Backup your data!
The first time a computer crashed on me, it was devastating. I was a sophomore in college and had just finished my final papers for the semester, but I also had hundreds of photos, all of my music, and a nearly complete novel. When my laptop was stolen a year later, the loss was expensive, but less dramatic – I had all of my “personal” files saved to a hard drive, and my term papers were stored on the university server. When my desktop mysteriously deleted my files a few months ago, it was no big deal; all my personal files were on the external hard drive and everything else was on Dropbox.
If it hasn’t already, your computer will crash at some point. Here are a few backup options (if you use something else, please share!):
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If it hasn’t already, your computer will crash at some point. Here are a few backup options (if you use something else, please share!):
- External hard drive
- Mozy (automatically synchs your files to an online server)
- Dropbox (stores your files online and allows you to share with other users)
- Time Capsule (automatic wireless backup for Mac)
- Create a SmartSite (allows you to share with others, but limited space)
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