All kinds of technology disasters, from large-scale to small-scale, can damage your computer files or make them inaccessible. For example, if your hard drive fails unexpectedly, it may be impossible to recover all the files you stored on the drive. Your files could be corrupted or destroyed by a computer virus, or you might inadvertently overwrite a file you intended to save.
Following one simple strategy can ensure that your important files will not be lost: routinely "back up" your files. In other words, save up-to-date copies of your important files in more than one location.
What qualifies as an important file? That decision is up to you, but most people choose to back up their reports, budgets, theses, web pages, research data, grant proposals, procedural manuals, handbooks, policies, spreadsheets, databases, lectures, presentations, digital images, course materials, articles, reviews, essays, letters, lists, and graphs.
If you routinely store files on your local hard drive (C:), you have several excellent choices for a backup location. These include your Smith network drive (H:), Zip disks, writeable CD-ROMs, or floppy disks. The paragraphs below explain how to use them all.
Using your network (H:) drive
Backup procedure for Windows users
Backup procedure for Macintosh users
Backing up files to a CD-ROM, Zip disk, or floppy disk
For more information
Using Your Network (H:) Drive
If you have an account on Smith's Novell network, you also have storage space for your personal files on a network server. This personal storage space is called your H: drive on a PC and your Home Directory on a Macintosh.
Your network drive is an ideal choice for a backup location, since everyone's network files are backed up to tape every workday, and the backup tapes are stored in a locked, fireproof vault. It's so secure that many people routinely save all their files to their network drive instead of their local hard drive.
You can access your network drive whenever you're connected to the Smith network or to the Internet. For information about using the Internet for this purpose, see accessing your network files from a non-networked computer.
Important Notes:
- Never save copies of standard application programs (such as Word or Excel) on your network drive; they will quickly use up your storage space allotment. If these applications ever become corrupted, they are easy to restore from CD-ROM.
- If you use any non-standard applications and have the original distribution media (typically floppies or a CD-ROM), we strongly recommend making a copy of the application on a Zip disk or writeable CD and storing that copy off-site. If you don't have access to a Zip drive or writeable CD-ROM drive, let us know and we'll be happy to help you create your copies.
- To make the best use of your network storage space, delete older backups each time you do a new backup of the same files or folders.
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Backup Procedure for Windows Users
Follow this simple procedure to back up files from your C: drive to your H: drive:
- Double-click on the My Computer icon on your desktop, then double-click to open your C: drive.
- Navigate to the folder that holds the files you want to copy, open the folder, and highlight the file names. (You can also copy an entire folder by highlighting the folder name.)
- With your pointer on a selected file or folder, right-click and choose Copy from the pop-up menu.
- Open your H: drive, then open the folder where you want to store the files or folders you copied. You can place them at the top level of your H: drive if you prefer.
- Right-click inside the open window and select Paste. The copied files or folders will appear in the window. They are now officially backed up.
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Backup Procedure for Macintosh Users
Follow this simple procedure to back up files from your local hard drive to your Home Directory:
- If you see a Datavol icon on your desktop, proceed to step 5. If you don't, open the Chooser window. In the upper left box, scroll until you see the Netware icon and double-click on it.
- In the box on the right, navigate through the Smith tree until you see the name of your network server. Double-click on it.
- Enter your username and password in the Novell login box.
- Back in the Chooser, you should see DATAVOL as one of the choices on the right. Double-click on the icon to mount your datavol on your desktop.
- Open the Datavol and navigate to your HOME folder.
- Drag-and-drop the files you want to back up from your local hard drive to your Home Directory.
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Backing Up Files to a CD-ROM, Zip Disk, or Floppy Disk
CD-ROMs and Zip disks provide tremendous storage capacity and are more reliable than floppies. But if floppies are all you have, use them for your backups.
- If you have a writeable CD-ROM drive (CD-RW), the icon for the CD-RW software will appear on your Windows desktop. The software provides easy on-screen instructions for transferring files to and from the CD-ROM drive. Depending on the type of blank CDs you purchase, you can write to each CD just once or multiple times.
- If you have a Zip drive, its icon will appear in your My Computer window with the label "Removable Disk [E:]" (or another letter). You can transfer files to and from your Zip drive just as you would your network drive.
- If you have a floppy drive, its icon will appear in your My Computer window with the label "3½ Floppy [A:]". You can transfer files to and from your floppy drive just as you would your network drive.
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For More Information...
If you have any questions about backing up files, please call the User Support Center at x4487 or send email to 4its@email.smith.edu.
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