Hi,

I've found that the simplier and faster the backup method, the more likely it is that I will actually use it. I used to occassionally copy files to a zip disk. I used to occassionally burn files to a CD. However I would always get lazy and skip backing stuff up because it just took too much effort.

I now have a staged method of backing up files.
  • For my OS and programs, I keep the original CDs. For downloaded programs, I burn the installer to CD.

  • For old data files that I don't anticipate changing anymore, including old photos, I burn them onto CD and store them in a binder. I burn new CDs once or twice a year.

  • For active data files, I copy them onto my iPod. For some files (like financials), I copy them after every session. For other files (like my cookbook, or photos), I wait and copy them when I'm doing a backup for some other reason. I create a new folder on the iPod with the current date and drag whatever I want to backup to that folder. Occassionally I copy the folder with all of my projects. Usually I just copy whatever projects have changed since I last backed them up. When I run out of room on the iPod, I'll start deleting the older backups.


I really like having the iPod for my everyday backup of active files because (1) it's fast and easy, (2) in an evacuation situation, it's really easy to grab and it'd be nice to have along anyway, (3) frequent backups don't take up any more media, unlike CDs which get filled up and stack up.

I like CDs for my "archive" backups because (1) CDs are cheap, (2) CDs don't take much physically space, (3) CDs can be read by any computer, and (4) I have a CD burner but no DVD burner. As soon as I get a DVD burner, I'm putting my archives on DVD.

I haven't found an easy way of backing up my music. However with only a couple of exceptions, all of my music is from CDs, so I could still re-import them.

I don't use any of the backup utilities. I find that it's much easier (both backing up and restoring) to just copy the data files as is without any compression or name changes.

If something happens to my computer, between my binder of CDs and my iPod I should be able to get copies of everything I need.

-Kuovonne