Ever have that sinking feeling, waiting for a program to respond and knowing it has crashed and taken all of your hard work with it? Of course, your paper or homework is due the next day. It's midnight and you have to spend all day at work tomorrow in meetings. There won't be any time to try to fix it before class. And even if your instructor accepts late papers, your grade may suffer; at the very least your pride will.
As a former banker, working with electronic funds transfers and other computer operations, I was involved in the early 1980's in preparing "disaster recovery plans," federally-mandated for banks. What I learned from those projects can help students manage their time so that that scenarios like the one above won't happen to you! It takes a few minutes to keep up with your archiving each day. But the time saved in the event of an outage is immeasurable. Case in point, one student I know had a hard drive crash--irrecoverable. She had kept up with her archiving, and had already identified a compatible back-up computer of a friend, so she was able to continue work on her dissertation without stopping.
These steps, added to your routine, will make all the difference when (notice, not "if") you have an equipment or software failure.
It will always happen at the worst possible time. So, develop and test your back-up plan. Find a computer that is compatible to yours, at a friend's or at work. Test by taking your archived files to your back-up computer and making sure they open and you can work on them.
Personally, I am a fan of the three-step archive approach. First, of course, save your work on your hard drive. This is your primary copy and the file you'll work from next time you update. Next, save it to a floppy, Zip-Drive or other storage device. Keep this copy "on-site," somewhere with your computer so it's easy to access if needed. Third, send the file somewhere else! This could be sending it to someone else over e-mail or using file transfer protocol (ftp) to send the file to a central storage area (more below). This one's important in case your crash messes up your floppy, too, or--heaven forbid--you have a fire! Seems like overkill, but it takes little time to make sure. The more important the work, obviously, the more reasonable it is to take all three steps. At the very least, save your work to both your hard drive and a floppy/Zip disk every time you make changes in an important file. If the file is very important, then do step three every time, too. If less important, then once a week may suffice.
Check with your school or place of work to see if file storage space is available and if it can be accesses through your Internet browser or through ftp. If not check some of the on-line services available, such as www.mydocsonline.com. This isn't an endorsement for any one service, but these services are often free (!) and can be accessed through your Internet browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer).
Another trick is to use pkzip or other "zip" software. Using this you can collect several related files together, such as Word and Excel files for one project, and zip them. This is will reduce the file size, so more work can fit on a disk, in addition to putting them in the same file for storage purposes. If sending over the Internet, the smaller file size cuts the transmission time.
Another trick of mine, when using new software, is to test it completely before I need it. I never rely on new software to work right the first time. There's always a learning curve, no matter how many people tell me, "It works great. You won't have any trouble!" So, I make sure I know how it works well in advance of when I need it for my project.
Please feel free to contact me with any suggestions or questions. I'll be happy to post your ideas here.
May the wind always be at your back, and your hard drive never fail you!
Stephen Ball, Associate Professor, Cleary College