DIY: What files should I back up?

Are you finally backing up your system? Here is a list of files you should consider.

You may think of additional files you'll want to back up, so it's a good idea to think about it and make a list before you start. This article applies to Windows XP users.

Summary Of Files To Back Up:

Internet connection information Internet URLs E-mail folders and address books trillian/ICQ contacts And logs Documents, music, videos, etc

Updates and patches Shortcuts or scripts Programming files Start menu organisation Application information

Internet connection information. The first thing that you'll want to take note of in the Internet connection category is your ISP's phone number if you are using a 56K modem. Open the Network Connections folder from the Windows Start. You can then right-click on your ISP connection, and select Properties from the shortcut menu. You can then copy down the telephone number in the connection's dialog box.

The next things that you may want to take note of are your IP numbers. If your ISP requires you to use specific IP numbers, you'll find them by double clicking your ISP connection in the Network Connections window or by clicking the LAN icon in the notification area on the bottom right of your screen. Click the Support tab and you can write down all the TCP/IP Settings numbers that you find on the page.

Instead of writing down the information, you can take a screen capture of each dialog box. To do so, you simply open the desired dialog box and press PrintScreen. Then launch Paint, pull down the Edit menu and select Paste. In a couple of seconds, Paint will display a copy of the dialog box. At this point, you can pull down the File menu and click the Print command. You'll then have a printed record of the information.

Internet URLs. In addition to your connection information, chances are that you want to save your Web site shortcuts or URLs. For example, if you're using Internet Explorer, you'll find the URLs in the C:\Documents and Settings\CNETAU\Favorites folder (assuming that your user name is CNETAU). Simply back up the entire Favorites folder to tape or floppy disk.

If you're using another browser or operating system, check with your documentation to find out where and how your URLs are stored. Then, back them up.

E-mail folders and address books. If you want to keep your address book and e-mail folders intact, you'll need to back up the corresponding files. For example, if you're using Outlook Express, you'll track down your address book by using Find to search for a file with the extension WAB. You'll then track down your e-mail folders by using Find to search for a folder called Mail. This folder contains all your e-mail folders as well as links to any newsgroups that you subscribe to.

If you're using another e-mail program, check with your documentation to find out where the files containing your e-mail folders and address book are stored. Then, back them up.

Trillian/ICQ contacts and logs. If you are a hardcore instant messaging person, you may want to store a database of your buddies and back up all the exchanges you've had with your colleagues, friends or enemies (either to treasure or to keep as evidence of what a friend may have promised but did not do). Go to C:\Program Files\Trillian\users\default and store Buddies.xml and the Logs folder.

For ICQ, your contact list and history logs are can be found at C:\Program Files\ICQ\200Xz (where X is the number and z is the letter of your particular version). Back up your contact list by making a copy of this database folder related to the version of ICQ you use.

Documents, music, videos, pictures, icons, WAV files. Ensure that you back up all your favourite songs, movies, pictures and essential documents right away ya? You don't want to cry after hours and hours of working on an article you have been writing only to forget to transfer the file. The same applies to the hours spent downloading music and videos or taking those pictures when you were on holiday, cool icons and WAV files. That way, you'll be able to restore your customised user interface to current form easily.

Updates and patches. If you've downloaded any updates or patches to your operating system or to your applications, you'll want to make sure that you back up those files individually. That way you can easily update without having to download the updates or patches again.

Shortcuts or scripts. If you've created any special shortcuts or script files, you'll want to track them down and back them up. Doing so will save you from having to recreate them from scratch.

Programming files If you are a programmer, DO NOT forget to backup up all those files with .java or .vb extensions if you are a Java or Visual Basic person. The same applies to others such as Flash or SQL files too. After those countless late nights spent at the computer, don't spend even more time coding them again.

Start menu organisation. If you've spent a lot of time customising and organising your Start menu's structure, youwon't want to have to recreate it from scratch. Take a few moments to write down the names and sketch the menus organisation. You can also take note of your customisation settings for Taskbar and Start Menu options by right-clicking on an empty area in your Start menu and selecting Properties.

Application information. If you're using Microsoft Office or some other application suite, you should also backup any templates, macros, or other customised items that you don't want to have to recreate. For example, suppose that you're using Word and you've created a lot of macros that help you to quickly an easily produce your documents. You'll find most of your macros stored in Word's templates. By default, macros are stored in the Normal.dot template. If you've created a custom template for your word processing needs, the template also probably has macros stored in it.

If you use and have added personalised entries to the AutoCorrect utility, you'll want to back up the AutoCorrect files as well. To do so, use Find to track down the ACL files on your hard drive. You should be able to find all the ACL files in your Windows folder.

If you're using another office suite with similar functions, you'll need to refer to your documentation for more information on which files you need to back up. Don't forget to check the company's Web site if you don't find the information in the documentation.