COMPUTER DISASTER
PREPAREDNESS
updated May 2011
If a major earthquake or other natural disaster strikes, will you lose essential
data? If your roof leaks onto your computer and shorts it out, will all your
family photos be gone? If something happens to you, a family member, or key
employee, does someone else know the passwords to turn the computer on, access
computer accounts, email, and encrypted files?
Plan ahead to prevent losing your list of contacts, emails, tax records, family
photos, crucial business data, and other essential files.
PASSWORDS
Make a list of all the passwords and usernames that you (and your family members and employees)
use. Put them in a file and send this file to a few family members or other key
employees. Include passwords for: email accounts, computer login, internet
service accounts like ATT, cell phone, smartphone, and file encryption keys if you use them. Many
passwords are case-sensitive, so make sure you are careful about lower case and
upper case when writing them down. Clearly distinguish between the letter
O and the number 0, and distinguish the number 1 from the letter I, when writing
down the passwords.
INSTALLATION DISKS AND FILES
To recover from a disaster, you will need the disks (or the contents of the
disks) to install your software, plus any installation files you purchased and
downloaded. When you download software, safe it in a folder called Install
Files in case you ever need it again. When you get a CD, copy an image of
it (or copy all the files) into a folder in the Install Files folder. Make
a file called CDKEY for each program, with the authorization code or CD key, so
you can reinstall it if needed. Do this for all software essential to keep your business
or household running. You don't need to back up printer driver files,
since you can always download them from the manufacturer's website. If you
are using older versions of software, even if it is freeware, it is essential to
save it. Software vendors commonly only post the most recent versions for
download, so make sure to keep archival copies of old software install programs
in your Install Files folder. Make sure to back up this folder as part of
your regular backup strategy.
WHAT TO BACK UP
A dentist I know has a sign in his office which says, “You don’t have to brush
and floss all your teeth – only the ones you want to keep.” I should have a sign
in mine that says, “You don’t have to back up everything on your computer – only
the stuff that is important and you may need some day.” Most people never back
up their data, and then get upset when they lose family photos, tax records,
business records, school term papers, and other important files.
You can lose files due to earthquake, theft, fire, virus infection, or the
computer dying from heat or old age. Sometimes these files can be recovered at a
cost of thousands of dollars, but sometimes they are not recoverable at any
price. So BACK UP your important files. Often.
Most home users do not need to back up the entire computer, just their data. But
businesses can’t afford for their computers to be down for days while they
re-install everything after a disaster. So businesses need to back up the entire
computer, not just the data. Usually business computers are networked together.
The easiest way to back up a network is to designate one computer as the network
master or server. Back up all the subsidiary computers onto the master, then
back up the master (including the slave backups) onto a removable external
drive.
Most home users back up these folders: My Documents, Desktop, My Pictures,
Favorites, Downloads, Install Files, and My Music. If you have an iPod, your music is probably
already copied onto the iPod, which will back up your music. If you use
Firefox, back up your Mozilla bookmarks. If you use Outlook, Outlook Express,
Eudora, Thunderbird or other email software, make sure to back up your Contacts,
Inbox, and other email files in CSV or PST format. You may also have other
folders such as SWSETUP or DRIVERS on your hard drive that need backing up, to
help you reinstall software on a replacement machine.
Don't forget to back up your mobile devices (cell phone, smartphone, tablet,
iPad, and laptop) if they have stored any
data that isn't already in the cloud or on your desktop computer. If you
sync your mobile device to your computer, then backing up the computer will also
back up the data on the phone.
HARDWARE FOR BACKING UP
Back up your data onto a USB flash drive if you don’t have a lot, or onto a
removable hard drive if you have too much for a flash drive. USB flash drives
(shown at the right) cost about $50 for 32 GB. A removable hard drive (picture
below) costs about $80 for 1.5 TB (1500 GB). You can also back up using an
online backup service, where you don’t need to buy any hardware, as explained in
the software section below.
Except
when actually running a backup, always disconnect and remove the backup drive
from the system. If the backup drive is turned on and running when an earthquake
hits, the data on it will be ruined. After disconnecting the backup drive, get
it out of the house or office, to protect it if there is a fire. So-called
“fire-proof” safes aren’t fireproof, and will not protect your hard drive from
an intense fire. Take your home backup to the office, and take the office backup
home. Keep your USB flash drive in your purse, pocket, neighbor’s house, or car
glove compartment. Remember that USB flash drives are easily broken. Do NOT lose
the cap, and do NOT touch the metal connector on the end, especially on dry days
with lots of static electricity, which will permanently fry the drive. Keep your
removable hard drive (if you use one) in your bank safe deposit box, neighbor’s
house, or someplace else FAR AWAY from the computers it is backing up.
Mac users with a TimeCapsule cannot turn it off without losing your internet
connection. So if you use TimeCapsule, in addition, you need to buy a
separate external hard drive for backup. Periodically, copy the contents of the
Time Capsule onto the removable hard drive, turn off the hard drive, and get it
out of the house.
There's no such thing as a fireproof safe. If you have a
fire that burns down your house, anything in the "fireproof safe" will be
incinerated. Take your drive with your backup data OUT OF THE HOUSE or
back it up to the cloud.
Be very careful if you use a network attached storage (NAS) device, or RAID for
backup. (If you don't know what these words mean, you are not using it.)
