There are two types of data:

• Data that you create (Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, pictures, etc)
• Programs (Word, Excel, Photoshop, etc) or Operating System files (Windows, System, Library)

There is no need to backup the program files; they can be reinstalled. The important data is in the files that you worked hard to create. You should always have your files in more than one location. A typical backup would be having your files on both your harddrive and a CD or Zip disk.

Organize your data so the backup procedure is quick and efficient:

• Keep all your data together: move all the files and folders/directories you want to backup into My Documents (or a similar folder) on your hard drive.
• Make sure any new files you create are saved in there as well.

Storage
You can store your backup data on personal media or the Williams NetWare servers. Examples of personal media:

• recordable DVDs (DVD-R) - best for archiving (burn and forget)
• recordable CDs (CD-RW or CD-R) - good for archiving (burn and forget)
• external (usb or firewire) hard drives - best for active (daily), best for storage capacity (>10GB)
• USB flash drives - best for portability
• zip disks - good for portability
• floppy disks (not recommended)

NetWare servers provide additional protection, because servers are backed up nightly. However, keep in mind that daily server backups are retained for one month and monthly full backups for one year.

How to use Silverkeeper to back up a Mac to an external harddrive