Retrospect Backups for Faculty and Academic Staff

Academic Computing provides a semi-automatic backup service for faculty and academic staff. The purpose of this backup system is to restore computer files on your hard drive in the event of a catastrophic disk failure, computer theft, or other source of major data loss. It is not intended as an option for permanently archiving your data.

Personal Backups Recommended

We encourage you to keep personal backups in addition to our automated backups. Keep your own backups of any important work, especially current projects. Also, keep your own backups of multimedia files, as we do not include images, video, or audio in our standard backup set. (See the section below, What Files Does Retrospect Back Up.)

If you take your computer off-campus for an extented period, you will need to make your own complete backup sets. Retrospect will not be able to back up your system.

You can back files up on the Storage server, CDs, DVDs, or external drives.

Get Backed Up With Retrospect

Once your computer is registered with our Retrospect automated backup service, you can simply leave it turned on and your files will be backed up by the server. Your computer should get backed up at least once every 3-4 days, provided it is left on overnight and backups are not deferred. Laptop user should occasionally leave their computer overnight (turned on, and connected to the wired network) to facilitate a current back-up.

What Files Does Retrospect Back Up?

Due to space considerations, we can only backup document files. We do not archive application software, operating system configurations, image files, audio or video files.

On Windows computers, Retrospect will back up all files and directories in your "Documents and Settings" folder, specifically your mail folder, the desktop and your My Documents folder, except for files with the following extensions: .jpg, .jpeg, .mov, .dv, .mp3, .mp4, .tif, .tiff, .exe, .dmg, .sit, .hqx, .app, .avi, aiff, .qt, and .rm.

On Macintosh computers, Retrospect will backup all files and directories in your user home directory, with the same exceptions as Windows computers.

We will also back up a "My Work" folder, which you can use to store critical files, that would normally be excluded by these rules. Mail and Endnote files are specifically included in the backup set.

When Was Your Last Retrospect Backup?

You can check your Retrospect client to see the backup history on your system.

On Windows computers:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Select the Classic View.
3. Open the Retrospect Client.
4. Look in the history section of the Status tab.

On Macintosh computers:

1. Open the Applications Folder.
2. Open the Retrospect Client.
3. Look in the history section of the Status tab.

Report Backup Problems

If you believe your computer is not being properly backed up, please follow these steps:

1. Make sure your computer is turned on in your office and is not set to sleep.
2. Make sure your system is connected to the network via an Ethernet cable to your wall jack. Computers connected via wireless networking will not be backed up.
3. Make sure the settings for your Windows Firewall allow Retrospect to access your system.
4. Send ACC the IP address for your computer. From the wired computer in your office, use Thunderbird (or another desktop mail client) to email helpdesk@haverford.edu. Please put "Retrospect" in the subject line. The message should state when your system will be in your office and connected to the wired network. Please include the last date you received a backup.
   
   Note that this email must be sent from your office, as this will allow us to get the IP number from your office machine. If you use Squirrelmail, please just send us your office machine IP number.

If your system is not backed up within a week of sending of an email request please notify your liaison.

Help

If you need Retrospect installed on your computer, would like any assistance making sure essential files are backed up, or if you have questions about the backup process, please contact your liaison.