Some Thoughts on Backup

I would venture that for most birders who use birding database software, whether a home-grown application on Excel, AviSys, or another brand of listing software, their birding data is the most important data on their computer unless they are also running a business there -- well, that, too, is a matter of priorities.

While I discuss AviSys specifically, below, the concepts apply to any form of birding data.

Through personal experience and in dealings with customers I am discovering a wide variety of CD drive/driver behaviors which make backup sometimes troublesome --- often when AviSys is not involved at all. There seems to be some fundamental flakiness re: CD/DVD operations in many instances of Windows XP and Vista.

For example, I just installed a brand new Dell 9200 desktop with Windows Vista. That system and the embedded CD software often have no idea what's going on. If I use the CD software provided by Dell (or use Windows Explorer) to copy files to a CD-R, after I perform the copy the system often keeps the files in a cache, constantly nagging me that I still have files to burn to the CD -- long after the CD has been removed and successfully used elsewhere.

. . . that's in the cases where the copy operation works. Frequently, it simply doesn't. And the behavior is completely unpredictable.

This has been a big disappointment to me -- these things were supposed to be much better in Vista compared to prior versions of Windows, but I'm not certain they aren't worse.

So, I'm posting this treatise on AviSys backup, to this effect:

If you have a backup process that is working well in your current environment, you are fortunate --- continue to use it.

If backup is troublesome for you, consider backing up to hard drive (any drive or folder you select -- or even your desktop) and then copying (not moving) the resulting .AVZ (Version 6) or .ZIP (Version 4/5) file to some removable media of your choice using Windows Explorer or (My) Computer.

You can also copy your data set folder or your entire AviSys installation to another drive -- use the RIGHT mouse button on the data set folder to select COPY, and then the RIGHT button on the destination drive to select PASTE. (As for which drive? -- see below) You can do that from the left panel to the right panel in the AviSys backup utility, as shown below. For other birding software, use Windows Explorer or (My) Computer.

The following backup media might be of interest to you:

Small capacity SD and CF cards (like the one in your digital camera) are now available for as little as $7.79. Small capacity USB flash (thumb) drives are nearly as cheap - at $8.95 for 1GB!. Any of those is presented in the AviSys backup facility, as well as Windows Explorer/My Computer, as a drive with a drive letter. (If your computer doesn't have an SD or CF drive, USB card drives are available for as little as $8.85.) Prices -- PCConnection

I'm recommending that you purchase three of those cards/drives, keep them in envelopes so you can date them. Make sequential backups -- father, grandfather, great-grandfather -- dating the envelopes, rotating through the cards by using the oldest one for the current backup. And in AviSys Backup, use the option to back up the entire folder.

If you back up entire data set folders, such as C:\AVI6\JOHN, you will get results on your card something like these real examples for data sets of various sizes:

Compare those file sizes to the capacity of your $7.75 256 MB SD card. You can easily back up all your data sets to one card. (Note: Never, ever, try to install AviSys on a SD/CF/Thumb drive.)

In contrast, using CDs for one-time operations is slow and clunky.

Remember, in the end, protecting your valuable data via backup is your responsibility. I can make suggestions and share experiences, but every computer installation is different and you need to find the processes within your particular system that ensure you won't lose your most important data, and then use those processes religiously. Remember, also, that the ultimate backup is to a medium that is taken off-site so that in the event of fire, flood, or theft, your data is still safe in your safe deposit box, at your workplace, or at grandma's house.

If you are concerned about the reliability of SD/CF cards, remember that, while any device can fail, professional photographers commit multi-thousand dollar wedding photography jobs to CF cards. If those cards weren't reliable, they'd be using film! You may feel a little more comfortable purchasing the more familiar brand name cards, such as Sandisk or Lexar, and CF cards are considered more "professional" than SD cards.

Note: the AviSys Version 6 .AVZ backup files in the example above are standard PKZIP format files. They can be opened, and their contents viewed and extracted, with any standard ZIP utility program. If you change the name to a .ZIP extension, the file can be automatically opened by Windows XP or Vista. Of course, the primary use of a .AVZ file is to restore data in AviSys, using the Utilities | Restore Data facility.

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