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Backups in Microsoft Windows:  Protecting Your Computer Data

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Prerequisites

Basic knowledge of file management including:

  • Creating Folders
  • Copying Folders
  • Special Folders
    • My Documents
    • Drives

For more information read Basic File Management using Windows Explorer.

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Why you need Backups

The work you've done on your computer, (i.e., your data files) is easily damaged.  A few moments can destroy all the documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc., that you have created.  If this happens and you don't have your data files backed up, you will need to recreate them from scratch or do without.  All storage media (hard disks, floppy disks, zip disks, ...) can physically fail or be damaged by, among other things, viruses and power outages.  You will eventually lose important files stored on your computer!

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Organize your Data

  1. Keep all your data files inside one high level folder.  Starting with Windows 95, a special folder named "My Documents" is created by Windows for this purpose.  Microsoft Office applications save your work as files in the My Documents folder and look there first when opening documents.  Most applications do the same or can be set to do the same.  In Windows NT, 2000, and XP each user account has a separate "My Documents" folder that is only available to that account.  This makes each user responsible for backing up the files in their own My Documents folder.
  2. Save your files to folders inside the My Documents folder, not directly in My Documents.  Make folders inside My Documents to organize your files.  For example, a faculty member might have a folder inside My Documents named "Classes-Fall07".  Inside Classes-Fall07 would be a folder for each class taught that semester to store papers e-mailed by students.  Another folder could hold class handouts.  How you organize your folders will depend on the type of work you do and your organizational style.  This simplifies finding your documents and, more important for backups, simplifies how you back up your files if they don't all fit on, for example, a single CD-RW.
  3. Save often when editing a document.  When working on a document take the time to periodically save it.  This minimizes your loss if there is a power outage or your computer freezes.
  4. Keep older versions of your documents.  When you complete a significant portion of a document save a copy using a file name that clearly indicates what's been completed or the date you saved it.  Continue your work under a new file name.   If you discover you need something that was deleted in the current working version you can go back to an earlier version to retrieve it.
  5. Move existing data files into My Documents.  If you haven't been saving your files to folders inside of My Documents, then move them  there.  Set your applications to save your work to folders inside My Documents.

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Identify Special Data Locations

Some applications, especially e-mail programs, do not let you store their data in My Documents.  For example, a default installation of Eudora v5.2  or later keeps your mail, address book, etc., in one of several locations.  None of them are My Documents.   As commonly used applications with this problem are identified, links to backup information and backup applications will be added here.

Links to Backup Information and Backup Applications

The following links are provided for your information.  We do not provide help for the use of these programs so use them at your own risk.  You should always verify that the restore function works properly in a backup program before trusting the backups it makes.

If possible make the backup to  a sub-folder in My Documents (preferred)  or in My Documents.  As explained in the "Organize Your Data" section, having a copy of your data in My Documents simplifies backing up all your data to external media.

DOIT is not responsible for these applications or the information available at these web sites.

Eudora for Windows

AasBackup is a plugin for Eudora that was last updated in April of 2000.  In spite of its age many people use AasBackup and appear to be happy with it.  We have not thoroughly tested AasBackup and do not support it.  However, we have installed it into Eudora v5 and v6 and, at least in our limited testing, it worked.   Download and run aasBackup.exe to install the plugin.  We will be doing more testing and including the results here.

Download aasBackup.exe here:
http://files.aaron.sherber.com/aasBackup.exe

A readme text file can be found here:
http://files.aaron.sherber.com/aasBackup.txt

Microsoft Outlook 2000, XP, and 2003

Microsoft provides a backup add-on for Outlook.  It can be downloaded at:
Outlook 2003 Personal Folders Backup

There is information on how to use this add-on at:
Using the Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders Backup tool

Outlook Express

Outlook Express Freebie Backup (OEFB) and Outlook Express Quick Backup (OEQB) are recommended on many websites including articles found in Microsoft's web pages.
http://www.oehelp.com/OEBackup/Default.aspx

Microsoft provides instructions (not an application) on how to backup and restore Outlook Express manually:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=270670

Mozilla 1.7.x / Thunderbird 0.7x / Firefox 0.93

 MozBackup is a utility for creating backups of Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Thunderbird and Netscape profiles. It allows you to backup mail, favorites, contacts, etc.
http://backup.jasnapaka.com

