Thursday, January 22, 1998

A VCR can provide backup for your hard drive

By Craig Crossman / Knight-Ridder Newspapers

Did you know there is a backup tape drive that's far more popular than any disk drive around and chances are, you probably already own one and you don't even know it? It's your VCR. You should always make sure you save your precious data on some sort of backup media.

The mindset is that it's not IF your hard drive will fail, it's WHEN it will fail. Don't learn this lesson the hard way. Some of the more popular examples of backup drives include Iomega's Zip and Jaz drives. These use special disks and any information on them can be accessed immediately. Another popular backup media is tape.

Tape drives are not "random access" like the disks because they must first wind or rewind to the correct point on the tape where your data is stored. Locating and transferring information on tape is a lot slower. But the up side of tape is that a cassette holds a lot more data than a disk. And tape cartridges cost a lot less than disks per megabyte of storage basis. Accessibility of media is another issue. Most computer stores only carry the more popular disk versions. But you can walk into a lot of stores to pick up a blank VCR tape.

Backer 32 enables a PC user to store computer data on standard videotape via an ordinary VCR. According to Backer 32's manufacturer, Danmere, it costs only $1 to store 4 gigabytes with this device.

Available in either an internal card or external box, you simply plug the VCR, via its video input jack, to Backer's output jack. The external model hooks to your computer's parallel port. A convenient pass-through ability means you keep the parallel port for another peripheral you might want to connect in addition to the Backer. Run the backup software and that's it. The program makes it easy to select any files and folders you want to transfer or restore with a click of the mouse.

Backer lets you use any standard-quality low-cost 1-, 2-, 3-, 4- or 5-hour tape. Backer works by converting computer data into a video signal at high speeds. Special error correction checks and prevents the loss of data due to flaws in videotape that normally can cause dropout or tape fade. Each tape can be verified after a backup session for additional security.

Backer 32 requires Windows 3.1 or higher, will work on a 486 system or up and sells at $69 for the internal card and $89 for the external version.

Danmere Limited

PC Ware International

Los Gatos, Calif.

www.danmere.com

x x x

Q. I am new to Macintosh computing but I have started to go online and have learned to download files. I am amazed at all the free computer software that is available out there in cyberspace. But many of the files have the letters "sit" after them and claim they are "stuffed" files. Clicking on them gives me an error message. What's happening?

A. Welcome to the wonderful world of compression. Compression makes files a lot smaller. This lets you bring them to your location (downloading) a lot faster. The suffix you refer to is short for "Stuffit" which is one of the more popular Macintosh compressions schemes you find today and pioneered by Aladdin Systems. You need to download the free and highly ubiquitous "UnStuffit" program, which will decompress (unstuff) your sit file when you double click on it.

Aladdin has just released its Stuffit Deluxe 4.5, which allows you to stuff your own files for transfer among other features. One of the nice touches is True Finder Integration that lets you open a stuffed file by double clicking on it. You see its contents before you decompress it. You can even drag and drop selected files out from the compressed file's window to the desktop. Nice. Stuffit Deluxe sells for $79.95.

Aladdin Systems

Watsonville, CA

(408) 761-6200

www.aladdinsys.com

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(Craig Crossman is the host of weekly radio show "Computer America," (www.computeramerica.com) heard nationwide. Send questions to him at Business Monday, 1 Herald Plaza, Miami, Fla. 33132. Please include your phone number.)

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