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Hi All.

In the quiet reflection after a complete DISASTER, the best you can do is try to warn others, so...

One thing to say - sort your backup restore strategy NOW! In the panic after a hard reset you will get it wrong, and you will loose all your data, like I did, and you will be very very sick. (actually I got some back, but not the really important stuff)

1. Think VERY VERY hard before you do a hard reset - it really is the very last resort.

2. Copy your user folder tree to a safe place BEFORE you start trying to make a restore.

3. Read the instructions for any backup apps (e.g. backupbuddy) BEFORE starting a restore.

4. Double check your conduit settings BEFORE doing a restore. If in doubt, set conduits to do NOTHING so you can work on one thing at a time.

5. Don't Panic - try to stay calm and focus on the logic of what you are doing.

6. If the whole idea of PC's and critical data gives you the willies, then buy the Backup Springboard and save yourself a lot of grief.

Well, that has been a wee bit cathartic.

Dave

It's also helpfull if you back up your backup files (as well as all of your data files) on your PC to another medium. That saved me from a incorrect Palm restore a while back.

While we're on the subject, everyone knows how important it is to do regular backup of data but few actually do it on their home PC's. If you've been putting if off, here's a relatively inexpensive and easy way to do it. CD-WR drives are getting very cheap these days; I just saw an HP 4x4x24 at Costco for about $150. Rewritable media is about $5 and stores 650mb. CD-R's are about a buck. The HP comes with software that lets you schedule backups anytime. My backup runs every night at 3am. I've been using the same media in mine for almost 2 years and have yet to run out of space. Try to keep all of your data files in a directory below 'My Documents' to make backups easier.
The benefit to a CD-WR drive over a zip is that now you also have a method to copy cd's and the media is cheaper.

Sorry for digressing, but if you haven't experienced a hard drive failure don't worry, you will.

In support of CD-Rs for backup.

You can get a spindle of 50 discs for around $20-$30 these days (with rebate). That can be around $0.40 per disc. You don't have jewel cases with them, but for backups you don't really need them. You could also buy a multi-cd holder and keep a huge archive in a pretty small space.

Save yourself all the trouble. For $30, you can buy the Handspring backup module. One touch backup, one touch restoration. What else do you need?

I agree 100% BUY the backup module. It only takes less than 10 seconds to back/restore. Also some apps don't have a PC interface. Then your really screwed if disaster srtikes.

I agree about the backup module. Anyone who has ever tried to restore data from the PC after a hard reset knows that what you get from the PC is not what you had before the hard reset or other crash. This happened to me once, and the backup module saved me. I also back up my databases on the flash module.