>I know this isn't a forum for backup questions but where to go!
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>I run a home office and when I use the backup utility which is standard with win '95 I get more than 100meg which means I have to span zip drives (by the way Iomega were great about swapping out my zip when I got the click of death). However the win'95 backup just crashes out. It also doesn't warn you if there are files on the disk which can be deleted, it just crashes.
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>What do other people use? I've surfed and just found "professional" type of backup information, nothing suitable for me.
>
>Any ideas?
Sarah,

The simple answer is to use the backup software that comes with the ZIP drive. It won't blow up when you need to span ZIP packs. I believe (not sure) that you can get this from the Iomega web site (www.iomega.com) if you don't have your Tools pack.

If you're looking for more robust software, consider Seagate Backup or Norton Backup or some other third-party utility.

As far as HOW to back up, since I'm a developer, I'm a bit more paranoid/anal than the average home office user <g>, but here's what I do:

I keep Win95 (or NT) and all related utilities on the C drive by themselves, and I back it up every time I load a new service pack or system utility. I keep all my canned software on a large D partition (a separate 6.4GB drive, actually) and I back it up every time I load a new canned application. All my non-development data (Word files, billing application data, my company accounting, etc.) is in the E partition, and I back that up daily at minimum, sometimes more often if I'm doing a lot of critical work like year-end accounting and the like.

By the way, I make TWO backups of everything I've just mentioned...one stays on site, and one is placed in a fireproof safe off site.

Each one of my clients has one (or more) ZIP or JAZ packs (I have both drives internally in my main box) that hold their development efforts, and when I'm working on their projects, I back them up every eight hours on a three-pack ROTATING basis (Working, Backup 1, Backup 2, Backup 3). I also make an off-site backup of every client's Working pack(s) once a week.

Costs me a bit more in ZIP and JAZ packs, but I seldom lose any work. If I do, it's only a few hours' worth at most, and I can (usually) remember what I did.

Evan Pauley