As the year wraps up, time to backup your data

Vishnu K. Mahmud, Contributor, Jakarta
vmahmud@yahoo.com

It is that time of year again. The end of 2003 is upon us, and as usual, I begin the annual ritual of backing up my computer data.

There are countless numbers of papers, articles, interviews, applications and music files collected over the years, some of which I created myself, others downloaded from the Web.

Yet, this suppository of data is like a mini library, an archive if you will, of the various topics that interest me (Linux, computer gaming, eco-friendly power generators, etc). If it is gone, it may take more time to relocate and save the information lost, if you can find it at all.

This all started during the Y2K fiasco. Everyone was in a panic about what may happen on Jan. 1, 2000. Will the power go out? Will the banks lose our accounts? Will the whole world descend into chaos just because computer programmers forgot to accommodate two extra digits to calculate the year?

In the end, nothing happened, but the fear of losing everything is still real.

Countless Internet worms, PC viruses and computer criminals still lurk in the darkest recesses of the Web. Not to mention hardware failures, software exploits and blue screens of death that continue to harass us. Can you be really sure that your data is safe?

We should remember that practically everything we do now is digital. Most of my articles, stories, photos and music can be stored on a hard drive, instead of being scattered in boxes around my room.

Magazine clippings have either been scanned or stockpiled in HTML format, making it easier to find on my computer. Should the website for home made solar panel cells close down, I would still have the files to help spread the knowledge. Such is the power of information nowadays.

There are many ways for saving your data. The easiest is perhaps by partitioning your hard drive. This basically means you divide your single hard drive into many parts. Instead of having one 30-gigabyte hard drive (seen by the operating system as a single drive letter C), you could have 2 drives (for example drive C at 10 gigabytes and a drive D at 20 gigabytes).

I use drive C to install my applications (such as Open Office, TransTools and iTunes) but store my data (MP3s, office documents and games) on drive D.

This way, should my Windows operating system crash or become corrupted (which has been known to happen), I can format and reinstall with ease knowing that my data is safe on a separate drive.

You can partition your hard drive into as many parts as you want, remembering that each division must add up to the total hard drive space.

Ideally, you should divide your hard disk into at least two to three sections. One should be for the system files, another for applications (like Corel Draw or WordPerfect) and another for your data.

There are software products on the market that allow you to safely partition your hard drive without totally obliterating your existing data. Programs like Partition Magic (www.partitionmagic.com) allows users to carefully consolidate their data and create another drive letter.

The software runs on windows and is easy to use. But make sure you have a backup of your data just in case. Be warned, however, in order to create two partitions, you must delete the original division first. Consequently, all data will be lost!

Of course, if the entire hard drive breaks down, separating data into two virtual drives won't help since the main hardware (the hard disc) is damaged. You therefore should always backup your data onto a different medium.

Currently, there is an abundance of hardware to choose from. My favorite backup system utilizes a CD-RW (Compact Disc ReWriter) drive.

Similar to the CD-R (CD-Writer), the CD-RW allows you to burn 650 to 700 Megabytes of data onto a special compact disc. Unlike the CD-R, in which data is permanently saved, a CD-RW can be erased and reused. Prices have now dropped, ranging from Rp 600 thousand to Rp 1.3 million, depending on brand and burn speed (how fast data is written). The CD-RW disc themselves are about Rp 20,000 each.

CD-R drives are cheaper, but are rather difficult to find nowadays. CD-R disks costs about Rp 3,000 each. You can even use CD-R disks on the CD-RW drive. As such, you can copy VCD movies if you have the appropriate software, or make your own.

You can also get another hard drive to store your data. With falling hard disk prices, you can easily get a second hard drive on your computer that will not only give you additional storage space but also an excellent backup system in case your primary hard disc fails.

In that case, you can replace the dead drive and re-install your operating system and applications without any data loss.

There used to be a time when many websites offered free online storage space to safeguard your data. However, since many were abused by software pirates, these online hard drives now charge for their services.

Sites like www.yahoo.com and Apple Computer's www.mac.com are popular personal file suppositories that charge a yearly fee. If you move from computer to computer, or are constantly on the road, these services are worth it if your notebook crashes or gets stolen.

You can simply download the data onto another computer or at an Internet cafe and continue your business meeting.

One should remember that compiling and storing information is not an easy process. In some cases, what is lost may be gone forever. There are no negatives to print another photo, no printed first drafts to retype an essay.

Making sure we have our information at hand is vital if we are to pass on our knowledge to the next generation. And to prevent others from making the same mistakes we did. So always make sure you have a backup of your data!