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Editorial - DR. Mac 
Dr Mac's Prescription "Do It or Lose It"
By Bob LeVitus
If your computer and all the files on it were to vaporize tomorrow, how bad
would it hurt? If your answer was anything but, "not a bit," you should have a
backup plan in place and adhere to it religiously. It's a big subject, so this
week I have an overview, and next week I'll provide concrete details,
strategies, tactics, and tools.
There's much to consider when creating your backup regimen. I recommend planning
for the worst-case scenario--your Mac and everything else in the same room is
vaporized.
Here are some questions to ask yourself as you create your own backup plan:
- Do I need backup software?
- Do I need to back up the entire disk?
- Do I need the ability to restore a bootable Mac OS X disk?
- Do I want to archive multiple incremental copies of files and if so, how many?
- How many disks, tapes, or cartridges will a full backup require? An incremental backup?
- How long will a full backup take? An incremental backup?
- Can I automate the process so it occurs whether I remember or not?
The final and most important question is:
- How long will it take to make things the way they were?
Mom has never installed third-party software on her iMac; still has a blue
desktop; only uses three programs, doesn't use System Preferences much; and has
a set of iMac Software Restore discs. Mom's backup needs are simple.
I am a power user; my OS X environment is heavily tweaked; I have thousands of
programs, plus many gigabytes of movies, pictures, and documents; and most of
all, I earn no revenue when my Mac is down. My backup needs are much more
complex.
Chances are your backup needs fall somewhere in-between mom and I.
Moms backup plan has a single purpose: To protect her Quicken checkbook and
genealogy files. She follows her bill-paying session each month with a backup,
then gives the CD to her neighbor.
My backup plan is multi-faceted: It's designed to minimize lost work and down
time in the short term, and provide a complete restoration as painlessly as
possible in case of disaster.
Speaking of which, if a file is important enough to back up, it's important
enough to back up three times, with one backup always stored off-site. That way,
even if your Mac and everything around it is destroyed or stolen, you'll be able
to restore all but your most recent work from the offsite backup. If that's
overkill, even two sets, with one stored off-site, is better than having your
only backup go up in flames along with your Mac.
One last thing: Doing it right may not be cheap. You need blank media (discs,
disks, tapes, etc.), and you may need additional hardware and software, not to
mention time spent on setup and execution.
Before you have a cow, consider the alternative. DriveSavers are the
professional data recovery experts with the clean room and bunny suits. Though
their clients, including Sting, Clarence Clemmons, Sean Connery, Keith Richard,
and Industrial Light and Magic, sing their praises, they charge accordingly
(founder Scott Gaidano has a gorgeous Ferarri). Plus, their wizards can't
recover every file from every disk every time. Sometimes even they strike out
(but you still pay).
There are only two kinds of computer user: Those who have lost data and those
who will. Don't wait until you're a loser to make your plan. The only real
protection for your files is multiple backups--just do it.
Bob LeVitus is a leading authority on Mac OS X and the author of 38 books,
including Mac OS X For Dummies and The Little iTunes Book.
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