Thanks, John

Dear John,

There are many programs out there that can backup your hard drive, the best program depends on what your backup objectives are.

I use a couple of programs, first, I use carbonite online backup. It automatically backs my documents up to their secure online server. Once I have installed Carbonite, I don’t have to think of it again. A little green dot on the files and folders that I have selected for backup is there to remind me that my files are being protected. Any time that I add a file to one of my protected folders, or make changes to a file that is already backed up, the file is automatically backed up again. You can download a free trial of carbonite here:

I also use a program called Roxio Creator 2010 to create backup copies of my documents. The thing that I absolutely love about the new version of Roxio Creator is that I can select one or more folders that I want to backup, and Roxio will tell me how many discs I need for the backup and will automatically burn several discs. Other DVD burning programs only tell you when you have too many files for one disc, and it is up to you to remove the excess. You will find Roxio Creator 2010 here:

When I backup to an external hard drive, I prefer to use Windows Explorer to drag the folders that I want to save from my hard drive to the external hard drive. What I usually do, is open on window with the folders on the external drive, and another folder with the contents of my hard drive. I arrange the windows so that both are visible, then drag from one to the other.

If your goal is to create an image of your entire hard drive, (not just your documents) on the external hard drive, you would need a program like Roxio’s Back On Track (which is included in Roxio Creator 2010)

You can create a disaster recovery disk set that you can use to return your computer to exactly the way it was when you created the set. This is very helpful if your hard drive has failed. The recovery can also be created on an external hard drive, but you will need to create one disc that you would need to boot the computer in the event of a hard drive failure.

Elizabeth

Wanda

Dear Wanda,

Does your embroidery machine use floppy disks? If so, then in addition to storing your designs on a CD disk for backup and storage (floppy disks do fail fairly frequently) you will need a floppy drive for loading designs to use in your machine.

Since new computers very rarely come with floppy drives any more, you will probably need to purchase a USB floppy drive. This is a small little drive that works simply by plugging it into a USB port on your computer.

Once you have a USB floppy drive connected to your computer, insert a floppy from your machine and click on “Start” and then “Computer”

In the “Computer” window, you should see an icon for the floppy drive, double click on that to view the files on the floppy.

Before you put the files on a CD for storage, you will need to put them all together on your hard drive, so make a folder on your desktop for your first floppy. If the floppy is called “Cute Dogs” make a folder on the desktop named, cute dogs. Here is how:

1. right click on a blank spot on your desktop, and point to “New” in the context menu that appears, then click on “Folder”.

2. A new folder will appear on your desktop, type a name for your folder, and press the “enter” key on your keyboard.

Now that you have a window with the contents of your floppy open, and you have a folder for the contents of the floppy on your desktop, simply drag the files and folders from the floppy to the folder.

Repeat with additional floppies.

Once you are done, you can use your favorite CD burning program like Roxio or Nero to put all the folders on a CD.

Elizabeth

It’s Your Turn, what do you think?

Do you have embroidery machine files that you backup? Share your backup tips in the comments box below.

 How To Install Roxio Creator 2009

Roxio Creator is a great program for burning CDs, and creating backups of your photos, music and data, but often, the task of installing such a program is intimidating for the average user. 

This tutorial will walk you through each step of installing Roxio Creator, and in future tutorials, you will learn how to perform basic tasks using Roxio Creator.

Let’s get started installing the program.

1. Insert the Roxio Creator 2009 CD in your CD ROM drive. If your program came on 2 disks, make sure it says, Installation DVD Disc 1.

2. After a few seconds, the CD will spin up and a small “AutoPlay” dialog box will appear asking you what you want to do with the disk. Click on “Run Setup.EXE” to start installing the program as shown here. 

3. Click the “Continue” button if the UAC dialog box appears, and wait while the setup program loads.

4. A setup window will appear. Click “Next” in the first screen. 

5. The license agreement will be displayed, read it carefully and then click the radio button to accept the  terms of the agreement and click the “Next” button. 

6. The next screen allows you to enter your name, organization, and serial number, which is found on the back of your CD case. Enter this information, and click on the “Next” button. 

7. The Install Location screen gives you the default location to install the program. Do not change this location unless you know what you are doing and have a good reason to. All you really need to do here, is click the “Next” button. 

8. You are now ready to install the Roxio Creator 2009 program. Click on the ”Install” button to get started. 

9 Wait while the program insalls, you will be able to watch the progress bar as the setup program works.  Be patient while the program installs, it took almost a half hour on my computer.

10. When the installation is finished, you will see the setup window telling you that the setup wizard has completed successfully. Just click the “Finish” button to close the program, and then click the “Yes” button in the dialog box that appears to restart your computer.

11. When your computer has restarted, you will have an icon for Roxio Creator 2009 Ultimate on your desktop. 

You now have Roxio Creator 2009 installed on your computer. 

In future lessons, we will learn how to use the program.

Elizabeth