Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
You don't need anything as complex as a RAID system to keep your data safe. Here are
some other methods:
Use a Local Backup Application
Backup programs, such as the Backup and Restore
utilities that come with Windows 7, enable you to select the fi les to back up, the media on
which to back them up, and the interval at which to do it.
Use an Online Backup Service
There are many economically priced services available
online that will automatically back up the fi les you choose at the interval you specify. Such
a service works much like a local backup application except that the fi les are stored safely
off site.
Copy Files Manually to Another Drive
You can copy fi les to a secondary hard disk or to
any removable disk, such as a writeable CD or DVD or a fl ash drive. The drawback is that
you have to remember to do it.
Make a System Image
Some backup utilities, including the one that comes with Windows
7, can make a
system image
, an exact copy of an entire hard disk. You can do that to create
a snapshot in time of your system, and then restore that copy if something ever happens to
the original. The drawback is that a whole-drive image takes a long time to make, so you
won't want to do it very often.
Table 5.1 summarizes the backup solutions available and their characteristics.
TABLE 5.1
Comparison of backup solutions
Local Backup
Online Backup
Manual Copy
System Image
Automated?
Yes
Yes
No
No
Quick?
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
Recoverable
after a virus
infection?
Only if backup
drive isn't also
infected
Yes
Only if backup
drive isn't also
infected
Yes
Recoverable
after a hard-disk
crash?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Secure from
theft or natural
disaster?
Only if backup
is stored off
site
Yes
Only if backup
is stored off
site
Only if backup
is stored off site
Free?
Yes, if
Windows
Backup is used
No
Yes
Yes, if
Windows
Backup is used
