File Storage Best Practices

File loss prevention

Anyone who has lost files or folders knows how important it is to ensure their files are backed up. At BCIT, backing up your files is as easy as storing them on a network drive. There are many possible reasons your files may not be there when you need them:

hard disk failure
virus/worm infection (“malware”)
operating system failure
accidental deletion
corruption
computer theft
flood damage to your computer
any problem that requires re-imaging your computer (re-imaging involves erasing the entire hard drive contents and re-installing the operating system and standard BCIT applications)

Protect your work

It is your responsibility to back up your files or ensure that they’re stored in an automatically backed-up location such as network drives or cloud storage.

ITS provides every employee with their own private cloud-based file storage in OneDrive. In addition, each school and department has shared network folders which can be accessed from the S: drive. All of these server-based storage options are backed up automatically every night. This means that ITS staff are able to restore files from the previous night’s backup.

Tips

Each user can access their file storage from anywhere and on almost any device, including their phone or tablet.
Only the owner of a folder in OneDrive can access files stored in it, unless they have explicitly shared it with someone else.
Although today’s hard drives and solid state drives are extremely durable, ALL hard drives eventually fail.
If your computer is replaced or if it must be re-imaged, due to some unrecoverable hardware or operating system failure, all files stored only on your computer hard drive (C:) will cease to exist and are not recoverable.
Your Desktop and other special folders are automatically backed up in OneDrive.
Files saved on a network folder are considered to be 99.9% recoverable.
Network storage is provided for BCIT work-related files only. Personal files such as MP3s and JPGs that are not work-related are not to be saved on the network and are subject to deletion if saved to a network folder.