Backup is Good - but what about Recovery?

We all know that we should bakup all our data, PCs, photos etc religiously.  These backups can take a number of forms but are basically copies of your information whic you put to one side in case the worst happens and you lose something.

Thats step one - step two is knowing what to do when disaster strikes - as it inevitably will.  With modern PCs everything is faster, more poweful and more likely to failure; its the nature of the beast.  So when your harddrive fails to respond or resorts to clicking at you with contempt, what do you do next.

Easy you have your backups and you just get a new drive, restore your data and voila! you're back in business.  Not quite.

First, where did you put those backups?  Do you have the install disks for the operating system and applications including Word, Email etc?  How does the backup software do a restore?  There are many other questions which considering you have just lost everything you are probably not in the mood nor have the patience to answer.

If you do make and keep backups do yourself a favour and write down the steps to recover your machine.  Put these together with your backups, copies of operating and install disks and anything else you need in a container or location which is secure and accessible.  If you can, purchase a spare drive and actually test the process out to make sure you can actually restore and be looking at all your files just from the backups and disks.

In a business environment, there are many other things to consider from staffing, telephones, temporary relocation etc depending on the nature of the disaster.  All too often, businesses backup their data, but fail to address all the other issues which they will face if things happen.  The principle however remains the same.  Make copies, store them with procedures to follow and periodically test them to mak sure they work, are valid and current.