Backup Backup Backup Danger Danger!!
Not a month will go by without an email appearing along the lines of "I dropped my laptop out of a moving car and now it's in tiny pieces, how can I get the data back?", or the other slightly more common "I got a virus and it destroyed all my data, how do I get it back?".
After the sympathy, we've all been there, comes the inevitable question, "Did you backup?". The response is either a face full of tears as they shake their head slowly, or a slightly happier question "Of course! How do I restore the backup?!".
Please don't be the one shaking your head and backup your files. If you're like me and always forget then create an automatic backup, so they are backed up every day or week depending on how much data you can afford to lose.
In iMagic Inventory it's quite easy to perform a manual backup, from the menu select File/Backup Database. You can then save the copy of the database on a different PC, or removable device like a USB stick, burn it to a DVD or even better use an online backup service to save the file. (If there is a fire and the backup is destroyed with your PC you'll be in tears.) I personally use http://www.ibackup.com (no affiliation to iMagic), just because they are easy and not that expensive.
iBackup basically creates a new hard drive for you but it's located on their server. So all you need to do is copy the files you want backed up onto it and then you'll have a copy stored remotely. Easy.
How do I restore a backup I've made?
To restore a backup in iMagic Inventory is quite easy, rename the file back to db.mdb and copy it into the Database Folder. To find the Database Folder launch iMagic Inventory and from the menu select Help/About and click "Database...".
A note here! Older versions of iMagic Inventory stored the database folder within the "Program Files" folder (usually "c:\Program Files\ iMagic Inventory"). This was fine on Windows XP and earlier, however if you're using Windows Vista or above (so that includes Windows 7) then Windows doesn't allow you to store files in the "Program Files" folder.
So how does that work? Well what Windows does is create a "Compatibility Folder", which becomes the actual Database Folder. So if you navigate to the Database Folder, then on the toolbar click on the "Compatibility Folder" button and it will take you to the actual Database Folder.
But that's nuts!? Yes, yes it is. In newer installs of iMagic Inventory the Database Folder is elsewhere. If that's the case you just need to copy the db.mdb file to it, much easier.
Scheduling Backups
It's much easier to schedule a backup than manually select File/Backup Database each time. In this case you'd get the PC to remember to backup the files on a regular basis and just report to you if there is a problem.
Windows does have it's own internal "Backup" program, called originally "Windows Backup" and in Windows 7 it's fine. You select the files to backup and choose an external drive. It will then copy the files on a schedule for you. But it can't easily backup to a remote server.
Another option is to backup your entire hard drive, this isn't possible using Windows Backup, you'll need a special program for it. The advantage here is that it will save your installation of Windows and all your installed programs. So in theory you can restore the entire hard drive and not have to worry about reinstalling each application which can take a while.
For this I personally use Acronis True Image http://www.acronis.com/ (no affiliation), then if a hard drive fails then I can restore the entire PC and be back and running in very little time.
The way Acronis works is by making a copy of the entire hard drive (not just a few files). The resulting copy is called an "image" which is just a single file. This can then be copied to an external device as before.
Return to the Article Index for other articles on inventory management and iMagic Inventory.
|
