PC Backup Is a Must Now; This Method Is Simple, Automated
Backing up your PC is one of those things, like eating right or changing your oil on time, that everybody knows they're supposed to do, but too few people actually carry off well. For years, computer experts have warned users to back up their hard disks regularly, and for years, most people have ignored them.
That's because making such copies traditionally has been boring, laborious or expensive, depending on the method. I can still remember how, in my early days with computers, I'd sit for what seemed like hours during backups, feeding dozens of floppy disks into the machine. Later, I would fumble with balky tape drives and complex backup software.
But backing up your precious data is more important today than ever. Computers always have been fragile, subject to crashes and failures. Now, they are also the target of massive attacks by hackers, virus writers and other digital criminals. These assaults can corrupt or destroy your files -- including digital photos and music -- or force you to reformat your hard disk, which also wipes out files.
So what backup system will protect against such losses and still is easy enough to use so that people will do so regularly? I recommend buying an add-on hard disk, and using automated backup software to copy data from your main hard disk to this backup drive on a regular schedule.
To overcome user resistance, any backup method must be simple, unlikely to run out of space and automated. It also should operate unattended, on a schedule, without requiring any manual action by the user.
Maxtor's OneTouch II
That rules out manually copying files to blank CDs, DVDs or other types of removable discs. This method may work for some fastidious folks, but for most people, it requires too much manual effort to be effective. And you easily can run out of space, or blank discs.
Another method, subscribing to a service that backs up your data automatically over the Internet, has the advantage of being automated. But it can be expensive, and the Web-based services rarely offer enough space to back up most of the stuff on today's huge hard disks, unless you want to pay through the nose.
But the extra hard-disk method, if done right, provides plenty of space, and it can be completely automated and surprisingly economical. You don't even have to open up your computer or install anything internally. It's easy today to buy an external hard disk that plugs into a Windows or Macintosh computer via the USB 2.0 or FireWire ports and is instantly recognized by current operating systems.
Here's how I back up my own Windows hard disk: I purchased a 40-gigabyte hard disk -- the external plug-in variety -- for less than $100 after rebates. I keep it plugged into my computer. I also purchased online, for $35, a small program called SmartSync Pro from a company called SmartSync Software at
www.smsync.com.Every night at 2 a.m., the software springs to life and synchronizes key folders I designated on my hard disk with identical folders on the backup drive. After the first backup procedure, the program copies only new or changed files. If I accidentally delete a file or folder, I can easily retrieve it from the backup drive.
My method works well for me, but it may not be right for everyone. I did have to buy the drive and software separately. And the SmartSync Pro program isn't as simple as it could be. Plus, I am only backing up selected files and folders, while others may prefer to back up their entire hard disks, which might require a larger, costlier backup drive.
So I recently tested a simpler, all-in-one hard-disk backup solution, the OneTouch II, from Maxtor. This product consists of an external plug-and-play hard disk, which can be connected to either a Windows or Macintosh computer via USB 2.0 or FireWire. It includes simple, effective backup software that can be launched with the touch of a button on the hard disk. The software also can be run automatically, on a schedule.
The OneTouch II currently comes in only two relatively large and expensive versions, a 250-gigabyte model for $329 and a 300-gigabyte model for $379. They are bigger than most average users need, but the company says it will offer smaller OneTouch II models, at lower prices, early next year.
The key to the OneTouch II is the included backup software -- a special, simplified version of Retrospect, a well-regarded backup program from Dantz Development. The program can automatically back up your whole hard disk, or only selected folders and files.
In my tests, on a Hewlett-Packard Pavilion PC, the OneTouch II installed quickly and easily, and the software worked fine. My only complaint was that the initial backup was very slow. Backing up 51 gigabytes took more than 12 hours. Subsequent backups, which only copied new or changed files, were much quicker. I deleted a couple of test files and was able to restore them rapidly from the backup disk, using the backup program's "Restore" function.
OneTouch II is a good product. But whether you buy this all-in-one solution or get an add-on hard disk and separate software, backing up your data to a second hard disk makes great sense.
