifty megabytes and faculty/staff accounts have one hundred megabytes of storage. The storage space is provided at no charge. The storage is on the N: drive. All files saved in this location can be access via FTP.
You should be aware of how much space your backed-up files take up so that your backup doesn't get cut off when it exceeds your quota. Files will not work for full system backups or for archiving previous backups.
There are two ways of connecting to files saved on your N:. If you are logged into the GVSU network you may save or copy your files to the N: drive from within your application or My Computer. From off campus you may FTP to your files. For Macintosh users use Netware from Applications folder or From off campus you may FTP to your files.. for FTP instructions. Faculty click here Students click here
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| Pros |
- no extra hardware or software required
- files are accessible from any location with an Internet connection
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| Cons |
- faculty/staff space is limited to 100 megabytes of storage
- student space is limited to 50 megabytes of storage
- requires on campus network login or an Internet connection to access data
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| Requirements |
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Should a GVSU faculty/staff member ever need to backup their full hard drive?
If your computer hard drive should happen to fail, Computing and Technology Support will reload the operating system and all standard GVSU software.
- Keep all software you have installed on your machine.
If you have questions phone the CTS helpdesk 616 331-210.
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