Backups - Nightly

I recommend that each night, or at least, at close-of-business, you run the three-line batch file, enter your password, and let the backup take place while you file paper documents or clean your teeth.

TrueCrypt will begin copying files from your hard drive to your external drive.

Nightly backup runs will usually take about five minutes, tops, the exception being if Windows has downloaded and installed a slew of fixes to itself.

My full procedure is as follows:

1: Close all applications (to make sure that no half-completed documents are hanging in the air)

2: Retrieve the external drive from the fire-proof safe in the other room (see below).

3: Plug in, power on.

4: Execute the batch file.

5: Wait

6: When the batch file DOS window disappears, power off, plug out

7: Return the external drive to the fire-proof safe in the other room.

What is a Fire-Proof Safe, and Why is it in the Other Room?

A fire-proof safe can be a one-foot-cube metal insulated box that you buy at your local office supply store, or it can be as simple as a drawer in a chest of cabinets, or a shelf in a closet with a door.

A closed-door closet may well provide enough insulation to avoid harm to your external drive in the time it takes the fire crews to knock down the fire.

Resist the temptation to keep your external drive anywhere near your computer.

The day will come when you do something REALLY STUPID.

You need the extra couple of minutes it takes to retrieve your external drive to consider this:

"If I've just done something Really Stupid, and I capable of doing something else Really Stupid with my only backup copy".

The answer is always YES.

So go for a walk, make a cup of tea, phone a friend, anything, until your mind has settled down.

How do I know it is worth doing it this way?

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