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Backup Services

Complete System Backup
Temporary R50.00  when done as part of reinstalling Windows is kept for 2 weeks and after confirmation from customer deleted

CD-ROM 700 mb stored per CD additional files are stored to link the image over cds
This can be done at your location or our office. Time is charged at normal rates, CDs are burnt at R30.00 each.

Data Services

Complete System Backup
Temporary R50.00 when done as part of reinstalling Windows is kept for 2 weeks and after confirmation from customer deleted
CD-ROM 650mb per CD
This covers making the backup image of your computer and getting the CDs to you. Backup image done at your location. Bloemfontein Area.    
R 50.00 1st CD
R 45.00 each CD after that
When reinstalling Windows
R 50.00 1st CD
R 40.00 each CD after that

Backup Basics
 

Every system needs backing up. Don't wait until you lose your data to learn this important lesson.
 

Your hard disk will crash. Count on it. It happens to everyone eventually. And when it does you will be glad you have a backup copy of all your data. You do have an up-to-date backup, don't you? You don't? Never fear. Here are the simple rules of data recovery for people who hate to back up.
 

Where Do I Put It?
 

I strongly recommend using some form of removable media for your backup. If you can't take it with you, it's not a backup. I know a famous author who lost an entire novel because her backups were stored next to the computer when her house burned to the ground. You can back up to floppy disks if you have no other choice, but floppies aren't reliable for long-term archival storage. And filling dozens of floppies is so time consuming, most people will put off backing up until it's too late.
 

Many users emulate businesses and back up to tape drives. Tapes are cheap, and their huge capacities make it easy to back up an entire hard drive. But I don't like tape backups because you're never sure if the data is really there. Tape is better than nothing, but my preference is for removable storage such as Iomega's Zip or Imation's SuperDisk. These disks hold 100MB or 120MB respectively -- plenty of space to back up all your irreplaceable data. And they're fast and reliable. Best of all, your data is stored on the disk normally, so it's easy to verify that the copy actually took. I think every personal computer sold should be equipped with either a Zip or a SuperDisk drive. If your computer isn't, you can buy one for R500.00 or less. Disks are around R100.00.
 

What Should I Use?
 

I use a simple shareware program called Second Copy to automatically back up my data every few hours to the Zip disk in my machine. I have three disks I rotate daily, taking the most recent to work with me. This way I always have three copies of my data, one of which is offsite in case of a major disaster. But that's not enough for me. I also want to have long-term archival storage of my data. For that I use a CD recorder. These devices cost as little as $250, with blank CDs costing just a buck each. Since each CD stores 650MB, I can back up all my data monthly for very little cost. CD storage is compact, compatible with nearly every PC on the market, and likely to last for several decades at least. Recordable CDs are as close as you can get to backup nirvana.
 

What Should I Back Up?
 

But now let's answer a key question: What should you back up?

Businesses make backing up simple. They buy big tape drives and back up absolutely everything all the time. When the inevitable hard drive collapse happens, the system administrator can restore the works in a matter of minutes. For businesses, where every minute of downtime means dollars lost, that might make sense. But most individuals aren't willing to pay the money or take the time to back up everything all the time.
 

For the rest of us, the essential rule of backing up is, "Make a copy of anything you can't otherwise replace." That means you make copies of your personal data. Don't make copies of Windows or your applications (unless you no longer have the master disks). If you lose your hard drive, you'll have to take a few hours to rebuild it from the original program disks. That's not the end of the world. The key is to also have a recent copy of your precious data, so that you can restore that, too.
 

When Should I Back Up?
 

Some things you'll want to back up every time you make changes. I make a copy of my Quicken data every time I balance the checkbook. Other things can be backed up weekly or monthly. I'd strongly recommend backing up all your data at least weekly and saving a copy of that backup offsite.
 

You should have one folder where you store all your documents. Mac users will want to create one called Documents and will want to start getting in the habit of storing all their work inside. Window 95 and 98 automatically makes a My Documents folder, and most recent Windows programs will store their data inside. One critical exception is Intuit's Quicken. It stores data in its own program directory, unless you save it elsewhere. So if you're using Quicken, right now, before you forget, open Quicken and save a copy of your data to the My Documents folder. Once you do that, Quicken will continue to keep it there. If you're religious about directing programs to store documents in the My Documents folder, backing up will be much simpler. Nearly everything you want to back up will be inside. But there are a few other things you might want to also back up.
 

Where Do I Find My Data Files?
 

Here's a list of common data files and where to find them:
 

Saved games: Inside the game program's directory. Look for files with the .sav extension.
 

Email: Locations vary. Eudora stores its email and address book in .mbx files in the main Eudora folder. Outlook Express lets you specify the location of its mail file, so it could be anywhere. Netscape Messenger defaults to "C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\your name\Mail." Outlook 98 stores everything in a .pst file in the "C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Office8.5\Outlook" folder.
 

Templates and Fax Cover Sheets: You may have put a lot of time into these. It'd be a shame to lose them.
 

Internet Bookmarks and Favorites: Netscape defaults to "C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\your name\bookmark.htm." Internet Explorer stores them as individual files in the C:\Windows\Favorites directory.

Preference and Settings: They're scattered all over your hard drive, usually in files with the .ini extension. You probably don't need to back up Windows .ini files, but you might want preferences from other programs. And don't forget to jot down your Dial-Up Networking and TCP/IP settings while you're at it.
 

You may have other important data hidden away on your hard disk. It's not a bad idea to take a walk through your drive to see what else is there. You can simplify matters by doing a search of your disk by file creation dates. Look for new files, since new files were most likely created by you.
 

The moral of our story is, "All computers fail eventually." And they always seem to do it when you need them the most. Protect yourself by backing up. You'll be glad you did. I promise.

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