The backups made by these devices can only be read using the exact same hardware
and software that created them. If the NAS device or computer running RAID
fails, unless you can buy the exact same hardware and locate the software, your
data will be unreadable. So my advice is either not to use them, or to
purchase two identical sets of hardware and keep one unused, not plugged in, as
a spare.
SOFTWARE FOR BACKING UP
Make sure you are backing up uncompressed, unencrypted data, so it can be
recovered using any computer, without needing a particular vendor's product to
do the recovery. Many backup programs and most network attached storage
devices save the data in bizarre formats that are impossible to recover if you
have a hardware or software failure. Either drop and drag your files onto
the external drive, or use the software recommended below.
Windows users can automate data backup using the excellent program GFI Backup
which is free to home users. (download from
www.gfi.com) GFI performs an incremental backup on just the files that have
changed since your previous backup. You put little check marks (see graphic to
the right) next to the
important folders that you need to back up, and it does the rest for you. Do NOT
use GFI in automatic mode. Instead, manually run the program when you need it,
so you can disconnect the backup drive from the system. You can selectively
restore individual files from GFI. Do not use GFI to back up the entire
computer, just use it to back up the data. By default, GFI will save data
unencrypted and uncompressed. Don't fiddle with these settings.
Mac
users can use TimeMachine to back up their data and their system. Do NOT use
TimeMachine in automatic mode. Instead, manually run the backup, then disconnect
and remove the backup drive from the system. TimeMachine allows you to
selectively restore individual files or the entire computer.
If
you use a TimeCapsule, you cannot turn it off without losing your internet
connection. So if you use TimeCapsule, in addition, you need to buy a
separate external hard drive for backup. Periodically, copy the contents of the
Time Capsule onto the removable hard drive, turn off the hard drive, and get it
out of the house.
Windows 7 has a built-in program for backing up the entire computer.
Click on Start/All Programs/Maintenance and enter the Windows Backup and Restore
Center. Or click on Control Panel / System and Security / Backup and Restore. Create a system image on an external hard drive
(see graphic to the right). This image allows you
to do an all-or-nothing restore of the computer. You cannot selectively restore
individual files, nor can you do an incremental backup using this method. A
complete system image often takes an hour or two to back up. To recover
from a disaster, you will do a complete computer restore from Windows Backup,
then use GFI to recover files that have changed since the system image was
created. If you decide to use Windows Backup and Restore to create a
system image, you should create an emergency boot disk using the same Windows
utility. You will need a blank CD or DVD and follow the prompts as they
appear. If you need to recover and didn't make the disk, don't panic.
You can borrow one from a friend or download the disk image online to burn a
recovery disk using a friend's machine. There are several different kinds
of recovery disks (Vista 32-bit, Vista 64-bit, Windows 7 64-bit, and Windows 7
33-bit) and you will need to borrow the correct recovery disk if you didn't make
one.
Windows and Mac users can use Dropbox,
which is a free download from www.dropbox.com. When you install the program, it
sets up a folder (usually in your My Documents folder) called Dropbox. Any file
you copy or save into the Dropbox is almost instantly backed up to servers in
Arizona, automatically, every time you edit it, as long as you are connected to
the internet. You can access these Dropbox files from any computer anywhere,
using your email address and password. You can also set up a public folder which
allows you to share files (like vacation photos) with anyone. You get 2 GB of
free storage, and only pay if you exceed 2GB. The
Dropbox home page has a video tutorial that
explains how it works.
HOW OFTEN TO BACK UP DATA
Back up your data as often as it changes significantly. I back up at least once
a month. If I am working on something long and complex, like my taxes, I back up
those files at least once a day.
ALWAYS turn the backup drive off and disconnect it, except when you are actually
running the backup. If an earthquake strikes and the computer is on, and the
backup drive is plugged in, you will lose the data on BOTH of them.
For businesses, I recommend doing a full system image backup once a month. For
home users who choose to do a full system image, once or twice a year is enough, but most
home users choose to not bother doing a full system image. If their home
computer dies, they usually pay to get it fixed or buy a new one, and the
downtime isn’t critical like it is for a business.
UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLY
Most businesses have an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) attached to their
most important computers. A UPS is large battery connected to a power
strip. The battery charges during normal use, and has enough power to keep
your computer running for several minutes if there is a power outage. This
permits you to save what you are currently working on, and back up a few files,
before shutting down the computer. Note that a UPS won't help you if there
is major shaking due to an earthquake, because then the data on your computer
will be damaged and lost. But if there is a power outage due to wind or a
fire at the power distribution center, a UPS will let you save your information.
Most home users don't need one. UPS are sold at office supply stores,
computer stores, and online through Amazon and other vendors. I recommend
the manufacturer APC. An UPS will also protect your computer from surges
on the power line and protect it from brownouts.
DONATE YOUR OLD COMPUTERS
When you (or your business) get new computers, people always wonder what to do
with the old machines. Menlo-Atherton
High School, the public high school serving East Palo Alto, has a
computer
donation program which takes old computers, securely erases the information,
reloads software, and sends them home with needy, hard-working students.
For more information about how you (or your company) can turn your surplus
equipment into a tax-deductible donation, visit the
program's
website
MORE INFORMATION
Questions? Need help? The Computer Doctor is a consulting computer
service based in Menlo Park to help individuals and small businesses with their
computer problems. Visit our website
www.suekayton.com for more information, or email Sue Kayton,
kayton@alum.mit.edu