Hard Disk Backup

A hard disk backup is when you want to create a backup copy of the data in your local hard disk, either a full (complete) backup or a partial backup.

Hard disks can be backed up via Image backups or on a file basis. An image backup is a snapshot of your entire hard disk, including every file and it’s location within the partition as it is at the time of the snapshot. A file based backup is a backup where files are copied in an ordered mode, which means that every file is copied from beginning to end following it’s logical structure.

A partial backup means that only some files or directories (folders) will be copied over, this kind of backup usually excludes system files, temporary files (files that are created during the normal operation of an application and that are meant to store temporary data or to serve as an extension of the physical memory or RAM) and will focus on certain user generated files (this selection can be automatic or user driven).

Once a backup “data origin” has been defined and the backup method to use has also been selected, the next step is to select where this backup copy will be stored. Backups can be stored locally in another path of your hard drive, which will save you if you accidentally delete a file but will be useless if you happen to experience a hard drive failure. They can also be stored on a separate hard disk, which will allow great backup and transfer speeds and will surely save you in case of a main hard drive failure, but won’t do any good if your computer is stolen or in the case of a massive failure (let’s say that the computer is caught on fire). External devices work pretty good, it can be an external hard disk or an external solid state storage device (such as SD cards, pen drives, etc.). Another option is to use removable devices like CD-Rs or DVD-Rs which will hold nice amounts of data and can be easily stored, but that need to be kept in locations that aren’t too hot or humid or there will be data loss. External drives and removable drives can become useless if they are stored in the same place as the main source of data and that place happens to be in the middle of a natural disaster, in such case an offsite location would be great, either online or offline.

Now, the last lines can be seen as “well that’s the worst that could happen” but if you value your information, you should agree that you need to be ready to “expect the worse” so if things don’t go that bad, you can be relieved instead of eating your fingernails off hoping that nothing else happens.