This Board is for the discussion of the backup of genealogy data. Many of us are using genealogy programs and the data stored in the program is valuable to us. The manufacturers give us the opportunity to back up but how many of us do it as often as we should.
This board is not primarily to be used for genealogy research although the inclusion of surnames of interest or fairly short signatures is ok. Let's talk about starategies and methods for keeping from re-entering all of our months and years of data.
John Middleton Leawood, Kansas
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Yes! Yes! Yes! My computer crashed big time recently, and I'm looking for a backup system for all of the data I now have to re-enter. I do not want to have to lose everything all over again; I worked too hard! I won't re-enter this information until I find the best system to date for this much needed security, so any information on the types and brand of systems would be very much appreciated, to say the least. Specifically, systems best used for genealogy and for use with genealogy software programs. We desperately need a message board of this type!
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If you are lucky enough to get a helping hand could you please let me know
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Hi Marsha,
I am sorry to hear about your mishap and I know that it is frustrating. Most backup systems involve regular moving of the data to some other location -- floppy or CD-ROM.
I usually try to do this every month or so. I also do it whenever I have made a major addition or change to my files. The problem is it can't be done *after* the hard disk crashes.
Any genealogy program will work fine but the backup system is in the operator. ;-)
Did you get your data back? What program were you using? Did you try a commercial disk recovery service? (I know that last is expensive but if there is a lot of data it can be worth it.)
Regards,
John M.
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Hi Hazel,
I'm happy to hear from you. Did you have a problem with a backup or lack of one?
Regards,
John M.
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My problem was a "lack" of a back-up system spacy enough to hold all my genealogy files. I was using a software program called, "Family Tree Creator Deluxe" but isn't it only the hard drive that stores that information, unless you save it to another storage device? My hard drive crashed and I had to use the recovery disc that came with my computer. That process wipes out every single thing you have ever "added" to it, and starts out fresh, just as it came from the factory. I had used floppies to store some of the information, but I need a much, much larger storage capacity than those little floppies provided me. Do you have a preference for one kind of device over another? Have you used either a cd-rw or a zip disk drive and if so, what works best for you?
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I don't quite know what you're talking about when you mention a "commercial recovery service." Can you tell me more about it? If this means counting on a third party to save my material, I think I would really rather go with something I can use myself, for myself and something I can always have close at hand, available when I need it. Don't you think?
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I have used a number of different storage methods. I now have a CD-RW which is pretty good. I also have a Zip drive but it is a little cumbersome. Mine has to be plugged into the parallel port and I have to switch around a lot. I always worried that the newer, flimsy parallel ports would break. The other possibility is to have a second hard drive in your computer and store the backup on that drive.
The costs are pretty reasonable. CD-RW is most expensive at around $150 for the drive but the disks are really cheap. The Zip is about $100 for the drive but the disks are about $20. The second hard drive can be fairly inexpensive, say $75 to $100.
I just saw a web site to day that lets you save up to 50 MBs of data to their web server for free. You can use a search program for FreeCen and I think you can find it. My only quibble with that one is that you have to give them your email address, possible spam, and you have to let someone else have your data. Buty you should be ok unless their server goes down.
My newest machine has this "restore" disk system and I am a little worried about it. I can see where you might have a real bad situation if you have to go back to scratch.
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Hey, John, thanks a lot! Actually, I've been looking over the possibilities, myself and the only thing I'm confused about is which system works best for anything genealogy-oriented. I'm leaning toward the CD-RW because it can hold a lot more data and the discs are cheaper, but the 250 mg Iomega Zip seems more portable, for trips to research facilities. I have some money set aside for whatever I decide (a gift from my grandfather) but I although I would love to have both options available to me, I don't think it's prudent at this point in time. Decisions, decisions! As far as the extra hard drive, I may have to consider that, but I don't know the first thing about them, and they aren't portable either, are they? I noticed that Hazel wrote in asking for info, too. Hazel, are you getting all of this? Thanks again, John...I wanted to ask someone in the genealogy field before I made a final decision. I will be using Legacy Deluxe in the future I think. Any opinions on that program? It looks a little complicated but a whole lot more thorough than Family Tree Creator Deluxe, so I'm excited to start entering my info, but this time I want to have my back up system set up and ready "before" I enter it. I'll probably go with the CD-RW, if it's reliable and efficient enough for something as important to me as my genealogy data. Thank you again.
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One solution would be a portable CD-RW. These are a little more expensive, say $300, but can be plugged into a USB port . This would let you move it from your desktop to your laptop and carry the whole thing with you. The software that comes with it lets it be used like a floppy only vary much larger.
I have not used Legacy although I think it is the basis for Personal Ancestral File that LDS gives away free. I am currently using The Master Genealogist and I have Family Tree Maker installed on my machine. I use FTM for special projects, for instance, if I don't know whether a family fits in my lines I will park it in FTM until I get ready to out it in the main database. I started with Roots and went through the whole move from Roots to Ultimate Family Tree.
If you haven't looked at Personal Ancestral File, I would test it out. (The price is right ;-)
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