Tech Tidbits
Your source for Integrating Technology at BBES!
The Computers are coming, the computers are coming...
Beginning sometime in December, Howard County will begin rolling out the long awaited laptop upgrade. Are you ready? Everyone is ready to unload those old, outdated, white mac books...however are you REALLY ready?
Preparing...
To be ready you need to back up your computer. Sure if you are one of those rule followers, you've been doing this all along. And if you are, keep doing what you are doing. IF you are not... then this is for you!
Several Ways to Back Up
There are several ways you can back up your computer. Much of it depends on how much information you save, or want to save on your computer. We will go over a couple easy choices for backing up. Watch the video to see which might be right for you.
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Online Backup vs. External Hard Drives
External Hard Drive
An external hard drive is an excellent choice if you are kind of weary of the "cloud" and want something physical to store your data. You'll need to purchase (with your own $$$) an external hard drive. Costco, Amazon, Newegg.com, and even Target are all great places to get an inexpensive hard drive. They come in several sizes, so purchasing one for your needs will be key. Most will not need over 1 GB, however music and video take up much more room than documents. The chart below shares sizes and how much that might be.
Uploading to Google Drive
There are two ways of using Google Drive to back up your files.
- Make a copy of files you want to back up and move the copies into your computer's Google Drive folder. The copy will be synced to drive.google.com when your computer connects to the Internet. This method's advantage is that you are not changing the way you are using other folders on your computer. The disadvantage: you have to make a copy and move it into the Google Drive folder for it to be backed up.
- Move the files you want backed up directly into your computer's Google Drive folder. You can move entire folders into the Google Drive folder. This method's advantage: Every time you save a file, it is automatically synced to drive.google.com. The disadvantage: Moving files into the Google Drive folder may not match how you have your computer files organized.
Benefits for Backing up Via Google Drive...
Unlimited free storage space
- You can store and sync an unlimited number of files using Google Drive for free (with a 5 TB per file size limit).
- Google Docs (Google documents, spreadsheets, presentations, drawings, etc.) don't count against your Google Drive file limit.
- Files owned by others and shared with you don't count against your Google Drive limit.
- You can store just about any type of computer file in your Google Drive folder.
Automatic syncing
Google Drive automatically syncs the files that are in your computer's (local) Google Drive folder with those stored at drive.google.com.- When you are connected to the Internet and save a file in your local Google Drive folder, the file is automatically synced to drive.google.com.
- If you're not connected to the Internet, Google Drive will automatically sync any new or changed files in your computer's local Google Drive folder the next time your computer connects to the Internet.
Drawbacks of Backing Up via Google Drive
- You can not back up music and videos to Google Drive... unless you use an add on service, and sometimes these cost money.
How to Backup Files to Google Drive
Using Dropbox to Back up Your Files
You might have a Dropbox Account...if not this might be a good time to get one. Dropbox operates in a similar manner as Google Drive, except there is not as much free storage. However, you can store music and videos in Dropbox. If you want to store items in the "cloud" and have music and videos, Dropbox might be a good option, even if it cost a little bit per month.
How to Use Dropbox to Backup Files
Now...you can be really new laptop ready!!
Lisa Stehman
Technology Teacher
Email: lisa_stehman@hcpss.org
Location: Bollman Bridge Elementary School, Savage Guilford Road, Jessup, MD, United States
Phone: 410-880-5920