Data backup and recovery is one of the most overlooked parts of a company’s IT structure. With all of the technology available today, the absence of even the most elementary backup solution is a mortal sin in regard to the business technology universe. There are affordable backup and data recovery systems in every price range, so even companies with limited budgets can afford an elementary system at the very least. Also many computer services firms now offer backup and data recovery systems as integral parts of their managed IT services.

Here are the top 10 questions to answer when pondering the right backup and data recovery system:

1. What happens if I delete a file?
2. Where is my email stored and is it backed up?
3. What if my computer crashes? Even if my data is saved how long will it take me to rebuild my computer to a functioning state?
4. Is my data all located in the same physical space?
5. Will a catastrophe wipe out my backup solution i.e. {an earthquake,a fire, a flood}?
6. Does my business rely on any one system for business critical functions? How long can my business operate without a functioning system? Does my current backup solution accomodate that expectation?
7. Does someone in our company know how to retrieve information off backups?
8. Are my backups tested so I know they work?
9. Are my backups monitored so I know if they are ever failing?
10. Is the backup data media (i.e. hard drives or tapes) transferred in a secure, controlled manor since it contains all data for my entire business?

These questions covers about 1/4 of the questions that one should review when it comes to a practical backup and disaster recovery system so if you haven’t asked yourself these questions, start today!  If you are overwhelmed, contact a local computer services provider which should be able to assist your company.

For some people, backing up computer information does not seem very necessary. After all, they’re not bankers or government officials with millions of important information to protect. However,  personal e-mails, pictures and notes on your drives should not be taken any less seriously. Just like a banker’s file of finances, every personal file of photo or of just about anything can hold wonderful memories of you and your loved one. Losing these things may not have a great impact on anyone else but you owe it to yourself to protect these important bits of info and backup your computer. Safeguarding your computer files is very important especially in the digital age when every person can put so much about himself on his computer.

Some have kept certain files for years. And this was always done in the same old process. First, you buy a stack of floppy  disks  or CDs which can be costly. You organize your files in such a way that everything in one category would fit into the disk space. Then, you label each disk before finally storing the information – which usually takes lots of space and hours of time. In storing your files, you need to be extra careful since a few scratches or a several drops of water could be enough to erase all your hard work and stored data. You may buy a protective safe for your disks but this would mean additional expenses on your part.

It’s a good thing that recent developments in technology have given way to better methods when it comes to data backups and storage. External hard drives are already available that allow you to just plug and backup. It has become as simple as that. And your files are organized exactly the way they were in your computer’s hard drive so the process should only take a few minutes of your time. External hard drives also let you store so much data — up to several terabytes. For many who don’t have an idea how big a terabyte is, one terabyte can hold up to 200,000 photos at 5MB each.

But not everyone wants to run out and buy a new, and often expensive, hard drive. While it lets you keep all of your files with you, which offers some comfort to most people, it can be a bit overwhelming for some people.

For these types of computer users, a good option for ensuring that your data is safe from all possible causes of data loss would be to avail of online backup services being offered by many companies, one example of which is Carbonite online backup. With this backup method, you don’t need to be a techie because most of these online storage solutions are very user-friendly. And, you get the assurance that your data is being kept away from prying eyes using advanced encryption technology and stored in servers located in a protected area.

Whether you are a student with school work to store or just someone looking for a place to keep your numerous photos, the best online backup services have a lot to offer you. If you  just want to make space on your hard drive for something else or if you are worried about possible damage to your files, you will find that the best place to  keep them is far, far away. Since most file backup companies have bunkers which are nearly impervious to outside disasters, there really is no safer place  that you can put your important files. But finding the company that works best for you can be a bit of a challenge unless you know what to look for.

Online storage companies which offer similar services are priced competitively – usually around per month. However, depending on the exact services that you want, you may pay less or more, sometimes even nothing at all. Just be extra careful in accepting services with suspiciously low or free offers. While most of them are usually harmless, entrusting your important data with someone who does not necessarily offer the service that you need may not be a good idea. Additionally, it is just about fair that you get what you pay for, for your online backup services.

