In the event of a Disaster
Back Up Back Up Back Up
written for RECA Foundation by Misty Kesler VISTA
In the event of a disaster, it is important for Organizations and
Businesses to have a system back up. Here is a guide that will help you back up
your system, for emergencies such as a natural disaster, or other emergency
situations.
1. Your hard drive(s) WILL Fail! Hard drives are mechanical devices and all will eventually fail. 2 months or 20 years from now, or somewhere in between, it will happen. There are lots of options for backup – let’s look at two. Backup critical files to an external hard drive (e.g. USB hard drive), or backup your entire hard drive (including operating system and programs) using an imaging software to an external hard drive.
2. Store your backup in a safe place! Set up two external hard drives and rotate them off-site on a weekly basis (or more often if you have lots of critical data). Think disaster – what if your office burned down or someone broke in and robbed you of all your computer systems. Your off-site storage area should be well away from your office site. And test your back-up! Set up a separate computer and try to restore your data to make sure your process is working. The time to find out you haven’t been doing it right is NOT after a disaster strikes.
3. Don’t procrastinate! The more you back up your systems, the less likely you will lose any important data.
4. Have at least TWO email addresses for your employees, and yourself. If the system crashes and the e-mail service goes down, you will have another option for communication. There are a variety of free email services out there. www.yahoo.com and www.myway.com are just a couple. These services can be accessed from ANYWHERE, at ANYTIME.
5. Keep a cell phone handy. If something happens and the phones are down, you or your employees will still be able to communicate your need for help.
6. Backup software: A very good recommended package is Acronis True Image (http://www.acronis.com/). This will backup everything, including the operating system and all programs, and allow for a wide variety of restoration options. Norton Ghost is also very good.
7. Online backup services: There are a number of services that bear looking into. http://cyberbackups.com/ is an example.
8. Laptops with battery backup and wireless internet cards are good for power outages, or when you are out of the office or home. Lithium batteries are available for laptops that you can use if the power goes out. They can be pricey, but well worth it, in the case of a disaster. Battery life can last for 5 to 8 hours depending on how much you use it, and the wireless card makes it internet ready. Go to: http://www.batteryspace.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=489 or http://www.laptopsforless.com/dcdcdetails.htm for more information on these batteries. And go to: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/wireless/ps4555/ps4451/index.html for more information about wireless cards for laptops.
You can never have enough communication in time of a disaster!
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