Doing backups is a weekly routine for me. I do backups of the desktop hard drive more frequently if there are some important changes on the files that I have used. Because external hard drives are so small and are plug and play on most systems, I also cart along an external hard drive with my laptop. To some, this might be excessive but a calamity on any of the machines would cost me time that I cannot afford. In addition, some of the data are irreplaceable. Therefore, I am a regular purchaser of hard drives that I use in the external enclosures.

For the sake of not carting about so much equipment, some tech people have encouraged me to look at backing up via a virtual hard drive:

“…Enter the online backup service. Some provide space on a web-connected storage server so you can manually upload files, while others provide automated backup software that trawls your hard disk, backing up the contents of folders that you have selected for safekeeping to a ‘virtual hard disk’.

The software runs unobtrusively in the background and every time you add a new file or make changes to an existing file, the backup tool ensures that the changes are made to the stored copy.”

link: How to back up online

The aforementioned article by Andrew Zarkesh is a very good introduction to doing backups online. I have yet to try it. The system that I used has worked for me and I am a bit reluctant to change. I am sure that much of that is superstitious behaviour on my part. However, in the very near future, I will be carrying about additional equipment from place to place. Therefore, I am about to venture into online storage. As a precursor, I am trying to learn as much about the positives and negative attribute of saving data in this manner. I am cautious and I keep in mind that DIY can mean… “destroy it yourself”.

Catherine Forsythe
Director of Operations
FlyingHamster:  http://flyinghamster.com/

[tag]backup, security, virtual hard drive, storage, andrew zarkesh[/tag]