Backup tips:

Know where you data is located. Common locations for data are on a local hard drive. If you are on a network, it's important to make sure your data is located in a folder that is selected for backup. Typically, this means each users "My Documents" folder and other data is redirected to a network drive that will get backed up. To find out where your My Documents folder is located, simply RIGHT CLICK on My Documents and click PROPERTIES. If it's located on a network drive, make sure that drive and folder are selected for backup. If it's located on your C: drive, then unless you are doing a backup of your local hard drive, your data may not be safe.

If you use Outlook, the file that holds all of your emails and contact information is also located on a local hard drive by default. This file (usually a .PST file) should also be relocated to a network drive that is selected for backup. This can be a little tricky as you have to move the file and also tell Outlook where to find it after it's moved and remove old paths where the file was moved from.

We relocate data for customers on a regular basis, but things can happen that change the locations back to a default folder, or they can be moved accidentally, so it's important to do periodical checks to make sure the data stays in the correct location.

Make sure your backup has the correct folders selected. The initial selection of files and folders is important when setting up a backup, but ongoing check ups are important also. Users may either accidentally save a file in an incorrect folder, someone may move a folder or file, or installing new programs may create folders that need to be selected as well. The "set it and forget it" mentallity isn't a good rule for backups. They need to be checked periodically to make sure all your data is really selected.

Read the backup reports / logs. It's important to pay attention to the daily backup reports or logs to ensure you know what's going on with your backups. Overlooking an error can lead to lost data, and not reading the reports at all is asking for disaster. There have been instances when a customer thought their backups were going smoothly - they swapped their tapes religiously every day, but they never looked at their log files. After a server crash, we found that NONE of their backups were good. All of the logs indicted that the backups were failing, but they never took the time to read the logs! All data was lost. Don't let this happen to you.

In summary:

Know where your data is located
Make sure your backup is getting the correct files and folders.
Check your logs / reports daily.

Data is THE most importan part of your network. Everything else can be replaced if stolen, broken or burned. Losing data can mean the difference between staying in business or closing your doors. The most common reason customers asks us about a backup plan is because they lost data. Stay ahead of the game and address the backup issue before that happens to you.