Backup Your Data For Life

Losing your most valuable digital files could happen, if you do not consider all the risks.

Time is the enemy when it comes to storing digital data. Eventually there is a very high probablility that it will be lost for good, but if you take proper precautions you may be able to keep your data your whole life, and even pass your files on to your children and your decendants hundreds of years from now.

Rules And Routines of Data Backup

1. Rule number one is to backup all data you intend to preserve. If you don't mind losing it, there's no need to back it up, but then again, perhaps no reason to store it at all.
2. Rule number two, don't forget to back up. In other words, don't forget rule number one.
3. Rule number three, make frequent backups. Backup as often as you can. In other words, don't forget rule number one.
4. Rule number four, distribute your backups. In the cloud, on your computer, on your phone, on your second computer, on HDDs stored at various physical locations, print-outs of important pictures. Consider solutions such as tape, optical disks, and other options mentioned on this page. In other words, do not store all your eggs in one basket.
5. Rule number five, update yourself on backup technology. What's true today might not be so certain tomorrow. Tech is moving fast with rapid advancements, and storage options will change over time.
6. Rule number six, committ to doing backups well. If anything is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Backups are worth doing, and thus they are worth doing well. But as with everything you must find the balance. While you do want maximum longevity of your backups, and minimal risk of data loss, you will probably not spend all your life working on your backps. So you will find some middle ground. Make it easy to do backups without too much hassle.
7. Rule number seven, immagine the worst case. For backups, this could be that you lose all your files forever. Perhaps the worst case is not that you will lose everything. It could be that your backup data will be stolen, misused by hackers, or psychopaths find your backups and then your data becomes a handy tool for them to destroy your life or the life of your whole family.
8. Rule number eight, backups need not be boring. It is easy perhaps, to view the process of data backup as something mundane and incredibly boring. But it doesn't have to be. This is completely optional, and since data backups are time-consuming task, you gain from making this task more enjoyable. From certain perspectives, doing backups can be an act of practical philosophy, and the knowledge and wisdom you gain from doing your backup can be directly or indirectly transferrable to other critical areas of your life. What if becoming an expert at backups could yield health benefits, improved financial wellbeing, or overal life satisfaction?

Data Backup Options

External HDD (Hard disk drives). Again, don't keep all your eggs in one basket. You should probably have many of these laying around, in safe storage boxes. And instead of just adding new files to old HDDs, consider locking up the old ones and making new backups on new HDDs. These do fail a lot, and having a couple of backups, or even three or four, on HDDs is not a safe option, if that is your only method of backing up data.

Flash drive. Thumbdrives, jump drives. Should you use these? Yes, put your most important files here, but again, this should be just one of many ways you are storing your backups.

Memory cards. Another option, mostly used for digital cameras and not so much for backups, but these are yet another backup option. If your HDDs fail, your Flash drives fail, these might still be intact, or not. If your aim is to reduce risk of data loss, more is better when it comes to backup. But real life has limits, these things cost money, and spreading your backups across devices will take time. Storage space is not a huge factor for memory cards, these are tiny things. Put them in a safe container protected from heat, fluid, critters, thieves, or anything that can damage them.

Optical disc. CDs, DVDs, BlueRay, or something similar.

Floppy disks. Probably not something you will consider today, these are easily corrupted and if you have old stuff on floppies it's backup time.

Paper backups. Back up your files on ordinary paper. There is actually an open source for this, PaperBack.

Tape. Used by large corporations to this day. In fact, a popular option still, and huge amounts of data can be stored for several decades on tape.

Cloud backups. Yet another backup option. Great option if your home burns down, and all your physical storage media gets destroyed. Not good if you also happen to forget the cloud password, then fail to authenticate, and lose the written password stored in some paper notebook in the fire.