Data Storage Ideas

Written by Jason Dyck (last updated October 22, 2020)

3

From email to movies, school reports to vacation plans, you keep a lot of important information on your computer. Keeping that data storage safe is an important step to peace of mind. Backing up your PC regularly can prevent you from losing everything in case of a virus, an accident, or a disaster.

One of the key principles is to have multiple backups: You should always have your information backed up in at least two places. Multiple copies help give you a better chance of recovering your data if something goes wrong.

There are two kinds of backup that you can use for your data storage: local backup and remote or off-site backup. I will explain a little about both.

Local backup:

This is the easiest way to get started backing up your data. All you have to do is make a copy of your data on a regular basis and you have already made an improvement in your security and peace of mind. Remember to keep at least one copy in some other physical location, whether it's a safe deposit box or at your neighbor's house. If your home or office burns down, an extra copy sitting on your desk next to the computer is not going to help you any. If you are running Windows Vista or Windows 7, there are applications built-in to help you to create backups of your data easily. In some versions, you can even set up scheduled, automatic backups so that you don't accidentally forget. Whether you use those tools or not, there are several ways you can backup your data storage in your own home or office.

  • CD-RWs and Flash Drives. Especially for work files, or if you move around between computers, having a portable backup of your important files can be very helpful. There is no special equipment of knowledge needed. Every time you save your work, save a copy to your portable media (CD-RW, Flash drive, etc.) as well. These kinds of backups have their limitations—they can easily be lost or broken if you're not careful, and their storage capacity is limited. They are best used for storing a specific portion of your data, such as your school files or photos. If you want to store all of your data in these, you will probably need several.
  • Extra Hard Drive(s). As the price of hard drive storage continues to fall, a backup drive has become much more accessible for most people. The hard drive could be an additional internal drive (inside the same computer) or an external drive connected by a cable. The external option will likely cost a little more, but it gives you some of the same advantages as CDs and Flash drives: the ability to store it in another location, or to take it with you from place to place. If something happens to your home or office, like a fire or flood, having a backup in some other place is vital. Just having the backup in another room provides a little more security for your data storage.
  • Server. If you have a network in your home or office, you might want to set one of the computers on the network as a place to store or backup the data from all your other computers. This is effectively a variation on the extra-hard-drive option. In this case, that hard drive happens to be part of another computer. This gives you a little detachment without necessarily having to buy a new hard drive, if you have the space to spare on one of your computers.

Web storage:

This was once the option of choice for big companies and high rollers. Recently, though, online off-site backup is increasingly becoming an option that everyone can use. There are many services available to choose from; some of the bigger names in the business are Carbonite, Mozy, and SOS. These services will backup the files you choose in their own data storage system. Some are automated, some are not. Shop around a little to find one that meets your needs and your budget.

Author Bio

Jason Dyck

Jason has been a cook, a hotel clerk, a website developer, a landscaper, a dance instructor, a financial auditor, and the list goes on. He holds Associate degrees in English and Social Science. Jason lives in Utah with his wife and two sons. ...

MORE FROM JASON

Garage Storage Ideas

The garage is one of the best storage areas in almost any house. With a little creativity and effort, you can get even ...

Discover More

Changing an Electrical Outlet

Even outlets wear out eventually. Learn how to replace an aging or damaged outlet yourself for a safer, more convenient, ...

Discover More

Cordless, Compact, and Powerful! DeWalt's 18-volt drill-driver kit packs a big punch in a small package, with a powerful high-performance motor tucked away inside a compact design. A great addition to the tool chest of any professional or DIYer! Check out DeWalt 18-Volt Drill/Driver Kit today!

More Organizing Tips

Creating a Clutter Free Office

If you work in an office environment, then chances are you have the dream of creating a clutter free office. After all, ...

Discover More

Organizing Paperwork

Paperwork overwhelms some of the best of us. Hang in there and try these tips so you can get yours under control.

Discover More

De-Cluttering the Office

Maintaining a routine schedule for cleaning out your office will help keep your office clutter under control. Keeping ...

Discover More
Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 8?

2023-07-02 10:30:08

J. Woolley

For more on this subject, see https://excelribbon.tips.net/T007799


2023-03-26 15:31:03

J. Woolley

My Excel Toolbox now includes the LinksToMe macro to identify all workbooks with an external data link referencing the active workbook.
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox


2023-03-18 11:37:56

J. Woolley

The Tip's macro "checks every formula in every used cell of every worksheet of every workbook in a given folder." To make it more efficient, replace the following statements
    For Each cel In ws.UsedRange.Cells
        ...
    Next cel
with these statements
    On Error Resume Next
    For Each cel In ws.UsedRange.SpecialCells(xlCellTypeFormulas)
        ...
    Next cel
    On Error GoTo 0
But to find all workbooks that reference MyBook.xlsx, you don't need to look at formulas for each cell of every worksheet of every workbook. You can look for workbooks that have an external link to MyBook.xlsx instead. Here is a modified version of the Tip's macro that should run faster:

Sub FindWbkReferences()
    Const WorkbookToDelete = "MyBook.xlsx"
    Const FolderPath = "C:\Documents\Excel\"
    Dim fname As String, msg As String, wb As Workbook
    Dim oldAS As Variant, oldCM As Variant, V As Variant, item As Variant
    oldCM = Application.Calculation
    Application.Calculation = xlCalculationManual
    oldAS = Application.AutomationSecurity
    Application.AutomationSecurity = msoAutomationSecurityForceDisable
    Application.ScreenUpdating = False
    fname = Dir(FolderPath & "*.xls?")
    On Error Resume Next
    Do While fname <> ""
        Set wb = Workbooks.Open(FolderPath & fname, _
            UpdateLinks:=0, Password:="")
        If Err Then
            msg = msg & vbNewLine & "could not open " & fname
            Err.Clear
        Else
            V = wb.LinkSources(xlExcelLinks)
            If Not IsEmpty(V) Then
                For Each item In V
                    If InStr(item, WorkbookToDelete) > 0 Then
                        msg = msg & vbNewLine & wb.Name
                        Exit For
                    End If
                Next item
            End If
            wb.Close SaveChanges:=False
        End If
        fname = Dir()
    Loop
    On Error GoTo 0
    Application.ScreenUpdating = True
    Application.AutomationSecurity = oldAS
    Application.Calculation = oldCM
    If msg = "" Then
        msg = "no files referencing " & WorkbookToDelete
    Else
        msg = "files referencing " & WorkbookToDelete & msg
    End If
    MsgBox FolderPath & vbNewLine & msg
End Sub

Replace Const WorkbookToDelete and Const FolderPath with appropriate values. Notice this version checks *.xlsm and *.xlsb as well as *.xlsx workbooks.
In each workbook that references MyBook.xlsx as an external link, you can use My Excel Toolbox's ListExLinks dynamic array function as follows:
=ListExLinks([SkipReference],[SkipHeader])
The result is similar to the Data > Queries & Connections > Edit Links dialog minus its Update column, but ListExLinks optionally adds a Reference column to identify cells that contain a formula referencing the link.
When using pre-2021 versions of Excel without support for dynamic arrays, consider UseSpillArray.pdf.
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox