IT Support Manchester

Data backup and recovery is one of the most overlooked parts of a company’s IT structure. If your company does not have an adequate backup system, you are putting your digital assets at great risk. 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.

Some things to consider when thinking about your backup and disaster recovery solution(s):

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 backed up how long will it take me to rebuild my computer to a working state?
4. Is my data all located in the same physical space?
5. Will a catastrophe wipe out my backup solution i.e. a flood?
6. Does my business count 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?

This list 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.

Whether you are a student with school work to store or just someone looking for a place to keep your huge photo collection, 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.

Access to the files you backup may or may not be tremendously important to you. If you are just looking to store your photos, you may not need them at a  moment’s notice. But if you are a student who wants access to you old homework files or a business person who needs to get to old client data, you  want a service that does not require you to wait all day to see your files. Different companies offer different levels of access to the files you store so  getting the one that suits your needs is very important.

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 protection 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, you need a secure service. Most companies offer encryption of your stored information as it travels between your computer and theirs. However, some companies can offer more than that. You can find companies which scatter your files across their services making it impossible for any outsider to decipher any important information. You may also choose to put a password on your files. All these added services work together to give you the top-level security that you need. But to make sure that a service is right for your needs, just read a few reviews, like the Carbonite review.

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 5 steps if you find yourself in this situation:

1) Once you have unplugged the cables and peripherals from your old computer you will then be ready to remove the hard drive from the faulty computer.Your computer's handbook should show you the correct way to open the case.Many older machines will have a case that requires unscrewing to gain access, whereas most others will have latches that 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 ground yourself touch something metal (like a radiator) before you go near your computer.  Repeat this every time you step away from your machine.

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

4) Disconnect the hard drive power supply unit and data cable by gently pulling them out.Unscrew the hard drive if need be and remove it. 

5) Lastly, you should insert the hard drive into the external hard drive enclosure.Plug the USB data cable into an available USB port on the new working machine.The working computer should then automatically recognise this as an external drive and assign it a letter as appropriate.You should 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.

It used to be the case that you would backup everything on your computer 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 all of your backed up files so they take up less space.Read the following tips and you will be able to find the media that is best suited to your needs.

1) Next, determine the quantity and file sizes you will be backing up.

2) Figure out the quantity and file sizes of any documents or applications you may 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, need portability of the media or the drive itself, wish to record sound or music for playback on other equipment, or need ease of use.Weigh each of these these factors along with your need to back up files.

6) Calculate the total cost per MB of media for each drive that you are considering.  zip drives themselves are cheap but the disks are not.

7) Consider buying a 100MB zip drive if you need limited storage capability (less than 1GB).  An external parallel port or USB Zip drive provides the most versatility and portability.You should consider buying a 250MB Zip drive if your storage needs are moderate (a few GB). 

8) Buy an internal zip drive if you will only use the drive for backup and you are able to install it by 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) Buy a Jaz drive or even a tape backup drive if you will be backing up large amounts of data on a regular basis.

c.

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.

Imagine you have spent hours working on a report or another vital piece of work that has to be submitted tomorrow.All of a sudden, your hard disk crashes and all of the hours that you have put into writing that vital document have just gone up in smoke.Don’t be tempted to jump on the bandwagon of those who say “it will never happen to me!” as probability will dictate that if you don’t take action soon, one day it inevitably will.How can you prevent such a catastrophe occurring?  This is precisely what data backup is all about.

Storing data is often the most important part of computer usage as it can often take months or years to accumulate relevant information.As technology becomes more reliable, the risk of losing information has been significantly reduced however it would be needless to lose documents due to lengths that you could have taken to prevent such an occurence. 

There are several formats of media that will allow your data to be backed up up.  Commonly used devices are external hard drives, CDs, DVDs, USB drives and for more sensitive information there are companies and services which will provide you with secure online data backup.  Whenever you backup data to an external device, said device should be stored in a different location from the original computer in case a fire or local electrical surge should damage the data backup hardware.

Data backup is most useful when done constantly and within reason.  For example if you are working on a lengthy document, you should not wait a significant amount of time before saving your work.You should consider the effort that it would take to redo the work since the last save in the case of a crash and make a judgement call as to how often you save your work.

The majority of us know that we should be backing up our data. If you’ve never experienced a hard drive failure or complete PC crash then consider yourself lucky, and recognize that there’s never been a better moment then this one right here to get started backing up your important files, folders and multimedia data.

Before you rush out to buy a piece of software to backup your files there are a few things you need to educate yourself on.Having an idea of the files you want to backup, keeping the process easy, and doing some research on the popular products before you buy are the main items you should keep in mind.

Know what you want backed up

Before you rush out to buy an expensive piece of software to backup your system you need to know what it is you want backed up.Some of the backup programs are designed to create complete system backups, how ever this is often more then the average computer user needs.

Most of us that are just average home computer users should backup our videos, photos, and personal documents but shouldn’t worry to much about the rest.This can make things a little to high tech for someone who’s just an average joe or jane PC user.

Go for Simple not Feature Rich

Just because a backup service or program offers more features then another doesn’t make it better.Trust me when I tell you to avoid buying a service or program that is very feature rich. Get the features you need but to many features slows down the backup process, this will in turn make it difficult for you to stick to a regular backup routine.

Instead opt for a simple program, more specifically one that backups up your files all on it’s own and only requires a one time setup.Two online backup services that meet these criteria are Carbonite Backup and Mozy Backup.

Do your Homework

Before you swipe the credit card or decide on how you’re going to backup your data take a bit of time look for online backup reviews. This just confirms that the software or service you’ve chosen is every bit as good as it claims to be.

Spending just a bit of time before you buy can save you hours of time and data if you ever have to restore files. Ensure that the program backs up files properly and also is easy to restore files.