Backing up your computer

By Bill Drennon, CVC Director of Technology

This file can be found at http://www.drennon.org/updates/backing_up

Backing up your computer often is one of the most important things you can do. In order to back up successfully, you need to do several things:

1. Know what you should back up.

2. When each personally created file, take control of the name of the file, its file-type, and where it will be saved on your hard disk.

3. Organize your personal file structure.

4. Learn where to back up your fioles and how backup your files with WS_FTP

5. Backup your files very often (at least daily) until you have learned the procedure. After that, how often you back up depends on how hard you would cry if you lose files when a power outage, virus, bad hard drives loses the files for you.

1. WHAT YOU SHOULD BACK UP:

a. personal files that you have created.

Hopefully, you have saved these in an easy-to-locate personal directory that you have organized. These are the files that you will most often backup.

b. Your LAN email files (*.pst)

Usually this file is called outlook.pst or mailbox.pst or someothername.pst. Do a search for “*.pst” to find it on your hard drive. If you created a personal distribution list, you may wish to back that up also. Search for a file with the extension: “.pab” . You do NOT have to save the postoffice list address book. It is located on the server and is backed up by me.

c. Your INTERNET email files (inbox.dbx and sent.dbx)

Do a search for *.dbx within the path C:\documents and settings

d. Your INTERNET email address book

Do a search for *.wab within the path C:\documents and settings

e. Special files you have downloaded

They should be found in the C:\downloads path. ONLY backup the downloaded files that you have downloaded and that can not easily be recovered from other locations.

f. Your Internet Favorites

Usually in a folder called “Favorites”. Do a search for “Favorites.)

2. WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT BACK UP

Do not back up your entire disk, you operating system, or executable programs, gradequick files (they are on the server), and other server data files (unless you are assigned to do so). I can always restore operating systems and programs on your computer. I can not restore unique files that you have created unless you have backed them up. ONLY backup the files that mentioned above.

3. TAKE CONTROL OF THE SAVE AS PROCESS

a. Select the location by making sure where you want to save it is in the correct folder. (In this case it is in the C:\teachername_files folder)

b. Do not accept the computer’s name selection for the file. Make your own name. Make sure you type it in the “File Name” box.

c. Select the file type with the black down-pointing triangle so that it is displayed in the “Save as type” box.

4. ORGANIZE YOUR FILE STRUCTURE

Imagine that your directory C:\!yourname is a filing cabinet. Organize sub-directories as drawers of that filing cabinet. Create another layer of sub-directories as dividers for each drawer. When you go to save your personal files, you merely select the “filing cabinet” to backup.

5. USING WS_FTP TO BACKUP

This summer I set up yoiur WS_FTP program so that all you have to do is type in “backup” (without the quotes) into the profile box of the WS_FTP startup window and all correct information will show up. .

A. Click on the WS_FTP icon on your desktop:

A “Session Properties” Dialog box will open:

B. Type in “backup” in the profile box:

Note that the address (10.10.10.169 for CVCHS, 10.10.10.167 for CVCMS, or 10.10.10.168 for CVCES) shows up when “backup” is in the profile name box. Also your user ID and password will be displayed. A check will show up in the Save password box. Do NOT make any changes here. If you use WS_FTP for other locations, make sure that you CHANGE THE PROFILE NAME before logging onto another server.

B. Click on the OK button.

After clicking OK, the main WS_FTP program window will appear with the local system (your computer) on the left and the remote system (the backup server) on the right. Navigate to your personal directory on the left side using the green arrow to go up the directory tree or the directory folders to go down the tree until you reach the directory that you wish to back up.

C. Transfer the directory from the local system to the remote system by clicking on the à arrow.

In this example, I want to backup the directory C:\!drennon. I highlight “!drennon” with a left-mouse-click in the left panel. I click on the à button in the middle. The !drennon directory and all of its sub-directories and files will be transferred to the remote server.

D. You can backup a single file, too!

In this case I select a file that I want to backup and send it to the proper location on the backup server. I did not need to backup up my entire folder, but I wanted to backup this particular file. (Make sure the file is CLOSED on your computer BEFORE backing it up!!)