Making simple copies of your data is one way to help protect your data from loss. Some people have become used to carrying their data from office to home and back on removable media. The mistake in this case would be to assume you data is safe simply because it is with you. If you're in this habit, modify it by copying your data on the removable media to one or more of your hard drives on a periodic basis. Better yet, install a tape backup in one of your machines and store the tapes at the other location.
Data copies can be a problem when the size of your data won't fit conveniently on a removable media without compression. Tape and other backup software will allow you to compress your data in a backup file that can be restored in the event of a drive failure.
Backup software is available
in a variety of forms, both for tape and other methods. If you're not planning to use a tape backup, check out some of the software titles available in computer stores. Any software worth its salt will allow you to schedule automatic backup files at a frequency you select. You can use these software solutions to reduce the data to a single backup file of a size that will fit on some sort of removable media (Zip, Jaz, removable hard drive, Read-Write CD's, etc.) Typically, using the non tape method, you would create a backup file on your hard drive. Once complete, copy the backup file to your removable media.
It's expensive, but... Not all jobs require clean room work, but at least with Internet Desk, going to the clean room doesn't mean you'll be taken to the cleaners . Some labs will flat-rate their work and quote an arbitrary, very high price before they even see the drive. That type of pricing is unfair, in our opinion, since it has nothing to do with the actual amount of work involved. If you need clean room work, you'll get a quote from us following an initial paid clean room evaluation -- and real information on the liklihood of a successful recovery.
