By now, most companies have fairly good backup
strategies for their company data. Accounting files such as Libra and many
common company documents are stored on a centrally located file server that is
routinely backed up. From time to time this strategy needs to be revisited and
checked for reliability. When we have needed to restore files in the past, it
was often found that the automatic backup routine was not functioning and no
one was checking it or doing any other form of backup to compensate. Making
sure that your backups are working and that you have at least two different
backups is critical to your company if something does go wrong.
Assuming that the backup of your file server is covered,
what else do you need to think about? Well for one thing are your personal
files getting backed up? When asked, I always advise users to store as much as
possible to the file server, but some users still store many files on their
personal hard drives. Many Word & Excel files are left vulnerable to
hardware failure, viruses, operating system crashes and the like. Laptop
computers are often stolen and personal data files go with them. If you have no
external copies of this data, it’s gone.
Another form of personal information that users often
neglect is their personal e-mail files. Many users set up significant filing
systems to track e-mail correspondence. This information can often be of a
crucial nature, but surprising few people back it up. Hard drive failure is not
that common but it does happen. Operating system problems, viruses and theft
can cause these files to disappear.
Recently, several individuals have had their e-mail
mailboxes corrupted. Using some software tools that I purchased on the Internet
I was able to recover some of their e-mail but a large amount of it was just
lost. Personal backup strategies do
need to be considered.
Most personal files such as Word & Excel are usually
located in the My Documents folder. Under Windows 95/98/ME this folder
was located off of the root of your C: drive. In Windows 2000 & XP there is
a folder called Documents And Settings, which has sub folders for every
user of the computer. Under each user name there are a number of personal
folders including My Documents.
E-mail files are located in different places dependant
on the e-mail program that you use and how it was installed. Outlook Express
stores its files with a .DBX extension. They are located in a sub folder of Windows
in versions 95/98/ME and under Documents and Settings / Username
/ Local Settings / Application Data / Identities in
Windows 2000 and XP. Backing up the entire User folder covers most bases in
this case. Microsoft Outlook uses the file OUTLOOK.PST. This is also
located under the User folder in Windows 2000 & XP. Address book files are
located in the same folders.
If you are using other e-mail programs such as Eudora,
Mozilla and the like, the mailboxes may be located in a variety of different
places. Should you choose to back them up, you will need to locate them. Then
it’s a simple matter to copy and paste the appropriate folders to the backup
device of choice. This may be a personal folder on the server, a CD-RW disk or
simple USB Memory Stick. This procedure can even be automated to run at night
for those that don’t like to remember to backup.
Windows
features like System Restore are only used to restore programs and Windows
components to a prior state. They do not backup any files in the Documents and
Settings area. Other than simple copy and paste methods, you can purchase
backup programs such as Backup Plus to perform these backups. They can also be
configured to backup your file server at the same time.