Data Backup Overview
System requirements: Windows
Description:
If you have important data you want to keep, you need to start backing it up. The life of a hard drive is finite with a typical life span of about four years, sometimes drastically less. Data can also be lost through a number of unexpected causes such as power surges, accidental deletion, computer viruses, and file corruption.
How often you back up data is relative to the frequency in which your data changes and the importance of the data to you. Back up your data as often and in as many places as you feel necessary to ensure the integrity of your data. Redundancy is key.
For those UT Arlington Faculty and Staff who have received CERTS it is imperative that you back them up so that if your computer is re-imaged or there is a catastrophic hardware failure you will still have the backup CERT to restore from, otherwise you will be unable to restore the CERT and will have to start the application process over again.
How to Use:
The following is a list of recommendations for which media to use and how often to store backups for common types of data.
| Type of Data | Storage Devices | Backup Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Papers and Related School Work | Flash Drive Online Storage |
Daily |
| Computer | External Hard Drive | Weekly to Monthly |
| E-mail and Address Books | External Hard Drive Flash Drive |
Monthly |
| Pictures/Movies/Music | External Hard Drive CDs and DVDs |
Monthly |
| Bookmarks | Flash Drive Online Storage |
As Needed |
Adapted from Data Backup (http://www.utexas.edu/its/support/topics/databackup/index.php), with permission from ITS, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712-1110.