2020 Year-End Genealogy Backups

 2020 Year-End Genealogy Backups

I use the genealogy program, RootsMagic7.  I have many genealogy databases. There are four databases that I update on a regular basis.  Those are the databases (files) that need backup.

The backup process requires a number of steps and takes quite a bit of time.

1. Run the four-step Database Tools of RootsMagic on each of the four files. This is database housekeeping.
2. Create a backup for each database on the laptop hard drive.  To avoid overlaying, modify the name of each backup to include the word "Keep'' in the file name.
3. Create a normal backup of each database on the laptop hard drive without altering the file name.
4. Delete all of the backups done on the laptop during the year except the last four.
5. Copy the four backup files to an external hard drive.
6. Copy the four backup files to a thumb drive.
7. Copy the four backup files to my paid cloud Box account.
8. Delete all but the last 3 or 4 backup files from the external hard drive; thumb drive; and Box account.
9. Check storage usage on Box - 6.4GB of 100GB available.

Dick Henthorn

2 Dec 2020

May 2019 File Backups

May 2019 File Backups

Today I ran the RootsMagic Database Tools on the nineteen files that I've updated since January 2019. 

For the first time ever I got a message about a file problem with one of my largest files, the one where I currently do the majority of my updates. I continued to run all of the database tools on this file and then returned to the first tool, where the error was reported, and ran that first test again. Fortunately the error was corrected by one of the other database tools tests.

After I ran the Database Tools for each file I backed up each RootsMagic file to a backup folder on my laptop hard drive..

Next, I copied all of the backups to a thumb drive that I use solely for genealogy backup.

I also have an external hard drive that I salvaged from a laptop that broke down. I copied the same files to a genealogy backup folder on this hard drive.

I have a paid subscription to cloud storage with the Box company. The final step in the backup process was to upload the nineteen files to my RootsMagic backup folder on Box.

The final result of my backup project is four sets of backup, one on my laptop, two external in my house, and one in the cloud.

I keep Notes in a Steno notebook. I created a page with a table that recorded the extent of my 24 May 2019 backups.

Dick Henthorn

24 May 2019

Year-End Backups

Year-End Backups

Today, in order to get 2019 off to a good start, I'm doing Backup on some of my genealogy files.

 I ran the Database Tools on the last eleven genealogy files I'd opened. RootsMagic keeps track of the file names of the most recently opened files.

 Then I backed up those eleven files to my laptop.

 Then I made copies to three external media
1) 4GB Sandisk thumb drive with green smiley face sticker
2) 30 GB Dell external drive
3) Box cloud account

I made notes in my Steno notebook to remind me when and how I did this backup. I spent about an hour doing this task.

Dick Henthorn
1 Jan 2019