File accessibility is also another factor to consider. Being able to retrieve your files immediately would not be such a major issue if you’re just looking to have copies of old photos printed, but for a student who needs access to his notes ASAP or for an office employee who sometimes brings work at home, even a day of waiting could be too long. You would therefore want an online backup service that can best respond to this need. Different online storage companies have varying policies when it comes to file restoration so be sure to raise these concerns before signing up.

Of course, you also want to make sure that using the software offered to you by the company is easy to use. Different companies have different systems and because of this, you often have to deal with different levels of user-friendliness.  Programs which are technical to use may be difficult to work with. The good thing about backing up your files online is that you are given the security you need without having to waste your time. And so, it is  necessary that the company you pick can offer you a decent backup wizard in their software suite.

Lastly, it’s important that you get an online service that gives absolute security. Online backup companies employ different methods of keeping your data secure. Most of them have the files encrypted while being backed up, and there are those that distribute the files across different services so that an intruder will find it impossible to get access to any one user’s data. There are also companies which allow you to keep hold of your password yourself. For you to find the best online backup services, make the decision based on what service fits your needs best, and reviews are a great tool to help you make that decision. As an example, a great review of a great service is the Carbonite review.

It’s happened to us all – we’ve been working away on a project and then a sudden computer crash erases all record of our effort.In more serious cases, a hard drive crash could mean that you lose access to everything you’ve ever saved.It is because of this it can be a good idea to back up your entire hard drive.  There are specialist online data backup companies but you can also back up your data manually.

You should start off by deciding where you will be backing up the computer data to.Ideally you should use an external hard drive that has enough disk space to store copies of everything that is on your current hard drive.In order to find out how large your external device needs to be, on your windows PC click the right mouse button on the hard drive in ‘My Computer’ then select the ‘Properties’ item in the menu.This will tell you the size of the current hard drive. 

Once you have purchased a suitably sized external hard drive, you should purchase some suitable data backup software.  You have several options, however Norton Ghost is perfectly suited to the task.

Next, plug in the USB drive and by following the manufacturers instructions you should load up the backup software.Once it has loaded, you should then create and run the backup.  This can take some time, depending on the size of the hard drive being copied so be prepared to wait a while.  Once all the data has been copies, check the files and folders on your USB drive to make sure that all the essential files have been copies and that you haven’t overlooked anything.

If this seems like a complicated process then do bear in mind there are lots of online data backup companies that you can make the process much easier for you.

There’s no getting round the fallibility of computers:  the motherboard might die, the power supply may become beyond rescue or the whole thing might just become ridden with viruses and slow to a crawl.  If you decide to buy a replacement computer then the issue of data backup from the old machine to the new one is very important.Use the following steps if you find that you are in this situation:

1) Once you have finished unplugging the cables and peripherals from your old computer you will be ready to remove the hard drive from the faulty computer.  Your computer handbook will show you the correct way to open the case.Many older machines will have a case that requires unscrewing to gain access, whereas others will have latches that just simply have to be 'pushed' open.

2)  Now you have the components exposed you should be especially wary of causing damage via static electricity, as anyone well versed in ict facts will tell you.  In order to ‘de-static’ yourself touch something metal before you go near your computer.  Repeat this every time you step away from your machine.

3)  Next you should locate the hard drive.  This should be simple enough as it should be located at the front of your computer in a slot near the CD drive.  Again, in older computers it may be attached by screws.

4) Disconnect the hard drive's power supply unit as well as the data cable by gently pulling them out.  Unscrew the hard drive if necessary and remove it. 

5)  You should then insert the hard drive into the external hard drive enclosure.  Plug the data cable (USB) into an available USB port on the new working machine.  The computer should automatically recognise this as an external drive and assign it a letter as appropriate.  You will then be able to gain access to the data on the old hard drive.

If you are looking for for more sophisticated data backup solutions then you may want to approach a specialist provider.

Anyone who uses or in particular works on a computer is going to need to understand about data backup, what it is, and why it is so important. When you backup your data, you are storing your files on a disk or other device that is completely separate from your primary server.

