Top 3 Ways to Backup Your Data

It’s a horrible feeling when something happens to your computer and you find out that all of your files have been lost. Here at the HelpDesk, we often have people tell us that they had been meaning to backup their files for a long time but never got around to actually doing it. One of the best ways to prevent data loss if something happens to your computer is to have your important files saved in more than one location. There are many different types of media and methods for backing up and transporting data. Below are three of the best methods and when to use each one.

Use your molly drive for work/school related items

Molly is a great location to store mission-critical files such as Excel workbooks, massive term papers, or any other school or work related items. A few months ago, Information Services implemented a new feature called Snapshot. There is a folder in your molly drive named ~snapshot. It doesn’t count against your size limit and you can’t delete it, so don’t try. This super-cool feature takes a “snapshot” of the molly drive twice a day and once nightly so there will always be 7 days worth of Snapshot backups available at any time. That way, if you change a file or accidently delete it, all you have to do is open the Snapshot folder from before you deleted the file and open the file from there. For example, if you delete a file on Tuesday, then realize the next day that you actually still need that file, all you have to do is open the nightly snapshot folder from Monday (what your molly looked like on Monday night) and rescue the deleted file. For more information on how to access your Molly drive, click here.

Cost: Free to LU students, faculty, and staff!

Note: Don’t keep personal files, music, or pictures on molly. If you are a student, make sure you remove any needed files before the end of the semester because they won’t be there after the semester is over.

Back up to an external hard drive

An external hard drive can be a good investment for people who need a lot of space and mobile storage. This is a great place to back up all the music, pictures, movies, and documents on your computer. In our experience, the best external hard drives connect to your computer with a single USB cable and do not need to be plugged into an electrical outlet. We recommend these because they are very portable and they work well for laptop users because you can use them anywhere. Some drives have to be plugged into the computer as well as an electrical outlet and are not quite as portable. However, these can still be a good option if you do not anticipate moving the device around a lot or need to use it in multiple locations.

Cost: As little as $60 for a 160 GB drive. However, drives are available in size up to 2 TB (terabytes) for $250 and up.

Make sure not to knock the drive over or move it around too much while it is turned on. Doing so can damage the drive.

Store files that need to travel on a USB flash drive

Flash drives are great for people who are constantly moving files between various computers or need to quickly share a file with someone else. These devices are great for temporary storage of files and are small enough to fit on a key ring or in your pocket. The downside is that they can be easily lost or misplaced because of their small size. It also takes a little bit longer to read/write files to these types of drives as opposed to an external hard drive or regular computer. The HelpDesk recommends getting one that is at least 2-4 GB in size. Otherwise, there may not be enough space on it for all of your files. This is not a good place to back up every single file on your computer. The best things to put on a storage device like this are files that need to be with you all the time, files that need to be transferred to another location and important files that need to be saved in more than one place.

Cost: Score a 4 GB drive for as little as $10-12. Get a 16 GB drive for between $30 and $40. There are larger drives available; but at that price, start thinking about an external hard drive instead.

These drives can go bad over time or once in awhile may need to be reformatted. Make sure important, irreplaceable files are also stored in another location.