As a small business operator myself I understand how important all my computer data is. I have client contact information, records, taxes, e-mails, documents and many other business related items.
Imagine waking up Monday morning and turning on the computer only to see a disk error. What if your hard dies in the next hour? How much would you lose? How royally screwed would you be?
According to a University of Texas study, 94% of companies suffering a catastrophic data loss will not survive – 43% don’t re-open and 51% close within two years.
As a past computer repair shop owner I have witnessed firsthand how devastating it can be for small business operators to lose all their data. Having to tell them that the hard drive is dead and there is nothing I can do was the worst feeling. I knew all too well that their home based business was going to face tough times ahead.
So What Can Be Done to Never Lose Your Data?
The answer is simple. Have a plan and process in place to backup and store your data. The best thing I can do is tell you EXACTLY what I do to backup my data. I have gotten several small business clients of mine to setup this exact data backup plan.
Last year I got a call from one of them in tears! 2 hours before hand her hard drive failed completely and she needed access to work on the computer for their number 1 client and they wanted the work by the end of business.
I went over with a new hard drive and because she had her Full Image backup from the day before I was able to copy that data to the new hard drive. 1 hour later she had all her data. It was as if the computer never crashed. The full image had all her custom settings, programs, everything. It was like nothing ever happened.
The Exact Method Used
You need to have at least 2 backups in place. The good news is they can be both simple and automated while being very easy on the wallet
Online Backups: This is a must. You need to have your files stored off site. This protects you against theft, fire, water and anything else that can happen locally to your data. Choosing an online data backup company is easy. We list several of them in our Online Data Backup Reviews section. Mozy is one of the most affordable and reliable online backup solutions. It takes only a few minutes to setup, won’t slow your computer down and for the very low monthly cost, it’s so worth it. Best of all you set it and forget it. No having to think if your data is backed up or not.
Local FULL IMAGE Backups: A Full image backup is simply a backup that is an EXACT copy of your current computer. This covers the operating system, software programs (I know you have all the software programs and serial keys right next to you all organized and neat), user settings, user files, the works. Having the full image backup is the quickest way to get everything backup and going as if a hard drive failure never happened.
You will need another hard drive. The cost for a decent drive is around 100 bucks. You can get a USB external drive for a simpler install. I would get an internal drive if you have customer and clients over. Less chance of theft. Novastor offers some of the best pricing out there for a full image data backup software program. They have several options for adding on multiple computers and offer server backups, database backups, remote workforce backups if you have freelancers. Basically if you have a data backup need they have a solution.
TAKE NOTE: Almost all data backup programs will allow you to burn a recovery CD or DVD. You need to do this and place it in a secure location. You can use that disc to easily load the image from the backup hard drive. While you don’t have to do this it does make for a quicker recovery.
So What Do I do When My Main Hard Drive Fails?
It all depends on what has happened. If you had a fire then you have all your main documents and files backed up with Mozy (Or Other online data backup client). You can install the Mozy client on your new computer (I’m guessing the old one melted) and port over all your files and folders.
If your hard drive crashed you can remove the old drive, install a new one. now use the Recovery CD/DVD to load the image from the backup hard drive. If you do not have this CD you will need to load windows first, then reinstall the data backup software and then use the built in restore feature to restore your computer. depending on how much data you have it may take an hour or 4 hours. Just depends.
While a few hours may sound like an inconvenience, it’s far better than the heart attack and stress you will suffer from not having your data backed up.
It is not my goal to scare anyone, just to prepare you for what will eventually happen one day to your computer or computers.
This article is open for debate. Ask your questions below or post a comment. I would love to hear about any data recovery or data disaster story you may have as well.
