This document has been written as an introduction and guideline for file storage and backing up the data on your Macintosh computer running OS X. The style and finesse suggested in this document can vary depending on your personal taste or needs.
File Management
File management is very important when working on computers, and is often overlooked or not considered by users. Logical storage methods will help ensure that you will always be able to find your documents, as well as in their recovery should you have an equipment failure.
If all your data is in one place, it will be much easier to find, keep in logical order and, most importantly, BACK UP. Also, if all your data is in ONE KNOWN LOCATION when you bring it in for service, your friendly Technical Support Staff will be able to make a safe and complete copy prior to repair without worrying about accidental loss. Computer directory structures can be large and have lots of places to misplace data. Remember: the tech working on your computer has no idea what personal data is on it.
Fortunately OS X makes this a little easier than the earlier Mac operating systems. In the screen shot below, you will see my home directory under Macintosh HD/Users. If you share your machine with others, the account you are logged into will have a little house icon next to it. House! Home directory! Get it? Ha! Apple is so funny. :^)
Pretty much everything that is "you" on your machine is stored in your home directory. Preferences, Desktop, Documents, web browser bookmarks/favorites, etc.
How should I store all my files?
Have you ever used a filing cabinet? The odds are pretty good that you have. When it comes time to file a document, do you simply open a drawer and drop it in? No, of course not. You have a system of labels:
Every level has a logical label in your cabinet, doesn’t it? Sure it does! How
else would you keep track of all your papers?
“Nesting” folders (folder in a folder in a folder…) will help you keep track of all your data on a day to day basis, and will make backing up a whole lot easier.
I highly recommend that you use your Documents folder as your filing cabinet. That will consolidate everything you need to back up in one locations (more on that in a couple of paragraphs below).
Whenever you create a document, or receive one via email, disk or from a network drive, you should save it immediately. Even if your letter/spreadsheet/etc. has no characters on the page, give it a name and store it in a logical location. This may sounds a little extreme, but how much information are you willing to lose? One word? One paragraph? 3 pages? An entire document?
A computer is likely the most complicated device you come in contact with on a daily basis, and it doesn’t take very much to interrupt its operation. A system crash/freeze, application lock-up, power failure or just a flickering of power, someone tripping on the power cord, or a circuit breaker tripping can really ruin your day...put your project behind schedule…or make you start over on that presentation that is due in 1 hour.
At some point YOU WILL lose data. Ask yourself, how much are you willing to lose?
Backing Up Your Data
Which files should I back up?
If you have all the operating
system and application (Office, Photoshop, File Maker, etc.) CDs, all you need
to back up are the files you have created or have had sent to you (ie: the stuff
in your filing cabinet, not the text books on your shelf). Applications can
be restored from their installation CD or DVD, so they are already backed up. Also,
they are in the Applications folder, not in your Home directory.
As I mentioned above, your Home directory is everything that is "you."
That includes a lot of files that you might not care about, or would make your
back up really big. If you store everything you create (Word docs, spreadsheets,
Photoshop files, etc.) in your Documents folder, nested in sub folders
as described above. The Documents folder resides in your Home directory under
your user account (see screen shot above). Drag-and-drop that one item to your
CD, ZIP drive, network share space, where ever you back up your data. Super
easy.
One caveat: your Home directory may be very large, depending on how much
data you have. It may not fit on a Zip cartridge,CD, or DVD. In that case, you can
get away with backing up your Documents and Library folders (see
screen shot above). The Library folder holds all your personal preferences like
bookmarks, address books, etc. HOWEVER, your Documents folder may be much larger than even a DVD (4.7gb). You can choose just those files you really need, or burn to multiple discs.
An excellent backup utility is Retrospect. It can be set up to automatically back up everything, or just selected folders (like your Documents or User folder). If more than one DVD is needed, it will prompt you to insert additional media until the backup is complete. If you would like to order Retrospect for your Mac, please email Marshall Robinson, our technology buyer.
A computer is likely the
most complicated device you come in contact with on a daily basis, and it doesn’t
take very much to interrupt its operation. A system crash/freeze, application
lock-up, power failure or just a flickering of power, someone tripping on the
power cord, or a circuit breaker tripping can really ruin your day...put your
project behind schedule…or make you start over on that presentation that is
due in 1 hour.
At some point YOU WILL lose data. Ask yourself, how much are you willing to lose?
IMPORTANT: There are 3 types of computer users:
How would you feel if you lost a single document from your filing cabinet? A folder? A whole drawer?
Your data files are vastly more valuable than your computer platform. It is up to you to protect them.
If you use the File Management strategy outlined at the beginning of this document, then back-ups will be extremely easy and take almost no time at all.
To what should I back up my data?
That would depend on what technology you have at your disposal. Whether saving to your network drive folder, a Zip Drive, CD ROM, etc., the principle is pretty much the same. If everything is stored within your Documents folder, simply drag that folder to your backup media. As mentioned above, the folder may be too big for a drag-and-drop. If you have things stored in more than one locations, drag them all to your back up media, or purchase Retrospect to automate your backups. Network Drive back-ups will be covered in a separate document to discuss drive mapping.
How often should I back up my data?
That’s really up to you, and how much you are willing to lose. I would recommend nothing less than once a week. Go into your calendar program and create a recurring appointment for yourself on early Friday afternoon. Every week your computer will pop a reminder to back up your data.
If you are working on an important project, you may want to back up your data ever day. A few years ago when I was writing a book, I did a back-up every time I stopped for a break, lunch or quit for the day.
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