There are three primary variables to consider when thinking of how best to protect your data:

1. Probability of loss

2. Consequences of incurring a loss

3. Cost / effort to protect against loss

 

Years ago I was responsible for Disaster Recover of the mainframe and applications for a Fortune 500 company that had thousands of online users spread around the world.  We had a Director of Telecommunications that had one famous quote that I still use today:  "Name your disaster".  That phrase -- plus some unpleasant personal experiences -- has driven my actions for trying to preserve my data. 

 

Comparing my situation to many acquaintance's, I would think that I fall somewhere in the middle when considering the types of data to be protected, and at the lower end when considering volume.  

 

  a.. I have data from years of reviewing public records, but all of that should be fairly easy to replace (excluding the "time" factor).
  b.. I have many old photographs, some 100+ years old, that could never be replaced, but I have made copies that will do in a pinch.
  c.. There is a family bible that dates back to 1781 that falls into the "can never be replaced" category.  I have photographs of it and all of the handwriting contained within, and could place it in a safe deposit box.
  d.. I have many family stories, from people that are now long gone, that are all on my computer. 
  e.. Emails from people from years ago that fall into the category "not related today, but possibly tomorrow" are in various places.
  f.. Books / documents that have been acquired that range from "major publications" to "Uncle Jim made only these two copies".  
  g.. Other reference materials (Census CD's, Marriage CD's, etc.)
My approach to preserving my data is a compromise between protecting everything and protecting those things that I really care about.

 

I have created a "special" folder on my computer, which in turn contains a sub-folder for each product or class of information.  There are folders for all my word processing, digital pictures, financial data, plus many more.  I then have all my software products use those folders as their default path.  This approach allows me to create a backup of the main folder and know that I am saving everything I truly care about.  I have my reasons why I don't worry too much about backing up the software products.

 

I also have a second hard drive installed in the computer.  On at least a monthly basis I copy my main folder to the backup drive -- just in case there's a crash.  The odds of both drives having a crash at the same time are slim (UPS).

 

Then every couple of months I would create CD's as backups.  Sometimes I would take them to my neighbor's house; sometimes I would stick them in the safe deposit box.  Since I have been through a number of computer upgrades over the years, I also have three or four older hard drives that I sometimes make backup copies to.

 

Since I don't have an off-site storage plan for my non-computer data, that is what's really at risk.  

 

Now when you consider the quote from above, "Name your disaster", you quickly realize that the tornado that takes my house, my neighbor's house, plus the bank with the safe deposit box, it has truly exceeded my "probability" expectations.  On the other hand, when my hard drive crashes, I can take comfort in knowing that at the worst it only cost me a month -- not a lifetime of research.

 

Hope someone finds this helpful.

 

Wayne

 



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