How to use PAF data and “Double Back-up” for safety

Your 1^st back-up of your PAF data is stored on a memory stick big enough for expansion.  Your 2^nd back-up of your PAF data is stored on an external hard drive for safety (if you lose your memory stick).  Should you happen to corrupt your computer’s hard drive you can restore your operating system and its programs and then your PAF data from your memory stick and if needed you can restore from your external hard drive when that copy is your last and only choice.  That is why you have two back-up copies.

Your PAF program runs on your computer’s hard drive and is usually referred to as drive C:\.  That program must load your PAF data file into drive C:\ to allow you to edit it but it is your choice to back-up your data file where you prefer.  For safety, it is recommended that you store your data file on a memory stick and in an external hard drive.  The reason is simple.  Virus programs attack your computers hard drive to knock out your operating system (Windows) or your browser (Internet Explore) or bring attachments of despair to you through e-mail (Outlook).  Because Microsoft won the race and its operating system is installed on 90% of the world’s computers they became the target to knock out.  The authors of the viruses that attack our computers are created by those who lost the race to riches so they use their intelligence to cause the rest of us the frustrations of having our computers attacked and hacked.

My solution is to store my PAF data outside the computer away from the war zone.  I recommend the use of memory sticks (any size) to store every data file of value to you from all programs you do not want to lose.  I recommend an external hard drive (any size) to do a weekly back-up of your computers entire hard drive with a subfolder into which you store your memory sticks PAF data file every time you back-up.  Then you have two places to go when your computer gets hit by a hard drive failure or viruses.

With the upcoming new FamilySearch program we will upload our “clean” and “documented” copy of our PAF data into the Church’s computers and work on linking our families to the families of the world.  We will still use our PAF data file in our own computers to continue researching and gathering additional information on our families from sources not on the Church’s computers (Court house records, archives, relatives records and sources not on the Internet) and periodically upload the new information to our account so it can be linked “on line” to our families data now stored on the Church’s huge computer storage.  Other users of FamilySearch will see our data and decide it they believe our sources and if they do they will add the link to their families.  That is why I spend several hours a day cleaning and documenting my PAF data file because shortly I will submit it to the Pedigree Resource File so the data will be there for me to link too.

Here are the steps to use your PAF data and a double back-up process.  These steps are necessary because your PAF program uses by default your last PAF data file stored on its hard drive C:\.  You don’t want to use that copy.  You want to use your memory stick copy which is the safest copy (stored outside of your computer).

1. Click the icon to load your PAF program.  (By default it will load the computers “last” copy from the computer’s hard drive C:\)
2. Click File, Close to remove that PAF data file.  If you had used your PAF data file on your memory stick to gather information from a source away from home (Family History Center, Court house, neighbor or simply from using that PAF data file on a different computer) then the “most up to date” information is not the default copy on your computer’s hard drive)
3. Now we need to set the location for your PAF program to know that you want to back-up every time to your memory stick.  Click on Tools found in the top Menu Bar.
4. Click on Preferences and on the top of that window screen click on Folders
5. Click in the Backup: box the location of your memory stick including the folder and sub-folder you want to use.  (F:\Genealogy\Foster\)  Do not include the name of your file, just the path to the drive, directory and sub-directory.  If you do not know the path click on the right side box with three periods.
    
6. Click OK to complete the location for your memory stick.
7. You may leave your memory stick attached to a USB port as a reminder to use it rather than the computer’s hard drive.  Safely remove your memory stick and take it with you when you leave home to do research.  In case of a fire in your home grab your family, your memory stick, your External Hard Drive and run!  The computer can be replaced but your family and your PAF data file goes with you.

Here are the steps to use your PAF data file from your memory stick and to back it up safely to your memory stick after using it AND back it up a second time to your External Hard Drive safely outside your computer.

Your PAF Program is still open and the C:\ hard drive copy has been Closed.  Now you need to Restore your Memory Stick copy of your PAF data.

1. Click on File, Restore (Your computer now knows where because you set in Tools, Preferences, Folders the location)
2. Click on the File Name (Foster.zip) and answer Yes, to the question: Are you sure you want to replace the computers C:\ hard drive copy?
3. Click OK on the Restore complete window and your most current PAF data file appears in your PAF program.
4. Sometimes your multimedia photos and proof sources of Census records, etc has to be corrected to the drive letter assigned by your computer to your memory stick if you made a correction to a different drive letter on a different computer.  That’s another lesson.
5. Now you can make corrections, add information, add sources, notes and multimedia items.  It is now time to save what you have.
6. Click on File, Backup, since your File name hasn’t changed just click Backup and answer YES to the pop up question: Do you want to replace the “old” PAF data file on your memory stick with the newly edited information over the top of the old?  You will see the horizontal bar as it progresses and then click OK to Backup complete.
7. Now for safety Click on File, Backup and this time go find the drive letter (Top of Menu bar and keep going until you find the correct drive letter for your External Hard Drive My location says Study External Back-up (G:\) because I had previously named it such and back it up there also.  Now you have your current PAF data file stored in two different places.
8. To make it easy on your next use of your PAF program I’d suggest you click File, Close, and then File, Exit.  You have now told your computer that you want the PAF program to load next time with out using the computers C: hard drive file.  That’s good.  Now you just click on File, Restore and Click on your memory stick file name and go to work.
9. Share these instructions with anyone who would like to finally be safe from virus and hard drive failures with two copies of their PAF data file outside their computer.  I’d also suggest on Sunday once a week you set your computer to save all important data to your External Hard Drive as a back-up.
10. Copies of these instructions are found on my website to be used by friends and genealogists. URL address is http://www.surnames.com/begin/ and choose the link to PAF Vs 5.2.18 Double Back-up for Safety.  You can also download a Word document of these instructions.  Enjoy!

You know you have “ARRIVED” when you don’t have to follow these instructions every time you turn on your PAF program and restore your PAF data from your memory stick and then back it up again at the end of your current editing session.