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The more you rely on your
computer, the more important your backups become.
There are
various types of backups -- complete, incremental, and continuous -- as
well as various types of media on which you can back up.
Because of the reduced price of
external hard drives, Zip drives, rewritable CDs and DVDs, many home
and small office users are now replacing their tape drives with these
media. External hard drives, ZIP drives, and rewritable CDs and
DVDs are also easier to use for storage and documental retrieval than
tape drives.
Complete and
incremental backups should be done on a regular, scheduled basis.
Continuous backups, as the name implies, are constantly running.
See the chart below for a recommended backup frequency schedule and the
software required for each type of backup.
|
Frequency |
| Frequency of
backup |
|
|
| Monthly |
Total Machine |
All files
to a new set of tapes, CDs or other removable media. |
| Weekly |
Operating System |
All files
to a reusable set of tapes, CDs or other removable media. |
Daily
except day of weekly backup |
Data & Documents |
All files that are
created or changed from the previous day's backup. |
|
|
|
Type of Backup/Backup Software |
| Type |
|
|
| Complete |
All Files |
Normal backup
software included with the Operating System. |
| Incremental |
Changed Files |
Normal backup
software included with the Operating System plus specialty software
included with backup device. |
| Continuous |
Raid Drive or
External Drive |
Special software
generally included with the hardware. |
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