Why should I backup my data?

Why Backup?

Think about how much of your life is on your computer. Email, pictures, research, letters, documents, music, artwork. How would you feel if one morning it just wasn’t there anymore? It’s not as unlikely as you might think. It can be devastating to lose data, and yet it is easily avoided with developing a few good habits. 

To understand why backing up is necessary, it is necessary to understand how your computer stores data. Computers store data on hard drives. Hard drives contain moving parts, (see photo) and like brakes in your car, they wear out. Usually there is some sort of warning: clicking, scraping, or screeching noises, sometimes the computer becomes unusually slow, or the disk spins all the time even when your computer is not being used. Unusual slowness can also be a result of malware, or a corrupted operating system, but once those have been ruled out, it can indicate disk failure. Sometimes the electronics can fail without warning, so it is important to always have a backup. Disk recovery is expensive, and it is not an exact science, so even if you are willing to spend the money, you may not be able to recover the data. The typical life span of a hard drive is about 5 years (they can run for many more than that without problems, but it is unlikely). They are more likely to fail in the first year (due to manufacturing defects) and after the 4th (due to age). 

You may or may not know that many Bucknell owned computers (those that are designated as primary machines) are backed up on Bucknell owned servers daily, so long as the machines are on, but did you know that only certain data is backed up? If you are using Windows, only data that is stored in C:\Documents and Settings\ is backed up. If you are using Mac OS X, only data that is stored in the /Users/ directory is backed up. The data that is stored in these locations also has some restrictions. We do not back up Applications, music files, cache files, and files with extensions commonly associated with downloaded software. You are responsible for backing up the files that are not backed up by Bucknell’s servers.

There are many ways to protect the pictures of your family, friends, vacations, the music you purchased online, your email and documents and anything else you store on your computer. The key is to always keep your data in two places. Below are examples of where you can keep the second copy.

USB Keys:

Pros:

• Portable.
• Compatible with Mac, Windows and Linux operating Systems
• Durable.
• Data is editable on the drive (Good for working on public machines).

Cons:

• Easily lost or misplaced.
• Relatively high cost/GB

CD/DVD Burning

Pros:

• Low cost/GB.
• relatively durable.
• easy to store.

Cons:

• Usually write once.
• Better for archiving than for backing up active data.

External Hard Drives

Pros:

• Low cost/GB.
• Available in models that are meant to travel or meant to sit on your desk.
• Data can be rewritten many times.

Cons:

• Do not hold up well when handled roughly. 
• Contain moving parts.
• Same failure rate as internal hard drives.

Network Space

Pros:

• Bucknell backs up the last 5 days of changes, twice a day.
• Accessible from anywhere with a network connection on campus
• Accessible off campus via FTP or directly with broadband Internet and the VPN Client.

Cons:

• Not accessible without a network connection.
• Does not offer large amounts of storage space (300 MB for Students and Courtesy Accounts, 1 GB for Faculty /Staff by default)
• If you graduate, or change jobs,  it is no longer accessible