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FrontPage How To
Volume 1 - Issue 17 - June 2004
Data Protection
Strategies for your Computer
By David Pfeiffer of FrontLook.com
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Tip 1: Disk Drive Layout
In all of my systems, I have two hard drives:
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C: Drive -
here I install the OS and all my applications in their standard locations.
These are the things that are easy to restore from CD. Some people
advocate the storing the OS on the C: drive and the Applications / Data on
another drive, but I found that this creates headaches for a lot of
software and if the C: drive goes down, you have to reinstall the
applications anyway to setup the registry properly, you might as well put
the apps on the c: drive with the OS.
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D: Drive -
Here I place the "My Documents" folders and all data that I can move to
it. Most programs give you a way of storing your data in a user defined
location. I make sure that my data is pointed to the D: drive.
Note: Its easy to move the My Documents folder, just right
click on the My Documents folder and select the Properties menu item. Then
use the Move button to move it to your d: drive.
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The reason for putting the "My Documents"
folder and all other data on the D: drive is that I would sometimes
get the dreaded blue screen crash which would force me to rebuild
(sometimes reformat) the c: drive. If I had left some of my data on the c:
drive, it would be lost. Also I found that after a year or so of trying
programs and browsing the Internet, I had so much junk on my system I
wanted to start fresh or when a new version of Windows came out, I wanted
to upgrade to the new OS. With this disk drive layout, I just rebuild my
C: drive, install the new OS and reinstall my applications from CD. Now
the system is just like new and I didn't have to backup everything because
it was on the d: drive, safe and sound.
Tip 2: Have a Remote Backup Strategy
Keeping your data on the d: drive does not mitigate the following
scenarios:
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Theft of your computer
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Destruction of you computer (fire or storm)
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Failure of the d: drive
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Virus destruction of data
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These risks are best mitigated with
regular remote backup of your data. This can be accomplished via:
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Copy your data to a CD or other removable
media and store it in a safe place (safety deposit box at bank or other
remote location).
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Automatically backup your data to a backup
sever in a remote location.
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While removable media is a great way of
backing up your data, it requires a regular discipline of making the
backups and moving the media to an off site location for storage.
Automatic online backup software and services are a great way to automate
this process so you don't forget to do the backup and store your data in a
remote location. With the cost of hosting coming down so rapidly, online
backup has become more economical than the physical media and
transportation of removable storage. If you are interested in online
backup solutions, please take a look at our
FrontLook Data Backup Pro product and our
FrontLook Backup services
And That's It
These simple tips can help you make sure your data stays safe.
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