Consider this your friendly beginning of summer backup reminder! Keep those summer tunes and beach pictures safe and secure.

Many of the things that we hold special and important now exist in a digital world. Pictures of our kids being born, videos from our weddings, that one song that you are too embarrassed to play in the car so you keep it safeguarded on your iPod, and that 400 page novel you’ve been working on for the past three years- whatever it is, let’s face it: what we keep saved on our computers/phones/tablets etc. is important to us.

Let us also not forget one important principle, that is always, always, always true, no matter what:

So how do stay ahead of the game for when it does happen? We back up.

Intro to Backing Up

Backing up is the single most important thing we can do as technology users. It isn’t hard, it doesn’t take a bunch of time, and it doesn’t cost a lot of money. So press play below for some great backing up jams, and by the time it’s finished you can have your backup plan implemented and on its way to having your precious content in a safe place.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g76DUy7jKY]

The 3 Copy Rule

It’s absolutely critical that you have at least 2 copies of anything saved on your computer that you don’t want to lose. I’ll repeat the key words: critical, have, 2, copies, don’t want to lose. Got that?

But wait, there’s more! It’s not really a backup unless you follow the 3 Copy Rule. For any file to be backed up and safe, there must exist three different copies, like so:

  1. The original copy. This is the one that says on your computer, and is probably in your user folder where you save your documents, pictures, music, etc.
  2. The quick and easy copy (automatic backup). This is a copy on a local storage device- USB flash drive, external or internal hard disk, CDs, DVDs, Memory Card, Network Storage Device (advanced)- that is easy to get to. This is the first line of defense. Also, as with the third copy, this should happen automatically.
  3. The off-site copy. Whether it be online (in the cloud), on a disk at your office, burried in the sand, or in a safe-deposit box- whatever- this copy is one that is nowhere near your other copies. Because you never know when that fire/flood/black hole/anti-matter explosion destroys everything around you, and you don't want it to take all your backups.

Getting Started

The Original Copy

Like starting a race a lap ahead, you already have this copy. It’s that document you saved, that picture you snapped from your camera, or that song you downloaded. It’s in a safe place, probably in your home folder, and it should stay there, nestled warm and cozy.

It’s best if the original copy is on your computer. Sometimes iPods, iPhones, or iPods decide they hate you and hold your pictures and music hostage. Because they use proprietary protocols and don’t have a file browser, if you don’t regularly save those pictures on your $APPLE_DEVICE to your computer, they may disappear. So plug it in regularly, save the images to a safe place (the Pictures folder is probably the best), and make sure your music is on your computer as well. That way, if your iDevice goes belly up, you can restore and resync everything over without losing anything.

And here’s just a special note: there’s a special circle of Hell reserved for people that lock their friends iPods/Phones/Pads for thousands of days and force them to do a factory restore. 

The Quick and Easy Copy

This is the one that lives on a USB flash drive or hard disk, or on DVDs and CDs if you absolutely have to. If you’re Mr. Fancy Pants, you may have some type of network storage device, or a system that backups using FTP or SAMBA across a network, but if you do then you don’t need to be reading my guide. Some people just drag and drop their files and folders from their computer to their USB drive or hard disk to backup. That works fine, so if you have to, keep doing that. But there is one key weakness to that method: it’s not automatic.

Backup should be automatic. Everybody forgets things from time to time, and if you fail to remember to backup for a few weeks you could risk losing something very important to you. You need a solution that works in the background and backs up files as they are added and changed. I’ll discuss that in a minute.

What do I need to do this back up?

I am a big proponent of the external USB hard disk. You can get them for very little money, and they are a great investment. I would say buy at least 500GB, but really there’s no reason not to go for a 1TB drive. In fact, I just bought [another] one for $109 on Amazon, and I can highly recommend it. 

“But, Nathan,” you’re saying, “I don’t have $109 to spend on something as crucial as back up!”

No problemo! USB flash drives are probably big enough for at least your documents and pictures, and possibly your music if you have a smallish collection. You can get one that’s wicked cool looking like this guy for only $10- and that’s for a whopping 16GB! You have no excuse not to buy one. Of course, you probably have like 15 of them lying around in that clutter drawer you have.

Automated Back Up

Ubuntu

Ubuntu includes a built-in tool for Backup called “Deja-Dup.” Go to System Settings > Backup, tell it to show backup settings, and just enter a few simple details. Set the backup location as your USB Drive (or other, depending on what you have), tell it what to backup (the folders in your home user folder are the main ones that you should be concerned with), and tell to do automated backups- and when to do them. And, presto, you’re done!

How-to Geek has a great visual guide if you need more help.

Windows

To set up backup go to Start > Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Backup and Restore, then just follow the Wizard. I’ll refer you to this link if you need help, but fair warning- Microsoft’s help guides aren’t actually all that helpful. In fact, they tell you what I just told you.

You know what, go here. It’s much easier and has a step-by-step guide.

Mac

Here you’ll be looking for Time Machine. It works pretty much the same was as Deja-Dup in Ubuntu. Go to System Preferences > Time Machine, flip the switch to on, and use the “Change Disk” option to point it at your USB device (or whatever you’re using).

Here’s a great support document from Apple on how to set it up. And boy, it’s as good as Microsoft’s is bad.

The Off-site Copy

This is the one that is far, far away from the rest of your copies. Do not keep this in your house!!! It could fall into a sinkhole, break off into the ocean, or get caught in a worm hole. If that happens, and all the copies are there, you will lose everything. It’s important to keep a copy somewhere remote. If you’re going to use another flash drive, hard disk, or DVD, some great suggestions for locations include a locked cabinet at your office, your locker at school, or in a safe deposit box.

But the far better alternative, that I am a huge fan of, is keeping everything in the cloud. That’s right, your data backed on your own little slice of the Internet.

If you’re on Ubuntu, or even Windows, I can strongly recommend Ubuntu One. It backs up your files online, monitors them for changes, and not only keeps them safe and up-to-date, but synchronizes them between all your computers and makes your files easily accessible from anywhere in the world. Not only that, but the prices are insanely reasonable. You get 5GB free for signing up, and it’s just $2.99 per month for additional 20GB packs. It’s great. Not only is everything always backed up and in sync, but when I get a new computer (of it it, you know, crashes and I have to format my hard disk) I just put in my password and within a day everything is back to the way it was.

Dropbox also has similar plans, and works across Ubuntu/Linux, Mac, Windows, and some mobile devices. From what I hear it works really well, and has great pricing options as well.

In both cases, you just download the client (U1 is included by default in Ubuntu), sign up for an account, and tell it which folders to backup. Simple as that.

Conclusion

Backup is quick, easy, automatic, and can save you heartache and tears. It’s nice having peace of mind knowing all those special memories and files are safe and secure. The fear/surprise/worry of having a hard drive crash is one of the worst feelings you can ever have, especially if you have pictures that you can’t bear the thought of losing.

So don’t end up like this:

Or this:

Just remember: