Number and quantity of backup copies is half the story; one must also
test a restore as well.  An untested backup is not a backup, it's just
a hope.

There are ways to lower the monetary cost and increase the time, but
some minimal investment in media is needed, otherwise backups are so
slow that they don't get done.

Engaging other people's backup media, through online services, is
certainly handy, if you have the bandwidth.  There are zero cost
services if you are prepared to put up with their terms and
conditions.

Using any operating system installer is certainly a way to lose
everything on a computer.  Next time, before doing that, make a
complete backup which is kept separate to the computer.  This is so
that the installer cannot get at it.  An air gap.

Over 35 years I've not lost any data that I didn't expect to lose.

@Richard, feel free to read ahead, and reply to more than one message
in a thread at a time, rather than popping off a reply as you go.  Not
a complaint, but a suggestion.

--=20
James Cameron
http://quozl.linux.org.au/
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