The Data

If the amount of data to be backed up is large, certain options would not be viable. For example CD media can store less than 1 GB of data. Having to sit near a computer swapping countless disks will ensure that the first backup taken will probably be the last one.

Depending on the data, you can sometimes reduce its size by more than 50% by compressing it. Not all data compresses at the same rate. For example music, video and certain image files are natively compressed and will therefore not reduce in size much further. On an average mix of files, you should be able to expect around 33% reduction. By compressing files you might save a couple of media disks and the time necessary to write them.  The downside of compressing data is that if one of the media disks fails, you might not be able to access the content held on the other disks.

The media

Optical Backup Media

• CD-R and CD-RW. These store less than a GB of data.
• DVD-R and DVD-RW. Can store 4.7GB of data.
• DVD-R and DVD-RW (DL). The media can store 8.7GB.
• Blu-ray BD-R and BD-RE media can store 25GB of data.

The media described are either write once or rewritable.  The advantage of using CD and DVD—and in the future Blu-ray—media is that the backups are readable on drives by other manufacturers and on other systems. While write once media is cheaper than the rewritable equivalent, unless you need to archive data, in the medium term, backups on rewritable disks proove to be considerably cheaper than their write once equivalents. If you need to archive data, research the longivity of the media you want to write your archive data to.

USB flash memory solutions

Today one can find 64GB and greater USB drives for what one can consider a reasonable price. Like most of the media discussed above, the universal adoption of the USB standard makes it easy to read data created on one computer on others. Another advantage of flash memory over optical media is that flash memory is thousands of times faster than optical media.

Removable hard drives

This solution allows one to back up data running into the terabytes.  Slower than flash memory, faster than optical media and bulkier than both, Removable hard drives store data on a magnetic stratum residing on a moving platter. Although today manufacturers are quoting that a drive’s average lifetime topples the 100 years, many studies are pointing out that failure rates are several times higher than reported by drive companies and therefore the figures being quoted should not be trusted. Another issue with removal hard drives is that these are susceptible to data corruption as a result of magnetic interference much more than the media mentioned earlier.

Tapes and other “specialised” backup media

Large companies/government bodies are normally the primary customers of these solutions.  This is because tape based solutions—enhanced further through the use of hardware such as tape loaders—allow organisations to backup data that runs into the hundreds of terabytes without any human intervention. For SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) as well as home users, tape is no longer a cost effective and viable storage solution.  This is because it is no longer the cheapest solution; it can be propriety; you will not find a tape drive on the computer at the next desk; being a sequential device it is slow to retrieve selected files and tape life is quite short compared to the other media.

Remote backups

This form of backup is unique in that the data is replicated to a physically different machine. While this could be the computer 1 metre to your right, it normally is a computer that is out of sight. Therefore if your office burns down or is destroyed after a storm causes havoc, you will not be looking through the charred remains for what was originally a USB stick. Remote backups are the least work because the solution can technically be designed so that you do not even have to remember to take a backup.

Whatever solution you opt for, do backup your data before you realise how much your data is worth.

Nevertheless, SMBs and households should not forget to backup their data locally first and then use a remote storage location as a second means of protection - my advice is:

1. To perform regular Data backups locally, on some reliable and inexpensive media but most importantly is to use a different storage media other than the local drive.
2. Then move/archive this data off-site – again using a reliable, secure and economical solution

I have come across a couple of online backup providers that lack comprehensive management tools. When I say comprehensive I mean ample features that allow end users to monitor the backup/restore process and check for errors, costs and edit account details.

Such as, a user-friendly Web-based GUI (graphical user interface) that provides the following information:

1. That shows and logs the successful completion of backup and restore jobs
2. For failed jobs one should be able to view a brief but complete explanation of what went wrong in plain English and not a series of error codes
3. That shows the storage space consumed and the remaining space if the account is limited by space quota. Graphical statistics would give a good overview such as, usage per day, month, etc
4. Timestamps for the backed up data that will help the end user identify the right data in case a data recovery is needed
5. A section (tab) with all the billing and payment details without disclosing any critical information
6. A personal account section where one can change passwords, email address, quota settings if any and other account related settings.

Backing up the data file

The folk who decided on the default location of the Outlook data file chose a location that is difficult to figure out.  Also when installing Outlook (or when running it for the first time) there is no way to specify a different folder.

Changing the default location

The first thing I am going to demonstrate in this tutorial is how to move your existing Outlook files to a more humane location under the Windows 7 Documents (or Windows XP My Documents) folders.

Open Outlook which I am assuming you are already running.

