Data Backup & Restore

Data Backup can be one of the most important, if not THE Most important thing you can do.

Basic Backup Principles are the same no matter what you are applying them to, and backing up your Accounting Data is NO different.

But having a backup is no good if the backup is out of date or corrupted. This is one of the most fundamental mistakes many businesses make.

We have personally seen many businesses make the mistake of backing up at irregular intervals, or maintaining only one backup.

You must ask yourself this question:

If I was to have a pc crash today, will I be in trouble?

If you answer YES, then your priority before you do anything else today should be to Backup your information. Not just the accounting data, but any other files you have about your business which could cause you problems with your business if you lost them.

We have found that many people are scared about this topic. Either they feel that they are tempting fate by putting attention to it, or they just have no idea how to go about it, so they do nothing.

What Do I Do ?

Rather than trying to tell you how you should run your business, let me tell you what I do, and how I manage my backups. You can choose to manage your backups however you want, its your choice.

My Main Pc in my office has 2 separate hard drives. Drive C and D

Once a week I backup all my Data from Drive C to my other hard drive. I copy the contents of "My Documents" Folder and perform the accounting backup using the facility provided (as these files are not contained in the My Documents Folder)

If my pc crashes I have all my data backed up to the other drive.

But I don't stop there... Because I have seen too many people (myself included) loose too much stuff, I have a 2nd Pc in my Office, and once every other week while I am doing my normal backups I backup ALL my data to the other pc.. So I am backed up Twice.

I do this second backup to my other pc every 2nd time I backup just incase for some unforeseen reason the EasyAs data files become corrupted. Backing up a corrupted data file is useless to us as its corrupted and can never be used anyway. I have never had a data corruption with these files, but I have with other files so I know anything with computers can happen.

I lost 5 years worth of data some years ago, and I will never get caught out again. I have never had to rely on the other machine, but at least I feel 100% safe that I can handle anything.

Hint:

I also go as far as pulling out the internet connection if lightening storms are around. I have seen pc's fry themselves, and hard drives electronically fail due to lightening strikes sending excessive charges down the cable or telephone lines, into the modem, into the router, and back into the pc.. The last thing I want is to fry both systems of once.

Of course if you have a wireless connection to your pc then this is not a problem. I use hard wire setups between my pc's as I have more security this way.

Warning

*** Please Read the Warning at the Bottom of the Page***

After reading everything on this page and the warnings and important points to remember it can be a bit worrying, but it doesn't have to be, stop take a breath, think and layout a process and stick to it, even if you have to write out numbered steps so you get it right, you will be rewarded for your efforts if you ever have a crash or some other problem arises.

This is the same no matter what accounting program you are using..

	Main Screen
	Where Am I Calc
	P & L Report
	Income
	Expenses
	Quotes
	Invoices
	Orders
	Sales Tax
	Credit Notes
	General Info

	Initial Setup
	Question & Answers
	Video Guides
	Printing Guide
	Tips
	Serial Number
	Backup & Restore
	Program Overview

Backing up Your EasyAs Accounting Data

Backing up your Accounting Data is really easy. On the Main EasyAs Menu Screen you will see an icon labeled "Backup/Restore", simply click on this icon and a popup screen will appear. Click on the icon on the Left labeled "Backup EasyAs Files"

*** Important, Do not accidentally select to Restore, else you will be restoring an old set of data files if they exist, and this will be almost as painful as loosing everything (not as painful, but it will hurt just the same) ***

When you click the icon to Backup a Screen will appear headed "EasyAs Accounting - Saving Data". Simply click the icon labeled "Start"

Select the Location (drive) where you want to Save (backup) a copy of your data files to. You will need to "Double Click" the left mouse button on the Drive and Location you want to save your data to.

When you have selected the location to backup your files, the "Commence" Icon will also appear on the screen.

Now its simply a process of clicking the "Commence Icon" and the software will Backup your Data.

The Facility that comes with EasyAs can backup to most devices, other hard drives, USB Thumb Drives, Disk Drives and other similar devices, except for CD's

When you want to Backup to CD's - Or when performing a Manual Backup

The facility that comes with EasyAs is not able to backup to a CD. This is because EasyAs cannot talk to your CD Burning Software. If you want to backup your data to a CD, you will have to do this manually using your CD Burning Software.

