Performing Backups You can back up a computer in several ways. The two major backup types are DATA backups and MASTER backups. Data backups are used to back up only program data-information that is used and changed daily in business. Examples are customers, and movie information. Master backups are used to back up everything on your computer system. Most people perform a Master backup once every 6 months, and keep that backup off site (in case of fire). Data backups are performed daily. The reason that Data backups and not Master backups, are performed daily, is simply a matter of the time required to do so. If you use a Tape backup system, you may wish to do a Master backup daily, because tape systems are much faster and hold more information than floppy disks. (An average tape drive holds 120 MB of information where a floppy disk will not hold more than 1.44 MB.) AGED backups are very important when you have information that is critical to your business. Running a video store requires movies and customer information, so it is important to protect that information. Aged backups help insure that you will always have a good copy of your backups. Note Floppy disks and tape cartridges are just like video cassettes: they wear out. So test your backup system periodically to insure that they are working. Aged Backups The best method of AGED backups (that we are aware of) works in this manner (if you are open 7 days a week): ( 1 set of disks for each day (therefore you would have 6 sets of disks for Monday through Saturday). ( 4 sets of disks for Sunday labeled set #1 - #4 (therefore you would 4 sets for one day-Sunday). ( 1 set of disks for each month (therefore you would have 12 sets for one year). Each day of the week, use the disk labeled for that day. For example, when you do a backup on Tuesdays, use the disk(s) labeled Tuesday. On Sunday, use the set of disks labeled Sunday that is labeled with the number (#) for that Sunday in the month. For example, when you do a backup on the third Sunday in August, use the disks labeled Sunday Set #3. Once a month, do an extra backup, and take it home. Label these disks for the month they are being used. For example, label them January, February etc. It may seem like this requires a large number of disks, but ask yourself these questions to evaluate their worth: ( "How much is my business worth to me?" ( "Is it more cost effective to spend $100 on disks or tapes and avoid re-keying everything back into the computer in the event of data loss?" ( "If my computer system was taken away from me right now, how would that affect my business?" Consider re-entering 5000 movies, then 5000 customers, then all the transactions that you have done in the last week, or for the last month so your financial history is correct. It is a LOT of work. I have had many people call me who have suffered a major system crash. They are, of course, distraught that they cannot use their computers. Then they discover that their most current backup is over a month old, or that their backups do not contain any information. The most current such crash was estimated by the owner to have cost their business in excess of $25,000 due to labour costs, lost business, repairs, and other miscellaneous expenses. It is also very important that at least once every 4 months you make certain that the information you are backing up IS BEING BACKED UP! Many people have faithfully backed up every day only to find out that one of their floppy disks is bad, or their tape cartridge is bad. It is a disappointing moment. To help avoid such problems, buy name-brand floppies or tapes and check them regularly. In the end, Aged backups cannot guarantee 100% that you will have everything covered-to make that claim would be misleading. However, aged backups give you a far better chance of losing the least amount of information when you have a serious catastrophe. The choice is yours. I also strongly recommend that you or a computer company perform preventative maintenance on your computer system. Dust build-up and normal oxidation of internal components can cause serious trouble down the road. Half-an-hour every 2-3 months helps keep your system running optimally. Testing Backups Performing daily backups, master backups, incremental backups, or any other type of backup, are forms of insurance. You are insuring yourself against the eventuality of a computer component failure and subsequent data loss. But it is important to note that performing backups do not guarantee that those backups are valid. Backup media (tapes, disks etc.) and backup devices (tape drives, floppy drives, etc.) are prone to problems similar to any other mechanical device. Therefore, backup systems need to be tested at least once every 2 to 3 months. And backup systems need to be properly maintained every 3 to 6 months, depending on the environment. To properly test a backup system you must restore information, and verify the integrity of the information. For Rapid Rental, try restoring your data to a different directory, for example a directory called test. Run Rapid Rental in this directory, and check your customers, movies, and transaction information to see if it looks correct. To set up the test 1 Exit to DOS. 2 Create a new directory, if necessary. For example, make a directory named test by typing in md\test and pressing ENTER. 3 Change to your test directory by typing cd\test and pressing ENTER. 4 Copy the video program files, and the PKZIP files to the new test directory, by typing copy \video\video.* and pressing ENTER, then by typing copy \video\pk*.* and pressing ENTER. 5 Type dir and press ENTER to verify that the following files are now in the directory: VIDEO.EXE, VIDEO.OVR, VIDEO.HLP, PKZIP.EXE, and PKUNZIP.EXE. Note You may find several additional files in the directory, but these are unimportant. 6 Follow the restore commands listed in the above sections, for your type of backup. 7 Run the Rapid Rental program to verify that the information is correct. 8 After you have verified that the information, and therefore the backup, is correct, you can delete the test directory by returning to DOS. Return to DOS, type cd\ and press ENTER. 9 Type del test and press ENTER. 10 DOS will prompt you to confirm that you want to delete all the files in the directory. Type y and press ENTER to delete the files in the test directory. 11 Type rd test and press ENTER to remove the directory. Without proper testing you will not know until it is too late, whether or not your backups are working. T.V.L. has witnessed many people losing all of their information because they did not know that the backups they were performing were not working because they had equipment problems. If you need assistance with the above procedure for testing backups, please call your local hardware technician. Spending the half-an-hour once every 2 to 3 months is a small investment to help prevent a catastrophe. How to Perform Master Backups To perform a master backup (which should be done once every 3 - 6 months) using the PKZIP program: 1 Exit to DOS. 2 In the \VIDEO directory type pkzip -&uv -rP a:\master.zip c:\*.* and press ENTER. This line must be exactly as you see it here. The options that you can change are: ( In the -&uv section you can remove the letter u if you do not wish the program to format the floppies. ( The a:\ can be changed to b:\ if you use your floppy disk drive B. ( The c:\ can be changed to the appropriate network drive letter if you use a network. Please note that the backup will continue until the entire system is backed up. Be sure to have plenty of floppy disks available and plenty of time. TVL Technical Support 2 Performing Backups Performing Backups