It is my recommendation that everyone institute a backup procedure to protect yourselves in case of fire, theft or any other catastrophic event.  File recovery is costly in both time and money, and there is no guarantee that you will be able to recover lost files.  There are a few different ways to implement an adequate backup plan.

First, figure out what files you need to back up.  It is not necessary to backup your whole hard drive, just backup the files that you have created.  Keeping your files in one folder on your hard drive will make backing up files a lot easier.  For example, use one folder that is named your name, then create additional folders under that folder.  You could have a folder for presentations named presentations, one for letters/e-mails named letters and e-mail, etc. 

Second, in order to determine what type of storage media you will need, check to see how large your files are.  If you have a lot of large files, such as photos a writable CD will be the media of choice for backing up.  In the case of files in excess of 700MB total, you will need multiple CD's or an external drive.

Third, create at least two backup copies of your files.  Keep one set of backup disks in your office for easy retrieval and keep a second set somewhere else, such as at home.  Also, disks and CD’s could be damaged, or misplaced.  It is better to have more than one copy of your information on hand.  Keep in mind, that disk errors are not always obvious at the time that you are making your backups.  Always test your disks before storing them to make sure that the files you backed up are readable.  Never discard or overwrite your previous backup media until you are positive that your newest backup copies are readable.

Fourth, consider creating new backups routinely.  Backup all of your files once every quarter, semi-annually or whatever period you feel is adequate to meet your needs.  For big projects, save a new copy of the file on your hard drive after making a major change.  Rename the file and add a number each time you make a change.  (I.E. presentation1, presentation2, etc).  After you have made all of your changes, save the document to a zip disk, floppy disk, CD, or external drive. 

Finally, you could archive older files that you seldom access at one time and store them in a safe place, such as your home. This will reduce the amount of files that you need to backup at other times.  You will be making backup copies of your newest files, which would be quicker and easier. 

This is extremely important!  Please call me at 3-4239 or e-mail me at entomology@help.ncsu.edu if you need any help implementing your backup plan.

-Andrew Barnes

This is recieve a more major overhaul shortly, as it is, it is a reduced/updated version of a memo from greg garner.