When backups fail

• Posted: January 21, 2008
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• Author: Chris Murphy
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• Filed under: General, Grrr, Writing
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• Tags: Backups, Creative Professionals, Offsite Backup, Storage, Subversion, Version Control, Writers

As a writer I think one of the last things on my mind are either version control and backups. I write and I'm done, I file it away somewhere I can recall quickly when inspiration strikes -- all well and good until my storage device decides to up and die on me. This happened recently and I am currently left with two choices: use an expensive data recovery service (with no guarantees), or walk away and chalk this up to a lesson learned.

In brief: my external storage device failed.

This is not a good thing considering I the external drive was both my external storage and "backup" device. I use the term "backup" loosely as I don’t actually have a consistent backup policy. You would think I would have a policy considering I’m quite diligent about backups and redundancy for my professional work. But I don’t.

So now I am left with the dilemma of choosing between a very expensive data recovery service of which there is only a marginal chance of retrieving any of my data intact, or walking away from this small catastrophe and chalking it all up to a lesson learned. This is not enjoyable at all.

While I have yet to come to a resolution on that particular dilemma, I thought I might take a little time to expound (a little) on the benefits of developing a backup and redundancy policy. This is just a fancy way of me trying to encourage other writers to take the time to backup their work and ensure it is somewhere relatively safe.

So first off let’s consider offsite storage:

Don’t take your work for granted. If you’re a writer, a creative professional, or just have work that you do in your spare time which you value — don’t take it for granted that where you store your files locally is ever safe. As experience has recently taught me, anything can happen. In my case it was a simple mistake of plugging in the wrong power adapter to my external hard drive. I can only imagine other scenarios where data might be lost through carelessness, neglect, or by accident/design.

Second, if you value your work or value the time you invest into your work, consider investing a little bit of cash into offsite (typically online) data storage. Here is a brief list of services which others have recommended and which I am currently investigating (descriptions lifted from their sites):

1. SyncToy by MicroSoft - a free PowerToy that provides an easy to use, highly customizable program that helps users to do the heavy lifting involved with the copying, moving, and synchronization of different directories. Most common operations can be performed with just a few clicks of the mouse, and additional customization is available without added complexity.
2. Mozy - a simple and safe way to back up all the important stuff on your computer. A copy of your data is stored in a secure, remote location for safekeeping, so that in the event of disaster your data is still retrievable.
3. XDrive - the best alternative to other storage devices. Get easy backup and more secure storage with protection for your precious files. And all of this without the worry of losing or damaging a piece of hardware.

Caveat emptor: As always, be sure to read the EULA (end user licence agreement) or the terms of service and privacy policy before agreeing to use any online service. This is important as you need to ensure the rights of your work remain yours while sitting on some remote server. Understand what you or the service provider are responsible for and work accordingly.

Let’s also consider a version control system:

For those who do not get that warm and fuzzy feeling about offline storage services, you may want to consider developing your own backup service. This isn’t particularly easy — as most things to do with backup — but it is not impossible and in the long run, this will go a long way to developing a better sense of security when it comes to your work.

Here’s what you may want to consider when developing a personalized backup system:

A hosting package: The monthly cost of hosting is minimal these days and you can get away with setting up a decent hosting package for the price of a Starbucks Latté and cookie (not including initial setup fees). Here are a couple hosting providers that I have dealt with in the past:

• BlueHost.com
• DreamHost.com

A version control system: Okay, I know I’m on shaky ground here and many of you might be thinking this is overkill or way too technical for you — to be honest, you may be right. But this might also be exactly what you might need.

A version control system like "Subversion" is used by developers (and creative professionals), to create incremental versions of files they are currently working on. The most typical use is for code files (HTML, CSS, PHP, etc,). But this does not preclude you from using the system for other files (images, text, word docs, etc,). The beauty of a version control system is that is is both offsite and automatically creates versions for you. Not only that, but with most version control systems you can roll-back to earlier versions of a file (or group of files).

Developer services: setting up a version control system is not as easy as installing software on your computer, but in most cases you can hire the services of a local developer or alternately ask your service provider to help you set it up. Connecting with the system may require you to install a client, but once you get those components set up (and with some basic training), you should have little problem with backing up your files.

Things to consider

Though I’ve discussed — in general — a couple methods for backing up your files and handling version control, it is nothing without diligence. The lack of diligence is what landed me in this pickle in the first place, and I should know better consider the work I do professionally. It is not an easy thing to develop new habits, but if you are serious about protecting the integrity of your work, it is time well spent. I won’t go into detail about how you should accomplish this — that is up to you — but I can tell you that even if you haven’t lost work recently, you should consider it a dangerous probability. In the end, there are no true guarantees with ephemeral things such as digital files, but you can work to ensure that you minimize the risk of loss or damage.

Further reading

Matt Jadud discusses the topic of backups at length on his blog, which covers some of the more complex issues surrounding backups than I am disposed to exploring at this moment. Most of this was written a few years ago, but the principles there are still valuable.

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