To be completely safe, you should backup your personal data files on a
regular basis AND also have a baseline full image of your entire hard disk.
The frequency of backing up your personal files depends on how often the
data changes and its importance.
I use Karen's Replicator to backup my personal files each night. It is free
and is located on the Programs page. Each night I copy my JAWS scripts
directories to my Documents folder, copy a folder of downloads and archives,
my Documents folder, and my mail directories to another computer in our
house. Of course, you could also backup to an external hard drive or an
on-line storage service. On-line storage services are a great idea for
dependable storage that is off site in case off a fire or a natural
disaster. It might be a good idea to keep of your valuable data for safety,
even if you make a local copy. This storage is normally encrypted
automatically. Many services are free for a limited amount of storage and a
monthly fee for more or unlimited storage.
Making a complete image copy of the entire hard disk can make recovering
from a hard disk disaster much easier. You should make an image of a
baseline system. This ideally would be at a time when your computer has all
of your desired programs installed and the system is stable. With a program
like Image for Windows, recovery can take less than an hour. That includes
all programs and settings back exactly as they were at the time the baseline
was taken! Then you can restore any new personal data from your nightly
data backups performed with Karen's Replicator. You should only need to
make a full image backup when their have been significant changes made to
the system. I anticipate doing this about twice a year. If you like to
experiment with new software, it would be a great idea to make a baseline
before installing the new experimental software. Then you don't have to
worry too much about destroying your configuration, since it easily can be
rolled back in less than an hour. Some software like from GiveAwayOfTheDay
or in my case my daughter's installation of Spore can not just simply be
installed again. An image restore eliminates these issues. It also is the
best way to get rid of nasty Spyware and Viruses that fight from being
removed.
Personally, I have been putting this off for years! There is no longer any
good reasons not to backup anymore with external drives being so cheap. It
is fairly easy to find a 1 Terabyte external hard disk for less than $100.
Normally, creating the image is easy. Traditionally, the recovery process
can be troublesome for a blind person. The recovery from the backup image
files, like an external hard disk, to your internal hard drive requires
booting from another source, like DOS from a CD. Most of the time there is
no speech available for this process. Dave has a very good tutorial for
using Image for Windows for making there image and performing the recovery
process on the website.
I purchased Image for Windows this week. It includes a copy of Image for
DOS and Image for Linux. The recent Image for Linux includes a utility to
create a Recovery CD that has SpeakUp built into its Linux kernel. The CD
is used to boot from in case of disaster. With a boot parameter to enable
the speech at startup the recovery process can be accomplished through an
easy to use program which is very similar to the Windows program where the
image was created. It is possible to customize the Recovery CD to make the
speech automatic on boot. I am currently playing with this and merging
Image for Linux with Vinux. Vinux is an amazing distribution of Linux.
Specifically Vinux is a customized distribution of Ubuntu that is
preconfigured for the blind and visually impaired. I view this as a major
breakthrough! Many PC experts have stated vigorously that the newest Ubuntu
is the first distribution of Linux where it is a viable replacement for
Windows!
An ISO file of a complete Vinux Live CD can be downloaded at the address
below. If you burn this to a disk, you can boot and run this Version of
Linux with speech and magnification automatically enabled without installing
any software on your hard drive and test it out. It also includes a utility
to install a copy to a hard disk, USB drive, or make a customized CD/DVD.
http://vinux.org.uk/
Remember that backing up will save a tremendous amount of headaches later!
Don Marang
----- Original Message -----
From: "Job Hunter" <jobhun...@box547.com>
To: <blind-computing@jaws-users.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 9:05 AM
Subject: Re: [Blind-Computing] Backing Up Files
Try Image for Windows at www.terabyteunlimited.com.
Very good program and works well with Jaws.
John
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rogelio Terrazas" <rogelio.terra...@gmail.com>
To: <blind-computing@jaws-users.com>
Sent: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 3:08 AM
Subject: [Blind-Computing] Backing Up Files
How can I back up all my files in my C drive? In case I ever have to
reinstall my computer. Thanks, any help would be greatly appreciated.
rogelio.terra...@gmail.com
Visit the JAWS Users List home page at:
http://www.jaws-users.com
Visit the Blind Computing home page at:
http://www.blind-computing.com
Address for the list archives:
http://www.mail-archive.com/blind-computing@jaws-users.com/
To post to this group, send email to
blind-computing@jaws-users.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to
blind-computing-le...@jaws-users.com
For help from Mailman with your account Put the word help in the subject
or body of a blank message to:
blind-computing-requ...@jaws-users.com
Use the following address in order to contact the management team
blind-computing-ow...@jaws-users.com
If you wish to join the JAWS Users List send a blank email to the
following address:
jaws-users-list-j...@jaws-users.com
Visit the JAWS Users List home page at:
http://www.jaws-users.com
Visit the Blind Computing home page at:
http://www.blind-computing.com
Address for the list archives:
http://www.mail-archive.com/blind-computing@jaws-users.com/
To post to this group, send email to
blind-computing@jaws-users.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to
blind-computing-le...@jaws-users.com
For help from Mailman with your account Put the word help in the subject
or body of a blank message to:
blind-computing-requ...@jaws-users.com
Use the following address in order to contact the management team
blind-computing-ow...@jaws-users.com
If you wish to join the JAWS Users List send a blank email to the
following address:
jaws-users-list-j...@jaws-users.com
Visit the JAWS Users List home page at:
http://www.jaws-users.com
Visit the Blind Computing home page at:
http://www.blind-computing.com
Address for the list archives:
http://www.mail-archive.com/blind-computing@jaws-users.com/
To post to this group, send email to
blind-computing@jaws-users.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to
blind-computing-le...@jaws-users.com
For help from Mailman with your account Put the word help in the subject
or body of a blank message to:
blind-computing-requ...@jaws-users.com
Use the following address in order to contact the management team
blind-computing-ow...@jaws-users.com
If you wish to join the JAWS Users List send a blank email to the
following address:
jaws-users-list-j...@jaws-users.com