The purpose for the data backup is so that in the event anything were ever to happen to your computer, for instance if it were to get a virus or something else were to happen that disrupted or even completely deleted any of your files or personal information, you would have the data backup and so you would be able to get all the information back.

There are a few different options that you can choose from when it comes to data backup, including online data backup for one because it is so convenient and because it is often free as well.

What Is Required

There are many different methods that you can choose to use to backup your computer data, but regardless there are a few things that you are going to require. All that is required to store your information on a drive or disk separate from your computer will depend on the method that you choose.

For instance if you operate on a home LAN system, you can transfer your files onto the other computers on the network so that if the computer you use primarily even went down you would have the information still stored on these other computers.

If you want to go with the online data backup option, there are a couple of online companies in particular that you are going to want to consider for their data backup services. This includes Storage Pipe for one, a company that is known for providing world-class corporate data protection solutions including online backup and recovery.

They allow for small to large businesses to decrease operations costs and complexity, and for affordable prices.

Another great company that you may want to consider here is Data Protection, which is a privately held company that offers effective data backup solutions. They are focused solely on backup and storage for business clients and they have designed an easily managed and affordable solution that is scalable.

They understand that the handling of data has evolved significantly in the past few years in response to security threats and legislative acts addressing privacy and financial reporting issues and they have made the proper steps to keep up with these advancements.

Every year, 43 percent of computer users lose irreplaceable files. Carbonite automatically and securely backs up the irreplaceable contents of their computers – no matter how much stuff they need to back up. It takes just a few clicks to restore lost files.

Working quietly in the background, Carbonite installs a small application on your computer, looking for new and changed files that need to be backed up. There’s no new interface for you to learn — it looks and feels just like part of your computer, and it integrated with your desktop.

Restoring lost files is easy if anything happens to your computer. To restore a specific file or folder, simply open the Carbonite Backup Drive from your desktop. In the backup drive, files and folders are organized exactly as they are on your computer. Locate the specific file or folder, right-click and select “restore.” The file will be restored to its original location on your hard drive by the software. You will also have the option of restoring the file to a new location, by selecting “Restore to…” or recovering a previous version of the file by selecting “Restore previous versions…”

The way to restore everything in your backup to a new or repaired computer is as follows: go to carbonite.com, click the restore tab, log in to your account and restore your files. The Carbonite Restore Wizard will help you restore all of your files to your new computer with just a few clicks.

Once installation is complete, the Carbonite software looks for files to back up by scanning the hard disk. Carbonite automatically backs up all file types except executables (such as .exe and .dll), system files, temporary files and video files. However, any of the excluded file types can be manually added to the backup by right-clicking on the file and selecting “Back this up” from the Carbonite menu. Ninety five percent of Carbonite users prefer to stick with the default settings despite the fact that Carbonite offers a wide variety of options for customizing your backup upon setup.

It used to be that you would backup everything on your computer by using floppy disks.Today, when one sound or graphics file can easily be larger than the capacity of a disk, it would be impractical to back up even you documents using floppies, let alone your applications.  Luckily there are better options including Zip disks, CD writers, tape drives, external hard drives and even online backup services.You can also compress your backed up files so that they take up less space.Take in the following tips and you will be able to find the media that is best suited to your needs.

1) Determine the quantity and file sizes you will be backing up.

2) Figure out the quantity and file sizes of any documents or other applications you want to archive permanantly to a backup device or removable media.

3) Plan for that amount to grow considerably further along.

4) Work out your budget for a backup storage device and removable media to use with it.

5) Consider if you plan to archive photographs or scanned files, require portability of the media or the drive itself, wish to record music for playback on some other equipment, or need ease of use.Weigh each of these these factors along with your need to back up your files.

6) Work out the cost per MB of media for each drive that you are considering.zip drives themselves are cheap but the disks aren't.

7) You may want to consider buying a 100MB zip drive if you need limited storage capability (less than 1GB).An external parallel port or USB Zip drive will provide the most versatility as well as offering portability.You should consider buying a 250MB Zip drive if your storage requirements are moderate (a few GB). 

