Introduction
Everyone who uses a computer to save or store files will, at some point, experience that heart-stopping moment when they realize their files are lost. Don't let those files be lost forever. It's plain and simple: if you use a computer, you need to back up your data. It's not a question of whether you should, but rather how you should...
Why Backup?
Every day, individuals, businesses, and organizations lose their files due to drive failure, inadvertent deletion, or other unintended actions or events. The result is a great deal of stress, anxiety, and, in the case of businesses, lost revenue. The computer's hard drive, which stores all your data, will eventually wear out and fail. It's just a matter of when. It is recommended to keep a backup copy of all essential data in a secure location. Apart from hard drive failure, many other scenarios may result in the loss of your valuable files, such as power failures and spikes, or system and file corruption due to viruses, worms, or other malicious attacks.
Backup Location
You need to store a copy of all your essential files in a location separate from your computer. It's of no use to copy your files to your external hard drive, which is constantly plugged into your computer. A thief won't leave your additional drive for you to recover your lost files, a fire or flood won't distinguish between your computer and your external drive. At the very least, keep your copy in a different location in your home. Keep your backup copy in an entirely different building. Some choose to back up their data onto remote servers via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or by other means. Others use off-site backup services over the Internet. Please be aware that your data is your responsibility.
What Data Should Be Backed Up?
Both Lytec PM and Lytec MD use Microsoft SQL as the database engine. When backing up data, you cannot simply copy the files to a backup location because they are locked and controlled by Microsoft SQL Server. A SQL backup must be performed first to create a SQL backup file. Since this is an advanced function, it is recommended that you have an IT professional configure it for you.
Additional Required Files
Lytec PM
- C:\Program Data\Lytec - This is the default location for any custom Lytec forms that you may have created. If you saved any forms in a different folder, you must also backup that folder as well.
Lytec MD
- P:\ppart - This is the Lytec MD folder, which contains all your settings, scanned images, and other relevant files.
- P:\License - This contains your license file
- P:\Scans - This contains your scanned images archive folder
You may exclude the following files from the backup:
- MRRCOV99.dat
- MRRCOP99.dat
- MRFRML99.dat
- MRRALT99.dat
- MRRCOV99.idx
- MRRCOP99.idx
- MRFRML99.idx
- MRRALT99.idx
Medisoft
- You need to back up the Metidata folder, typically located at C:\Medidata, although the location may vary depending on how it was initially set up.
In addition to backing up Lytec PM, Medisoft, and/or Lytec MD, you may also need to backup any other data that you have on your computer including pictures, videos, music, Microsoft ® Office documents, spreadsheets, databases, Internet Explorer Favorites and/or Firefox bookmarks, emails, financial software, etc, you'll also want to keep a copy of all the programs you use so that if necessary they may be easily reinstalled at a later date. It would be advisable, therefore, to copy any new programs you download and install them from the Internet in a special folder that gets backed up as part of your backup routine.
One essential program to back up is the program you use for the backup procedure itself. You'll also need to save the serial number for this program and others in a secure yet easily accessible location so that you can restore your backup to the original location at a later date should you need to.
Disk Imaging
To make an exact copy of your drive, including your Windows operating system, you must use 'disk imaging' software. Disk imaging copies the entire disk (the parts that are used) bit-by-bit. This results in a copy that will occupy a significant amount of disk space and take considerably longer to complete.
People who use disk imaging often also use file backup programs. For example, they take a snapshot of their hard disk using disk imaging software, e.g., every week, month, or at ad-hoc times, but use a file backup program to make regular backups of their important files, e.g., scheduled every day or even hourly. When performing a restore, they first restore the disk image and then restore their files using the file backup program.
How Often Should You Make a Backup of Your Files?
You should back up your data at least once per day. You can do multiple backups throughout the day by doing incremental backups. This allows you to roll back to an earlier version of your data if necessary. Keep in mind that the more you back up, the less data you will lose in the event of a disaster.
What Should You Back Up Onto?
There are many different types of media that you can choose to back up, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. The first thing you'll need to figure out is what suits your particular circumstances.
It's generally a good idea to choose media that allows you to back up all the data you wish to without having to 'span' the backup. For example, you may need many CDRs to back up all your information. The problem with this kind of backup is that it requires your intervention to replace the new media as each disk is needed. A backup that can automatically run without your intervention will save you a great deal of time over the long run. An external USB hard drive, for example, can be plugged straight into a computer and provide an instant, large-capacity space for your backups.
Suppose you're a business with existing backup procedures. In that case, you may be using tape backup (which can be sensitive to heat, magnetism, etc), or you may be implementing a removable hard disk procedure. Whatever you choose, please make sure that your chosen media is easy to use, requires minimal intervention, and can be easily scheduled. Improving Backup Procedures. If you already have a backup routine, it's a good idea to verify that it's performing as expected, and if necessary, make adjustments to ensure it's working to your best advantage. Take care to read through and understand the documentation that comes with your backup program, as there may be specific customizations that you may wish to make. For example, you can configure your backup so that the program verifies that files are copied correctly and that the backup creates safe copies by using temporary file names before renaming the file, provided the copy is successful.
Some backup programs assist you in the evaluation of effective backup procedures by allowing you to test any backup you do with a simulated run. This will enable you to check the backup routine functions correctly without actually copying any files.
Scheduling Backups
It's very easy to have your important files backed up without you having to remember to do so. The backup can be done automatically, every day, while you sleep. It can be done while you're on holiday or out of the office. Computers are designed to help automate tasks, so let your computer and software automate your backups.
The Suggested Backup Method
There is no such thing as having too many backup methods in place. For mission-critical applications such as electronic medical records, it is advised to have both a file backup and a disk image backup in place. If you need to restore only a few files, you can do so with the file backup. However, if your entire computer crashes, is stolen, or damaged, and you need to get back up and running as quickly as possible, this is where the image backup comes in handy. A remote backup service is also suggested as a means of storing your data off-site. Having only a remote backup service is not a replacement for the other two types of backups.