subject: Your Computer Is Your Business - Back Up Important Data [print this page] We all know itWe all know it. in business and in real life, disasters happen. Of course if your business is hit by fire, flood or some other natural disaster, you have insurance to cover your losses. What kind of insurance do you have to protect and replace the important business information store on your computer? Computer-based information is the real backbone of many small businesses and SOHO (Small Office / Home Office) practices. In fact, it may be the most valuable asset the business owns. In the corporate world, the techno-term is "mission critical" information. What are you doing to protect your critical business data? Without a doubt, backing it up is the simplest, easiest way to make sure your business's valuable information is secure. You already knew that, of course. but are you doing something about it?
This article will discuss the various kinds of information stored on a computer, and what types need to be backed up. Every computer stores huge amounts of information. But don't worry! Only a small percent is the kind of data that needs to be saved on a regular basis. I'm talking about information that changes on a day-by-day basis. Think about it: new clients are being added to your records every day, or additional inventory arrives on a regular schedule. All kinds of important records change every day, including financial records, customer files and more.
The good news is, Windows-based computers store all this information in one central folder. Folders are the containers the computer uses to store information. Storage devices such as the internal hard drive contain numerous folders and subfolders, and each of those can be used to store program information or what's called "User Data." In a word (or two), user data is the "stuff" you create. No matter if it's a document you typed, a pictures transferred from your digital camera, or a song downloaded from an online store, its' all "user data.Any PC folder can contain more folders, or files, or both.
In the newest version of Windows, (Win 7), all the user data you create is stored in a folder called Users. To find it, click the Windows "Start" button, then look at the upper-right portion of the two-column layout. Usually, the upper most right item will either be your user name, or some other name that was put there when the computer was first started. It may be something like Owner or Administrator. Under that one folder, you'll see all the various subfolders in your user account. Inside, there are folders including Documents, Music, Pictures and others. Of course the most important thing to backup is the Documents folder but you may also want to back up Pictures, Music and other folders in that user folder.
Coming up in a future article... where are all these important files to be backed up located?
