Back up data and documents to prevent loss

Luke Espinosa used to gamble with his schoolwork — until his hard drive failed last semester.

With all of his files erased, Espinosa quickly realized the importance of data backup.

Espinosa, a residential computing consultant, explained the advantages and disadvantages of various data backup types during a data question-and-answer session in Morrison Residence Hall on Monday.

Backup methods

Hard drive. Pro: Can back up the entire drive. Cons: Relies on another drive, subject to viruses, can be stolen

Flash drive. Pro: Easy to use. Con: Can be damaged or stolen.

CDs/DVDs. Pro: Makes a copy of data. Con: High risk of scratching.

UNC network space. Pro: Safe and convenient. Con: Small amount of space per student

Flash drives

Espinosa said most students at least use a flash drive to store important papers and presentations.

But he warned that a flash drive is not a perfect solution.

“They can be lost pretty easily, or stolen,” he said.

Despite this minor drawback, he said flash drives are cheap and readily accessible. A two-gigabyte drive can be as inexpensive as $5, he said.

“Those can back up all of your files, like Word documents, because those generally don’t take up that much space at all.”

External hard drives

Many students prefer to use an external hard drive, but Espinosa said such devices are best suited for storing larger amounts of data.

“You don’t specifically need that, but if you want to back up all your music and stuff like that, it’s generally a good idea to have an external hard drive,” he said.

Full data backup

Automated full data backup entails using an online location to store the entire contents of a hard drive. Espinosa recommended Iron Mountain and Mozy.

“It will automatically backup all the files you select everyday. If you have a folder you keep all your stuff in, it will back that up everyday so that you don’t lose any of it,” he said.

Both systems protect all critical data on a secure off-site location, but the drawback is that most systems require a subscription.

UNC’s AFS network

Espinosa’s ideal data backup is UNC’s own AFS network space.

He said AFS offers safe, convenient and free data storage that is automatically backed up nightly.

“Everyone actually has a space allocated to them,” he said. “Undergrads have 100 megabytes of free space.”

While there is not enough room for large amounts of information, the AFS system offers enough space to store the most important of files.

“It ultimately just comes down to whatever works best for you,” he said. “There’s no right or wrong way to do it, as long as you do back it up.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.