Backing Up Your Data

Last Updated: 6 November 2006


There is no single precaution that protects your data better than regularly backing up your system. This doesn't mean making copies of programs you already have on disk or CD (like Windows), but backing up your data (eg. your invoices, email messages, payroll data, mailing lists, letters, etc). That way, even if your whole system goes down, you are able to copy everything back on without losing your important data.

How often should you back up your data? Well, it depends how valuable your data is, but most people back up their data every day. That means that even if your system was lost you would only lose up to one day of data.


How do you back up? In most cases the size of your data you need to back up will be greater than what can fit on a standard floppy disk. This means you need to invest in a device to store larger amounts of data. The two most common devices for this are an external drive or a rewriteable CD-ROM.

It's not inconvenient or hard to back up data. External drives and CD-ROMs usually come with software that enables you to set up what you want stored, and then after that a simple click of the mouse will do the job each time you want to back up. Some programs even let you schedule backup automatically, so you don't even have to remember to do it! (see below).

Another important point, whether you are using external drives or CD-ROMs, is that it is important to consider saving your data on a different disk each day and rotate the disks every few days. For example, you could have a disk for Mondays, Tuesdays, etc through to Fridays. That way, even if your computer and your disk both failed (extremely unlikely) then you will have data safely backed up from the day before.


For a great product that simplifies backing up, including all your emails, visit www.handybackup.com.

Contact us for more information on this topic.


Disclaimer: This page is designed to provide information only and is not a substitute for advice that is specific to your business. Before acting on any of the information above it is important you seek further advice from a professional who has taken into consideration the nature and circumstances of your business.

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