How To Backup and What To Backup.

Having a current backup in case of a hard drive crash or other computer disaster is one of the most important steps a user can take to assure that their data will always be with them.  All NMMI Staff/Faculty are responsible for their own personal data backup.  Individual computers are not backed up and it is very important for the user to be able to do these backups themselves due to the fact that they are familiar with what they use.  The following is a checklist to help ensure that your data is backed up.  Create a folder on the desktop to copy data files into.  The folder should be named "username backup" the username being your username.  For instance Bill Siders username is sidersb.  His folder would be named "sidersb backup".  Copy all data to the backup folder then move the folder to a zip or CD-RW drive.  If your computer does not have a zip or CD-RW drive then an IS technician can transfer the data once everything has been moved to the backup folder .

 Tech Tip: The quickest and most efficient way to keep track of your docs and spreadsheets is to save them all into one central location, My Documents folder for instance.  This makes data both easy to locate and backed up.

1. Take a moment to look over the following list.   You might use all or some of the files listed below.  This is just a list of the most common data files.  It is possible that there are files that you use that might not be listed here.  If you are unsure please contact IS.     
1. Email addresses and email messages. (Export to a .pst file) The information to do this can be found on the NMMI FAQ page under computer/software/ms outlook (email)/How can I backup my email (to a local .pst file)  
2. Word Documents. (.doc)
3. Excel Documents. (.xls)
4. Access databases. (.mdb)
5. PowerPoint files. (.ppt)
6. MS Publisher. (.pub)
7. Text Documents. (.txt)
8. Adobe Acrobat Reader. (.pdf)
9. Image files. (.jpg, .gif, .bmp)
10. The Favorites folder from Internet Explorer.
11. Special programs such as Quicken and Grade Machine.
12. Any other software's data that is needed to be backed up.
2. Copy the data to the folder that was discussed above.
3. Start at the top of the list and copy the data to your  backup folder.  Repeat this until all the items that you require have been copied to the backup folder.
4. Move the backup folder to Zip or CD-RW drive.