1. Right click on the Personal Folders entry (1) and choose the option Properties for ‘Personal Folders’ from the short cut menu that comes up. If your folder has a different name, Personal Folders will be called differently.
2. A dialog box titled Outlook Today – (Personal Folders) Properties comes up. Click on the Advanced… button (2).
3. This brings up yet another dialog box titled Personal Folders. The Filename: entry (3) depicts the location of where your Outlook data file currently resides.
4. Copy the directory location from the Filename: entry and paste it into a Windows Explorer window.
5. Click OK on all the dialog boxes you have just opened and shut down Outlook.
6. Move the folder that contains the Outlook files to a more appropriate location. I would suggest under %USERPROFILE%\Documents if you’re using Windows 7 and %USERPROFILE%\My Documents if you’re still happily using Windows XP.

Click on the Microsoft Outlook 2007 icon to run the program. Since you have moved the original location of the data file, you will get a message box telling you that Outlook can no longer find the pst file in its original location (1).

Clicking OK on the dialog box brings up a file selection screen that allows you to specify the new location where you had shifted your Outlook data files. Move to the new location, click on the pst file and hit the Open Button (2).

Another message box comes up to tell you that Outlook must be restarted. OK that.

The second time onwards Microsoft Outlook 2007 will automatically find your files no questions asked. And the directory where all your important emails reside is now in an easy to find location in your Documents folder together with all your other important stuff.

Backing up the registry

Microsoft Outlook retains your email account settings within the registry. This means that when the time comes to reinstall your computer, unless you have saved your registry Outlook settings you will have to re-enter all the email accounts you process using Outlook 2007. If you happen to have a single Gmail account this might not be that much of a problem (provided you still remember how to do it) but if, like me, you have almost a dozen email accounts flowing into your Outlook remembering each mailbox’s parameters can be time consuming.

A word of warning about handling the registry: unlike many programs, the registry program does not have an undo or an undelete option and changes go into effect immediately. If you delete a file by mistake you can pull it out of limbo by visiting the Recycle Bin. If you screw up a document, pressing undo will take you back one action at a time until you reach the stage before the oops or, if necessary, you can abandon all changes done during that session simply by not saving the updated document. None of this exists in the registry so be cautious.

In Windows 7, type regedit in the Search Programs and Files to run the registry program. With Windows XP, type the same command in the Run… box. Both options can be accessed from the Start Menu. Windows 7 will bring up a dialog box asking you to confirm your action. You should say yes in order to run the program.

Navigate to the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Windows Messaging Subsystem\Profiles (1). Each profile you have defined will appear under this key. In my case there is one profile called Outlook.

Right click on Outlook and choose the option Export from the menu that comes up. I suggest that you place the registry snippet you are saving in the same location as the Outlook data files. This ensures that all your Microsoft Outlook related data is in one easy-to-backup folder.

End of part 1 – Conclusion

By backing up the folder to an online backup service you can rest assured that whenever something happens to your computer all your emails and the mailbox settings can be retrieved with ease. If you add a new email account or remove one you no longer use, you should export the registry settings again.

When backing up your Outlook data files, Outlook should be shut down.

Although I have not mentioned Windows Vista, the procedure for Windows 7 is almost identical to that of Windows Vista.

Next time I will describe how to use the information you have saved to restore your Microsoft Outlook 2007 in case of corruption. I’ll also throw in how you can use this backed up data when upgrading your computer from Windows XP to Windows 7.

We all appreciate how important emails are to us. Back them up regularly.

External hard drives: An external hard drive can easily be attached to your computer using a USB port. External hard drives can be stored in a location that’s separate from your computer, which can help protect your backup. You need to connect it with your computer every time a data backup is done and is usually slower than internal hard drives.

Writeable CDs or DVDs: CDs and DVDs are relatively inexpensive and are easy to find in stores. Practically, all recent computers have CD/DVD burners installed. You can store the CDs or DVDs in a location that’s separate from your computer. Depending on how much data you have, it might take several CDs or DVDs to hold your backup while CDs or DVDs can become corrupted over time.

USB flash drives: USB flash drives are relatively inexpensive and can hold a fair amount of data. You can store a flash drive in a location that’s separate from your computer. It could fill up quickly as typical sizes are still small.

Network locations: If you have two or more computers connected together, a shared folder or drive on one computer can be a convenient place to save your backup. Ideally, the network share is protected with a username and a password while backup time depend on the network devices’ transfer speeds.

For the most flexibility, my recommendation is to save your backup to an external hard drive :)