电脑备份的简单方法
和注意饮食或是定期更换汽车机油一样，备份电脑是每个人都知道应该去做的事情，但在实际生活中却很少有人能够地把电脑备份做好。电脑专家们多年来一直在警告电脑用户们要定期备份硬盘文件，而多数人对此却是置若罔闻。
由于方法上的原因，备份电脑文件常被看作是不仅枯燥乏味，而且还费钱费力的一件事情。我仍记得在我使用电脑的早期阶段，为进行电脑备份，我要花上数个小时的时间，把软盘一张一张地塞进电脑里。后来我还尝试过速度极慢的磁带驱动器和复杂的备份软件来进行备份。
然而，现在备份你珍贵的文件资料比以往更加重要。电脑系统从来都是脆弱的，容易崩溃或是出问题。如今，它们又成为了黑客、病毒写手以及其他网络罪犯们攻击的目标。这些攻击会摧毁你的文件，包括数码照片和音乐，或是迫使你重新格式化硬盘，从而也导致文件的丢失。
那么，什么样的备份系统能够避免出现上述问题，同时又简单易用，让人们愿意定期进行备份呢？我建议大家购买一个附加硬盘，并使用自动备份软件定期进行硬盘备份。
为了消除电脑用户的抵触情绪，备份方法应该力求简单，不会占用大量的存储空间，并且能够自动进行。另外，备份工作还能自动定时进行，无需用户进行任何手动操作。
这些要求排除了将电脑文件手动复制到空白CD、DVD或是其他类型可擦写光盘上的备份方法，该方法对于挑剔的用户来说可能管用，而对于多数用户而言，因为其要求的手动操作过多，所以很难收到效果。并且，这样做很容易就会让你的备份空间不足，耗费许多空白光盘。
另外一种方法是，定制一种服务，通过网络定时自动备份你的电脑文件，这种方法具备了自动这一优点，不过比较费钱。如今人们电脑硬盘容量都很大，要备份其中多数内容，此类服务很难提供所需的足够备份空间，除非你愿意为此花上大把的钱。
而采用附加硬盘的方法，如果使用得当，可以为备份提供大量的空间，还能做到完全自动化，并且惊人地省钱。你甚至无需拆开电脑或是在电脑内部安装任何部件就能完成备份。把一个附加硬盘通过USB 2.0接口或是FireWire接口连到Windows电脑或Macintosh电脑上，并让操作系统立即找到这个硬盘，这在目前是一件非常容易的事情。
以下是我备份Windows电脑硬盘的方法。我购买了一个容量为40G的外接式硬盘，打折后这一硬盘的售价还不到100美元。我将它一直连接在电脑上。我还花了35美元从
www.smsync.com上购买了由SmartSync Software公司开发的一个名为SmartSync Pro的小软件。
每天凌晨两点，这个软件开始工作，把我指定的一些重要文件夹的内容复制到备份硬盘上相同的文件夹中。在初次备份后，以后的每次备份这个软件只复制那些新的或是改动过的文件。如果我不小心删除了一个文件或文件夹，我还能轻松地从备份硬盘中找到它。
我的这种备份方法对于我来说十分好用，不过它可能并不对每个人都合适。的确，我不得不分别购买硬盘和软件。SmartSync Pro也并非那些简单。另外，我只备份部分文件和文件夹，而其他人可能想备份整个硬盘，这可能就需要一个容量更大、价钱也更贵的备份硬盘。
因此，我最近测试了一种一体化的备份硬盘：Maxtor开发的OneTouch II硬盘。这种产品包括一个外接硬盘，能通过USB 2.0和FireWire连接到Windows电脑或Macintosh电脑上；还包括一个简单有效的备份软件，按下硬盘上的一个按钮即可运行，这个软件还可以定时自动运行。
OneTouch II目前只有两款容量相对较大、价位也较高的版本，其中一款容量为250G，售价为329美元；另一款容量为300G，售价为379美元。它们的容量比多数用户需要的要大，但Maxtor称，明年早些时候将推出容量稍小的OneTouch II，售价也较便宜。
OneTouch II的关键一点是它附带一个备份软件，这个软件是Retrospect的特别简化版。Retrospect是Dantz Development开发的著名的备份软件。这种软件能自动备份硬盘的所有文件，也能备份其中的部分文件和文件夹。
根据我的测试，在惠普(Hewlett-Packard)Pavilion个人电脑上安装OneTouch II非常容易也非常快，软件运行十分顺畅。唯一一个我认为不满意的地方是其初次备份的速度极慢，备份51G的内容耗时超过12个小时，但此后的备份（只复制那些新文件和修改过的文件）速度就快得多了。我试著删除了一些文件，而后通过备份软件的“恢复”功能很快就能在备份硬盘中找到它们。
OneTouch II是一个不错的产品。不过，无论你是购买这种一体化的硬盘，还是分别购买附加硬盘和软件，将你的文件备份到另外一个硬盘上总是非常有用的。
