HiFinance
4
SECTION
0000 - BACK-UP PROCEDURES
No computer is perfect! Anything can happen! Power
can be cut from your office; someone can trip over a cord; the computer may
break down.
Apart from becoming familiar with the functions of HiFinance,
the next most important daily exercise you MUST
perform is BACK-UP to create a
security copy of your valuable data.
We cannot stress too strongly how important data
backup is for the successful running of your computer system.
Your dealer can always provide copies of the
HiFinance programs should your computer be stolen or become faulty, but if your
data files are lost, destroyed or stolen, then you will have to re-enter every
Debtor, Creditor, etc. with all their balances. This could take weeks, where as
backing up, takes just a few minutes per day.
Proper procedures for copying data on a daily basis
from your computer to floppy disk or tape should be shown to you by your
dealer. If you have not yet been shown how, contact your dealer and find out!
It is recommended that you keep five generations of
daily back-ups labelled for each day of the week. Eg. set 1 = Monday, set
2 = Tuesday, etc. If your files take
more than one disk to back-up, each generation should contain as many disks as
needed for a complete backup. The cost of disks is insignificant by comparison
to the value of your data. It is important to avoid backing up onto the same
set of disks twice in a row so that you keep a history of you data over
successive back-ups. It is also recommend that you keep an end-of-period
back-up (taken before you run
END-OF-YEAR PROCESSING) so that you
can replace any lost reports. Preferably, keep these end-of-period back-ups off
the premises, eg. at someone's home.
All floppy disks and tapes should be handled
carefully, kept away from stray magnetic fields, sunlight, pressure, dust,
liquids, caustic substances and heat. Remember that phones, screwdrivers, even
paper clips can become magnetised and can damage your disks. If possible, disks
should be stored in a fire/smoke proof safe. Never touch the exposed areas of
any floppy disk. Always hold a disk by its jacket, preferably by the corners
rather than the edges. Remember: there is enough oil, acid and dust on the
cleanest of fingers to render a disk unreadable if the disk itself is touched.
Normally, certain back-up routines are supplied with
your program disks. You may choose to use these, or your dealer may supply you
with others. In either case, all files ending in .DAT and
.IDX must be backed up regularly. These are your
data files and no one can replace them for you. Generally, these are in a
directory called HF4DATA or sub-directories under this one.
It should also be noted that different versions of
DOS require slightly different instructions for backing up to disk. HiFinance
is supplied with a default batch file called HBACKUP.BAT. Please check that this functions correctly on your
equipment and operating system version. If any error messages appear, or no
list of back-up files is displayed, contact your dealer for instructions on how
to modify the batch file to suit. The default backup routines use the programs
BACKUP.EXE and RESTORE.EXE, which are supplied with DOS5 and DOS6. They might
not be supplied with Windows95 (DOS7), or above. If they are not, you will need
to modify the batch files to use a different product or you can load a copy of
these programs from an older version of DOS. Make sure you setup your
CONFIG.SYS to load the device driver SETVER.EXE to force these programs to be
accepted in the later releases.
Your computer may have facilities for Tape Back-up (eg Connor) or External Disk Drives, (eg. Zip and Jaz
drives). These hardware options are preferred for large files, as backing up to
many floppy disks, each day, can become tedious and therefore prone to operator
errors. The same back-up schedule is recommended for tapes as was described
above for floppy disks. Each tape-drive manufacturer supplies special programs
that work specifically on their equipment. It is necessary to refer to your
dealer for details for your tape drive operation. It is recommended that the
option to back-up to tape be added in as an option to the OPTIONS MENU supplied with HiFinance. Your dealer has details of
how to modify the menu drivers to achieve this end.
Remember Murfy's law on back-ups:
Back-ups
get taken tomorrow,
hard-disks
crash today!
