Backup your data for FREE! OK, I mean backup your data with a free software.
Well, that's how they make up the headlines all the times right?
For the past 1 month, 3 friends told me that their hard disks crashed on
them. I'm like guys... What's the 3 words you learn about data? Backup, backup
and backup! So, here I am, sharing some tips on backing up the data in your
computer.
Use a software to backup/ synchronize your data
Most people likes to backup their data to another drive. The problem with
this is that it's not easy to manage. You either delete the whole folder in the
destination drive and re-copy the whole folder from source drive (which is
SLOW!), or overwrite all files from src to dest. But later way does not ensure
the dest folder is the same as the src folder, 'cause you may have deleted some
files in the src, that you want them to be removed from the dest as well.
That's why it's always good to use a software to synchronize files between
src and dest, 'cause they are smart enough to do the comparisons: to copy only
the necessary files (i.e. faster), and delete those which are no longer
necessary, BINGO! And there're a lot of free software available for this
purpose.
I've been using SyncBack (from 2BrightSparks) for years, and it has never
fail on me. You can download it from
here. It
is all-FREE! Advertisement free, spyware free, price FREE!
Here's a quick step-by-step tutorial on how to use Syncback:
How often should I backup my data?
A friend asked me, "How often should I backup my data?". Well, it really
depends on the situations. Some of the common questions are:
What kind of data are you talking about? E.g. I only backup my movie
collections once a month, but I backup my working docs every week.
How important the data is to you? E.g. My pictures with my dogs are more
important that my working docs.
Will I be able to get those data from other sources in case I lose them? E.g.
I can always get my proposals from my co-workers, but I can't re-take the
pictures I took in Sausalito.
So it really depends. I had situation where I backup my data every hour to my
pendrive because my hard disk was producing weird noise.
Conclusion
Conclusion is, backup your data! And once a while, you should back them up on
CD or DVD, 'cause they last longer, and they won't crash on you like hard disk.
for the techies 
