Be Prepared to Back Up

Keep your data in an easy-to-find place. Backing up is easier if all your data files are stored in one folder. If you have Microsoft® Windows® 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 2000, or Windows XP, you have a directory called My Documents. This is a good place to keep all of your data, and it is recommended that you save your files here. Some installed programs save data elsewhere. Make a note of the directory name where these programs save data so that they may be included in the backup.

What to Back Up

When performing a backup, only save data that cannot be replaced easily and is important to you. Do not back up programs, because they can be reinstalled using the original installation method (for example, from a CD). However, files that programs create are usually the primary target for backup schemes. For example, do not back up Microsoft Word, but do back up any important Word documents that you have.

Note: Some programs require backups to be made within the program itself in order to restore the data at a later time. The files the program creates may not work properly if they are simply copied to backup media. Consult the documentation of the program for additional information.

To Where to Back Up

The most common way to back up is using backup media to store the data. Many types of backup media can be used, including but not limited to, a floppy disk, CD-R/CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, ZIP disk, LS-120 disk, TBU disk, and so forth.

The easiest way to copy data to the backup media is to select and copy the information, and then paste it in the appropriate drive letter of the backup media. Another option is to use an included backup program (like Seagate Backup Exec or IomegaWare), if any. In addition to backup media, there are other ways to back up data, for example, if you received one with your system, the Gateway Data Mover Plus USB bridge cable may be used to back up the data to another computer. Use any support documents or help files for additional information on how to backup your data using any of the above procedures.

If you elect to use backup media, it is important to store the media in a safe place until it is needed. If the data is critically important, it is recommended that a copy of the backup media be taken to an offsite location - a neighbor's or friend's house. It is important to take a copy of your backup to an offsite location in the event a fire or flood destroys your residence or place of business.

From Where to Back Up

A common location from which data can be backed up is C:\My Documents. Word processing documents (like .doc files), spreadsheets (like .xls files), and so forth are stored here. Some versions of Windows include the folders My Pictures and My Music inside of the My Documents folder. These include pictures (like .jpg files) and music (like .mp3 files) respectively. These are also good locations from which to back up data.

Common File Types to Back Up and How to Find Them

The most common files to back up are shown in bold. Search for these files on the computer and back them up. To search for these files, follow these steps:

Note: Use an asterisk (*) as a wild card value to find multiple files with the same extension. For example, to find all Word documents on a particular drive, search using *.doc as the name of the file.

Windows 9x

1. From the Start menu, point to Find, and then click Files or Folders.
2. In the Find: All Files dialog box, in the Named box, type the name of the document or the extension for the type of document for which you are looking, and then click Find Now.

Windows Me and Windows 2000

1. From the Start menu, point to Search, and then click For Files or Folders.
2. In the Search Results dialog box, in the Search for files or folders named box, type the name of the document or the extension for the type of document for which you are looking, and then click Search Now.

Windows XP

1. From the Start menu, click Search.
   • From the Windows XP default Start menu, click Search.
   • From the classic Start menu, click Search, and then click For Files or Folders.

    

2. In the Search Results dialog box, click All files and folders. In the All or part of the file name box, type the name of the document or the extension of the type of document for which you are looking, and then click Search.

   Note: If you have Windows 2000 or Windows XP installed and are using encryption, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base Articles similar to Q241201 or Q242296 for information about backing up and restoring the EFS private key for data recovery. The Microsoft Knowledge Base is available online at the following address (this link is subject to change): Search.support.microsoft.com.

Additional Items to Back Up

Internet Bookmarks and Favorites: It is good to back up Internet Bookmarks and Favorites to save commonly used Internet sites. Internet Explorer defaults to C:\Windows\Favorites to save all Favorites. Netscape defaults to C:\Program Files\Netscape\Users\bookmark.htm.

E-mail: E-mail is stored in different locations depending on what e-mail program is used. Netscape defaults to C:\ProgramFiles\Netscape\Users\default\Mail. Outlook 98 defaults to C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst. E-mail from America Online (AOL) is saved on an AOL server, so you do not need to back up a file for it.

Note: For additional information about backing up the Outlook Personal Folder File, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Q184817. The Microsoft Knowledge Base is available online at the following address (this link is subject to change): Search.support.microsoft.com.