8) Buy an internal zip drive if you will only use the drive for backup and you can install it yourself (installation fees add up).

9) Consider buying a CD-RW drive if your storage needs are more moderate and you will regularly back up more than 500MB of data.

10) Consider buying a Jaz drive or perhaps even a tape backup drive if you will be backing up large amounts of data on a regular basis.

11) Buy an external hard disk if you will need a lot of space, wont be keeping the old backups and dont need portability.

12)  If you require additional security, data protection and the ability to recover your data quickly then online data backup should be a serious consideration.

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What would you do if you had a complete data loss on your desktop computer? Would it bring you crashing to a stand still? For most people the answer would be yes. They do not consider their data backup until it is too late and they have lost vital files and information that was essential to their computer working. Do you have your data backed up? It is important that you have systems in place, for your desktop computers and notebooks, should this ever happen to you.

A data backup is making a copy of your information that is stored on your computer. There are several different ways you can back up your data. These ways are: through a hard disc, a partition, a database and online databases and through the server for a LAN (Local Area Network). Lucky for you there is a website and different products that can help you make the choice on how your data is backed up.

Three of the best crucial memory backups are actually generic memory backups that you can find at many discount computer hardware stores and websites. One website in particular rates the top ten backup systems available on the market. This website is http://data-backup-software-reviewtopten reviews.com/. Three of their top rated back up plans for generic memory backups are: the Genie Background Manager (ranked the best overall), the Aconis True Image and the NTI Backup Tool. The Genie is sold for around $49.95 but does not have the backup capabilities that the NTI does. The NTI is $74.99 so you will pay less for the Genie.

You need to know the difference between a backup and an archive. The archive is the primary copy and backups are the secondary copy of your vital information. Before you make that purchase you will need to address: the RPO (Recovery Point Objective), the RTO (Recovery Time Objective) and the generic memory data security. You will also need to consider the system impacts, the bandwidth speed and the cost for initial installation and maintenance.

Crucial memory of a data backup is the one thing you do not need to play around with and take for granted. It is better to pay someone to perform the backup for you if you do not understand how to do so, rather than paying for someone to try and retrieve the data if a crash occurs. You may or may not be able to get the information back and that can be a huge problem for the health of your computer.

There are many potential causes of data loss for all computer users ranging from the casual home user who just does a bit of occasional surfing and the odd bit of Photoshop, too the computer super users and computer aided design experts. Typically data loss can occur when a computer starts to experience boot up problems.

If you have been here before then at least you will have a vague or depending on your experience a deeper level of knowledge here, but for many potential data loss scenarios are a new computing horror to overcome, so what typically should we be looking out for?

Computer is working but simply won’t boot up properly: Often this can be overcome by starting your computer in safe mode if you know how, and going from there. But this will not always help as you may be suffering from a software issue or conflict or even possible a hardware issue such as a failing hard disk drive.

Computer starts to become slow: When we first get our new computer there is very little on it when it comes to programs and games for example, and over time the operating system due to the way it is designed becomes cluttered. Registry repair utilities can help operating system problems but data loss is always a risk. In extreme circumstances a total ODS re-install is the best option.

Viruses, trojans and malware: Unless you are sat behind the strongest firewalls known to man, or are not connected to the internet or share any files then your computer will always be at the risk of data loss due to these rogue programs. In extreme cases the only rectifiable solution is a totally fresh install.

So we come back to how we handle a problem when it arises. How do we prevent data loss when we inevitably have to reinstall our current operating system or upgrade to a new one?

The best way to avoid data loss in the first place is to follow a simple protocol. Backup your important data on a regular basis. There is simply no good excuse for not doing this as external drives and online backup centers are readily available to all.

External hard drives can be purchased in most computer shops now days and a quick search online for online backup will also give you a number of remote back up options.

So what options do you have to get your important or vital data back? If things seem really bad and saving the data is crucial, don’t take any risks and contact a data recovery specialist. They will have a whole host of solutions available to save your data and whilst it cannot be guaranteed, they do stand the best chance of success.

You can find more great advice on data recovery and in particular for businesses raid data recovery here.