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Where to Backup to

  1. A Local Area Network (on-campus faculty or staff)
    Local Area Network (LAN) file storage, if available, is the ideal location to back up your files.  A LAN provides you with file storage on a central computer and on most LANs data files are backed up to magnetic tape every night.  If you back up your files to a LAN you usually get a second backup with no effort on your part.  Check with your local computer support group.  A LAN connection is treated like a disk and may have a drive letter like a hard disk.
  2. Floppy Disks
    By today's standards, floppy disks don't hold much data (1.44 megabytes).  However, you can usually store a large number of files on a single floppy disk if they only contain text.  Word documents containing no graphics are a good example.    If you copy a folder to a floppy disk and the floppy disk runs out of room, you will be prompted to put in another floppy disk (and another, and another, and ... , if necessary) to continue copying to.  This works as long as no single file in the folder is larger than 1.44 megabytes.  Using floppy disks in not a good idea if you have a large amount of data to back up.
  3. Zip Disks
    For backup purposes zip disks are like large floppy disks.  Zip drives come in three versions:  100 megabyte, 250 megabyte, and 750 megabyte.  The larger capacity drives can read and write to disks made for lower capacity drives.  Lower capacity drives cannot read or write to disks made for larger capacity drives.  As with floppy disks, if a disk fills up you will be prompted for more disks until all your files are backed up.
  4. CD's or DVD's
    If you have a CD or DVD burner you can probably use it to back up your data using a re-writable CD-RW disk, a DVD-RW disk, or a DVD+RW disk.  The specific type of re-writable DVD you need to use depends on your DVD burner.  Unless you are using a backup application designed to use write once CD's or DVD's you must use re-writable CD's or DVD's along with packet-writing software like Ahead Software's INCD or Roxio's Direct CD.  Packet writing software is often bundled in a CD/DVD burning package that comes with your CD or DVD burner.

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How to Back Up Files Using Windows Explorer

  1. Using Windows Explorer, open your "My Documents" folder.
  2. Right click on "My Documents" in the left pane then select "Properties" from the context menu.
  3. Click on the "General" tab.  The "Size" field shows you how much storage space is being used by the files in My Documents.  Write it down.
  4. Right click on the special folder representing the disk or LAN connection you plan to back up your files to then select "Properties" from the context menu.  Write down how much "Free Space" is available.
  5. If the free space is greater than the storage space being used in "My Documents"  make a folder on the backup disk or LAN connection and name it "MyDocuments xxxxyyyzz "where xxxx is the current year, yyy is the current month, and zz is the current day of the month.  Label the disk then copy the contents of "My Documents" to the folder you just created.  You may be able to put more than one backup on a single disk.
  6. If the free space is less than the storage space being used in "My Documents" you will not be able to back up all your files to one disk.  You will need to decide the best way to proceed.
    1. If you are on a LAN talk to your IT support group.  They may be able to make more space available to you.  If they can't you can't use the LAN for backups.
    2. If you are using floppy disks or zip disksThere are two approaches .
      1. You can copy the contents of My Documents to the first disk and put in more disks as you are prompted for them.  Label the disks with the date and number them.  The advantage is that you make the backup in a single procedure

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How to Restore Files Backed Up Using Windows Explorer

  1. Using Windows Explorer, open your "My Documents" folder.
  2. Right click on "My Documents" in the left pane then select "Properties" from the context menu.
  3. Click on the "General Tab".  The "Size" field shows you how much storage space is being used by the files in "My Documents".  Write it down.
  4. Right click on the special folder representing the disk you plan to back up your files to then select "Properties" from the context menu.
  5. Look at how much "Free Space" is available. 
    1. If the free space is larger than the storage space being used in "My Documents"  make a folder on backup disk and name it "MyDocuments xxxxyyyzz "where xxxx is the current year, yyy is the current month, and zz is the current day of the month.  Copy the contents of "My Documents" to the folder you just created.
    2. If the free space is smaller than the storage space being used in "My Documents" you will not be able to back up all your files to one removable disk.  Work in Progress.

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Should I use a Backup Program?

Should you use a backup program?  Maybe.  If you have a  large amount of data the copy/paste method  described above may be awkward, especially if your backup won't fit on a single DVD, CD, or Zip Disk.  Using a backup program can simplify maintaining your backups and restoring files.  Here are some possibilities:

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What to do when "Something is Wrong" with your computer

If your computer starts acting "strange" or to crash on a regular basis, you should try to make a backup immediately using one of the above methods.  Before doing anything else with your computer try to open your newly backed up files on a different computer.   This lets you know whether or not the files copied correctly.

If your backed up files can't be opened or you can't make backup files (you get error messages or your computer crashes), turn your computer off and get help.  If you are faculty or staff and your computer is owned by San Francisco State University, contact your local computer support group.  If the computer is your own you can contact university computer support staff for suggestions, but you may need to take your computer to outside professional help.

Remember, if something is wrong with the hardware in your computer or you have a computer virus, every time you start your computer can make recovering your files more difficult!  You need immediate outside help!

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Last Modified: 7 April 2008
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