Back it Up: the Best Way to Save Your Computer`s Information - Floppy Disks (yes, they're still around)
(Page 2 of 4 )
The tried-and-true practice of backing everything up via floppy disk is still in use, though these disks are being phased out of the computing world as a whole. Known as 3 ½" disks, these small, hard disks are what replaced the once-standard (and slightly bigger) floppy disks (these new incarnations even took over the name).
Floppy disks hold little more than 1MG of data at a time, meaning some of your files won't even fit on a disk. This means putting your data into zip files so they can be extracted if you ever want to access your backed up copies - a long and arduous process when all you want to do is save your data. Copying data to floppy disks itself can be a lengthy process - even with a very fast computer, writing to a disk takes time. Also, it will take many, many floppy disks to back up even a seemingly small amount of data.
These 3 ½" disks, however, are still sold and manufactured. They are bought usually in packages for fifteen or twenty dollars a stack. While this price seems very affordable, consider how many disks it takes to back up everything you might have stored on your computer. In the end, the expense (and sheer time) probably isn't worth backing up your data on floppy disks. This outdated technology will soon be harder and harder to find, as well, so this is not a feasible solution for today's computer users.
How to use: Many computers have A drives, which is where you place your floppy disks. If your computer does not have its own A drive already, you can purchase an external A drive which can be connected to your machine.
To back your data up with floppy disks, be certain you have some disks in your possession. Insert each 3 ½" disk into your machine one at a time. When you insert the disk, it will be possible to view the A drive on your computer. Simply copy and paste files you want to save straight into the folder for the A drive.
Floppy disks fill up quickly, and often they can only hold small files rather than large. If you have a very large file you'd like to back up (larger than 1.38MB), you will first have to condense this file so that it will fit. With extremely large files, even this condensing process will not work, but it will serve for some file sizes.
It's likely that your computer already has software which allows you to condense, or zip, files. If it does not, you can download WinZip for free online. This is a very simple program to use. All you have to do is open a window to view the file you want to shrink, then right-click on it (if you're a Windows user). An option saying "Send to..." should appear. Upon clicking this option, you'll be presented with several others. Select "compressed (zipped) folder." Automatically, a zipped-up copy of this file will appear in the same destination as the file itself. Now, you can simply move this compressed file to the A drive.
Next: CD-R and others >>
More Hardware Guides Articles
More By KC Morgan
