Laptops All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies- P28: Okay, I’ll admit it: I’ve got a strange biography. I’ve been a writer all my life. My first semi-pro job was sports editor of my high school newspaper. (Go Commodores!) After college I was a political reporter for daily newspapers in Ohio and New York (I covered four national nominating conventions and two Presidential campaigns) and a correspondent for The Associated Press. And then, in 1983, I gave in to my inner geek and became the first Executive Editor of PC Magazine, back in the days when most people asked, “What is a PC?”. | 244 Backing Up Before You Go Go medium like a CD DVD or flash memory key and keep them in your laptop computer travel bag if the bag and computer are stolen your backups will go along with them. Some programs including word processors let you create version backups which aren t the same as backups to guard against loss of data. A version backup is a copy of whatever file you re currently working on before you began changing the current version. This valuable tool is for when you change your mind and want to go back in time to that earlier version but in most cases the version backup is stored on the same hard disk drive as the original. Choosing files for backup What type of files should be backed up The short answer is anything of value to you that would be difficult or important to replace. Definitely make backups of the following Any word-processing files for projects in progress Anything that records important personal information financial or legal records and receipts Music Photos Video Important correspondence that arrives or departs via your e-mail program What doesn t need to be backed up The operating system or programs installed on your machine. Instead keep the original installation discs and product keys or serial numbers so you can reinstall them in case of disaster. Choosing frequencies for backup The amount of time you let go by between data backups should be directly related to your personal and professional threshold of pain. If you lost all the work you ve done today would that be the end of the world or merely require you to spend a few hours re-creating the files and other documents while they re still somewhat fresh in that other computer the one between your ears If you lost all the work you did today as well as yesterday that might be more than you re willing or able to stand. And if you were to lose the work of a week or a month or a year . . . please stay away from open windows railroad crossings and tax collectors. Backing Up Before You .
