If your computer crashed right now...

Where would your data be? I ask this as I sit at my computer ready to bang my head on the screen. I did a major update to my development system, rebooted and crash. I have a very nice doorstop. The good news is I've done some backup. The bad news is not enough. I forgot to sync my latest changes before the update. I also forgot to take a recent snapshot of my system so now I'll be reinstalling half the programs again. I really should have know better.

So what should you do in case your system dies?

1. Back up everything you care about, frequently. It should be to a separate medium not attached to your computer. Preferably in a separate building or even a separate state. Mandatory if you live somewhere prone to natural disasters.


2. Use source control for development. If you've never used it source control will keep track of your changes to a document over time. Every time you check in your changes it will save a snapshot of the documents current state. If you your computer crashes, you accidentally delete your document, or just decide you hate your latest changes you can revert back to an earlier version. If you set up your source control on a different computer then you have a backup of what ever project you are working on. This is useful for programming, web design, or any project where you will be making a lot of changes over time. I'm currently using cvs since it's free and I can store the main source repository on a computer I share with friends.


3. Create a system restore kit. If your system is dead the last thing you want to be doing is tearing through your office closet looking for your OS install disk. You should have collected in one spot everything you need to completely reinstall your system at a moments notice. In a best case scenario you have fancy (expensive) backup equipment that lets you take a complete snapshot of your system. System dies you take your last snapshot and restore it to working order. Since most of us can't afford corporate backup systems the next best thing is keeping all your install cds in one place. Create a backup cd of any software you downloaded off the net. You never know when the version you downloaded two years ago will no longer be available. Include your latest backup of data and finally write a list of all the steps you need to take for a full system restore. If you're not sure write as much as you can. Better to struggle with it now, then when you are trying to recover from a crisis.
4. Use VMware and its snapshot features. Do you wish you had the fancy corporate backup tools I just mentioned, the ability to restore a system by simply saying restore? How about a few extra test servers without paying for them? Does it sound to good to be true? Not with VMware Workstation. It's a program that creates virtual machines on an existing machine. At anytime you can create a snapshot of the virtual system and save it as an instant backup. I'm typing this blog on a windows box while my virtual linux machine is downloading updates in the background, one piece of hardware with two operating systems. I reinstalled it by restoring an old snapshot. If I'd had a recent one I wouldn't even need to download the updates. However there is a cost. The systems are sharing the same resources. My system is a few years old so it slows to a crawl if I start Outlook at the same time. I probably couldn't run more then one virtual machine at a time. However one is better then the 0 test systems I had before.
5. Follow Through! This is where I should follow my own advice. A backup is useless if you don't do two things. First, test your backup. I can remember at least one case of a fancy corporate backup system that recorded a whole bunch of nothing. This was discovered the first time someone needed the data. Second, keep your backup up to date. Let me repeat so I remember myself. Keep your backup up to date. Maybe I should make myself write that 20 times on a blackboard. Now excuse me while I go spend the next couple hours rebuilding a system that I could already have up and running.