2011 (Windows)

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 “About choosing a backup type” on page 64.
Schedule backups at a time when
you know your computer is on.
You should store recovery points on a hard disk other
than your primary hard disk (C). It helps ensure that
you can recover your system in the event that your
primary hard disk fails.
See “Setting up general backup options” on page 46.
Use a secondary hard disk as your
backup destination.
Using an external drive makes your backup data more
portable. Should you need to remove your critical data
from a particular location, you can quickly grab an
external drive on your way out the door.
See “About Offsite Copy” on page 100.
Consider using external drives as
your backup destination.
You can assign a unique name to each external drive.
A unique name helps you to keep a track of where
your backup data is stored for each computer you back
up. It is more useful in situations when the drive
letters change each time you unplug and plug an
external drive into your computer. A unique name
ensures that you always know which drive is used
when you are running Symantec System Recovery.
Using a unique name does not change the volume
label of a drive. A unique name helps you to identify
the drive when you use Symantec System Recovery.
Once a unique name is assigned, it stays with the
drive. If you plug the drive into a second computer
running another copy of Symantec System Recovery,
the unique name appears.
Note: You might also consider placing a sticky label
on each drive that matches the unique name that you
have assigned.
See
“About using unique names for external drives”
on page 53.
Give unique names to your external
drives to help you easily identify
them.
65Best practices for backing up your data
What to do before you back up