News, info, and opinion by Mac users, for Mac users.

January 3, 2007

tips

New Year’s resolutions you can use: start backing up

Posted Jan. 3, ’07, 6:23 AM PT by Derik DeLong
Category | Tips

SuperDuper My own little dirty secret is that I didn’t do proper backups with any of my computers until my last year of college. At first it was because doing complete backups was cost prohibitive (especially as a college student just starting out). I would occasionally back up particular files to Zip disks, but considering the lack of regularity and the reliability of the medium, it’s a small wonder I didn’t lose everything.

Now though, most Macs are equipped with DVD writers and recordable optical media is cheap. Also, big external drives are very economical. Intel Macs can boot from USB drives, so saving some cash by getting a USB 2.0 external drive is a perfectly good solution. Couple that with CarbonCopyCloner or SuperDuper and you’ve got a pretty solid backup solution.

Sticklers will point out that a single backup residing at the same place as your computer is a dangerous policy, but let’s face it: it’s better than nothing. When shopping for a drive, get something decently big. That way, when you move up to Leopard, you can have a longer history.

Make this the year you finally start backing up.


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