Back Up Your Files; Don't Let Your Paper Die
by Adam Goldstein

Originally published Feb. 26, 2001 on studentadvantage.com.

Learning the importance of backups is a lot like learning the importance of kneepads when you're rollerblading. Both slow you down and can cost a little bit extra, but it takes just one good crash to make you use them for the rest of your life. If you've already invested in patella protection, it's time to do the same for your computer.

Most people back up their files by periodically saving to a floppy disk. That's adequate, but if all of your friends threw their laptops off the Brooklyn Bridge, would you throw yours off, too? Today, there are better ways of making backups than resigning yourself to keeping track of those square plastic coasters. Here are a few:

E-mail a Web account with a copy of the paper. You've probably already e-mailed yourself documents from school or work so you can read them at home. All you do here is set up an e-mail account with a Web provider (e.g., Hotmail) and e-mail your documents to it. It not only eliminates the problem of finding those floppies, it ensures you can access your documents from any Internet-enabled computer. If you're a bit more tech-savvy, you can try FreeDrive, iDrive or some other offsite file-storage service instead.

The pros: Your files are accessible from anywhere; it's easy to set up; it doesn't require any new hardware or software; and it's free.

The cons: You have to remember to do it.

Set up your software to always make a backup copy. If you use either Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect, you can set up your existing software to make a backup copy whenever you save. This backup copy will be the document you're working on as seen before the last time you saved it. In Word, go to "Tools," then "Options," and click the "Save" tab. In WordPerfect, go to "Tools," then "Settings," then "Files," and click the "Document" tab. Both programs make timed backups by default that you can find even if you don't set them to make additional backups. Use the "Find" tool in your Start menu and search for "*.tmp" (no quotes) to see the backup files Word has left on your system; search for "*.bk?" to see the ones left by WordPerfect.

The pros: It uses the software you already have and doesn't require doing anything special.

The cons: It only protects you from yourself; if a power surge takes out your computer entirely, you're out of luck.

If you have a ZIP drive, get Quick Sync 2. Iomega manufactures the ZIP drive, the most popular external storage product on planet Earth. If you have one, you should consider spending $20 to get a copy of Iomega's Quik Sync 2 software. It can automatically backup files by extension (e.g., anything.doc) or everything saved in a given directory (e.g., C:\My Documents\). If you have a laptop, Quik Sync 2 also works with a PocketZip drive (a.k.a. The Hardware Formerly Known As "Clik!").

The pros: Reliable, automatic backups that you can access at any time.

The cons: If you don't already have a ZIP drive, it's fairly expensive ($70-$200 for a new model, cheaper on eBay).

Just as important as making backups is developing good habits that can help you prevent needing them.

• When you're writing a paper, never save over anything. When you make changes to your paper, save the new version to a different filename (e.g., termpaper1.doc, termpaper2.doc, etc.).

• Don't install any software when you're working on a paper or try to repartition/compress/decompress any hard drives.

• Resist the temptation to keep every program running all the time. (This eats up your computer's memory and makes it more likely to crash.)

Remember, for every document that's lost to a virus attack, there are five that are lost due to user error. (Hence the customer-service acronym PEBKAC: Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair.) We're all going to make a mistake sooner or later; choosing a backup method could mean the difference between having a paper to hand in and frantically calling the professor to ask for an extension.

The most important advice about crashes anyone can give you is that if you've already suffered a crash and didn't backup the file somehow, there's really only one course of action: take a deep breath, calm down, and start typing.

Love this column? Hate it? Tell us all about it.

The copyright to this column is held by Student Advantage, Inc.