1st of Month - Time to Backup Your Data
This is a public service announcement for all photographers.
It is the first of the month and time to backup your data.
Do It Today. No Excuses.
It is easy and inexpensive to make a backup of your whole computer. For a simple copy of your data all you need is the correct software and an external hard drive.
Just Do It
The most important thing about backing up your data is to do it. Even an old copy of your data is better than nothing. You will be glad you made the effort when disaster strikes, and if it doesn't then you have the peace of mind of having a safe copy of everything.
Mac Software
Time Machine comes pre-installed on all Mac computers. It is straightforward to use and in the words of Apple "Just works". Another option is to use Carbon Copy, this will copy over everything, including the operating system.
PC Software
There are a number of choices for your windows computer. NovaBackup, DT Utilities PC Backup and Genie Backup Manager 8 are all good at backing up your computer.
Hardware
No matter what you drive chose, you should really have a minimal of two backups, one of which is kept off site.
You have a choice of External Hard Drives you can use for your backup.
G Tech G-Drive Q. They come with eSATA, USB 2.0, Firewire 800 connections and have proved to be pretty hardy so far. Heavier and bigger than the two below and lacks USB 3.0.
Seagate Backup Plus. Great if you are using USB 3.0 and want a portable solution.
Western Digital My Book Essential. Another USB 3.0 drive that is also highly portable.
Note
Keep in mind that this is really the most basic way of backing up your data. It is most suited to a single computer with an average work flow.
There are different methods of backing up your data and no perfect way. The key is to do something and do it today.
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