Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 168 Unit 1 Computing Fundamentals File Backups A backup is a copy of a fi le that can be safely retrieved if anything unfortunate happens to the most recent version of the fi le. Mishaps are common in fi le management. Files can be accidentally deleted, overwritten, modifi ed, or corrupted. A fi le becomes corrupted when something happens to affect the storage location of the fi le. Users create backups to ensure that all is not lost if something happens to a fi le. Saving Copies of Files The simplest way to back up a fi le is to save it on a different storage device. If the user is saving data fi les on a course fl ash drive, the fi les should also be saved on another fl ash drive, a server, or in the cloud. An advantage of using the cloud is that the fi le is offsite. The cloud service being used also has backup measures to protect the fi le. When creating a backup on a different device, the user must remember where the copy is and to keep it current. Saving Versions of Files Another backup scheme is to save versions of the fi le. This method allows restoring one of many earlier states of a fi le, thus reversing changes. Most software programs offer a Save As function for saving a fi le under a different name. This function can be used to easily create versions. For example, suppose a student is working on a fi le named TermPaper.docx. It is easy to save a newer version as TermPaperV1.docx, then TermPaperV2.docx, and so on. The student edits the newest version and saves it as the next version number after enough changes have been made that he or she wants to keep intact. After the fi nal version is complete and the earlier versions are no longer needed, they may be deleted to clean up the folder. When working on a team, it is important to establish the naming convention for creating versions. All members of the team must understand which fi le should be in use at any given time. The read-only attribute is useful in locking all fi les that should not be edited. Windows Backup and Restore Windows includes a backup and restore utility to help automate these processes. The File History (or Windows Backup and Restore) utility is available through the Control Panel window. This utility compresses all data fi les and saves them to another disk volume. A disk volume acts like a separate physical drive, but is really contained on the same drive. The utility prompts the user through restoring one of the fi les to the disk. This utility can also be used to create a system image, as shown in Figure 4-16. A system image is a backup that is an exact duplicate of all data on the drive, including the drives required for Windows to run, your system settings, programs, and document fi les. A system image allows you to Computing Fundamentals 4.1 Computing Fundamentals 4.4.1, 4.4.2, 4.4.3 Computing Fundamentals 4.4.4 FYI FYI Always back up a fi le before a signifi cant amount of work is to be done and after that work has been completed. GS5 GS4 GS4