The first thing you will need to do is to locate the subdirectory on your machine where the data files are located.

The data files are located in the EasyAs Program Subdirectory: C:\Program Files\EasyAsAccts

The TWO Data Files to backup are called: EasyData.mdb and EasyAcct.mdb

Use your CD Software in the usual manner you would to Backup Data Files (not music files)... if you want to backup to your CD and you have only used it previously to backup songs, then you may not know that there are different selections available..

When backing up to the CD, your CD Copy software will usually have a selection menu where you can select which type of backup to perform.. In this case we want to do a Data Backup

Restoring your Data after your Pc has Crashed

Restoring your data is almost the complete opposite of the Backup Process, so there is no real need for me to go through the whole process.

However, its best to note a couple of key points.

After your pc has crashed it is obvious that you need to reinstall the EasyAs Software. Once you install the software and run the program for the first time it will naturally want you to enter your business name etc. You cannot access the "Backup/Restore" Icon located on the Main Menu until you setup the software. So just humor the program and put anything in (if that's what you want to do), just so you can get to the backup icon on the main screen.

When you click the Backup/Restore Icon on the Main Menu, a popup screen will appear. Make sure you click the icon on the Right, make sure you click to "RESTORE EASYAS FILES".

If you get this wrong and click the backup icon you might go through the whole process and accidentally copy the newly installed empty data files over the top of your previously backed up files. Please be careful... Having two sets of backups always saves the day...

If you are worried at this point, then I suggest you stop, and backup your backed up files to another location before continuing... This way you have a second copy... Remember if you do this right, you will never ever have any problems, so do be worried, just take you time and follow the instructions... (note, I did this once myself, because I was rushing, and I felt so stupid for doing it, as I should have known better, but my second backup saved my day)

Please Note, after you restore your data, it is best to Exit the Program, exiting the program will finalize the last step of the Restore Process.

Then simply run the program in the usual manner and you are back in action

*** Warning ***

There is an important issue here which we all need to understand.

NEVER at any time attempt to reinstall EasyAs over the top of itself without first ensuring you have a backup of your data files....

If your system (windows) has had a malfunction and for whatever reason you feel it necessary to reinstall EasyAs Software, ALWAYS make sure you have backed up your data files first, as this process will write over your existing files.. meaning it will install a complete new set of data files, which are empty, and these will copy over the top of your existing files, leaving you with an empty database, and forcing you to have to start your accounts all over again.

Use the Manual backup process above, if you are not able to run the EasyAs Program due to a Windows issue, and you feel that reinstalling the EasyAs Software may solve the problems (As mentioned above, Never reinstall EasyAs without first backing up your data files)

Obviously none of this is going to work if your windows software has crashed and burned and you cannot access the computer... in this case you may be in a world of pain...

This is why it is strongly advised that you get in the process of performing regular backups... How often you do this is up to you...

I do mine weekly, because I only put in bulk amounts into the system which takes about 15min every other day, so it is only going to take a couple of hours to input lost information if I have a crash as my backup from the week prior will be up to date except for the last weeks information... However if it will take you an excessive amount of time, anything above 4hrs for me is excessive, to recapture you data after a crash, due to you backups being old, then you really need to consider backing up at more regular intervals.. Again its your choose.

Tip:

Please note... if your windows system crashes and you cannot access the pc... Your data files may still be there... If you cannot afford to loose the information then here is a tip... you can do this yourself or take the pc to a reliable pc tech to perform.... usually this will be the case when you get the blue screen of death and you cannot access windows... Your data will usually still be there, so before you do anything like formating etc, which will cause you to loose your data... Take the HardDrive out of the machine, and connect it to another PC.. Use that PC's Operatiing System (Windows) to locate your data files and do a manual backup... You can use this process to recover all your Document Files (EasyAs and all your other document files) before putting the hard drive back into the machine and formating and reinstalling windows...

Remember to as this question:

"What happens if my PC Crashes and I loose everything, Can I live with it, Or am I going to be in a World of Pain"?

This does not only apply to your Accounting Files, But ALL your Document Files

Disclaimer:

Please note, all tips and additional information on this page are provided in good faith, and are for information purposes.. You accept full responsibly for your own use of any of this information.