About Backups; Before You Back Up - Symantec GHOST 14 Manual

About backups

Before you back up

When the backup is complete
When you back up your computer, you choose from two types of backups:
drive-based backup: backs up an entire hard drive
file and folder backup: backs up only the files and folders you select
Which backup type you choose depends on what you are trying to protect and
how much storage space you have to store backup data (recovery points, and file
and folder backup data).
The following table highlights the key uses of each backup type:
Backup type
Drive-based backup
File and folder backup
Consider these best practices before defining and running your first backup:
Schedule backups when you know
your computer will be turned on.
Use a secondary hard disk as your
backup destination.
Use to
Back up and recover your computer (system drive, typically
drive C)
Back up and recover a specific hard drive (any secondary
drive, drives other than your system drive)
Recover lost or damaged files or folders using recovery
points
Back up and recover specific files and folders, such as
personal files stored in the My Documents folder
Back up and recover files of a specific type, such as music
(.mp3, .wav) or photographs (.jpg, .bmp)
Your computer must be turned on and Windows must
be running at the time a backup occurs. If not, any
scheduled backups are skipped until the computer is
turned on again. You then are prompted to run the
missed backup.
See "Choosing a backup type"
You should store recovery points on a hard disk other
than your primary hard disk C. This practice helps
ensure that you can recover your system in the event
that your primary hard disk fails.
See "About selecting a backup destination "
Best practices for backing up your data
Best practices for backing up
on page 48.
49
on page 54.