17 Jan 2007

January 16, 2007 at 8:35 am

Have you ever lost it?

Your computer data, that is. All your files, personal photos and private information. Gone.

It is not a question of if, but a question of when. On average, it’s been estimated that a hard drive crashes every 15 seconds. Hardware or system failure accounts for 78 percent of all data loss, and it is not uncommon for a computer to go through two hard drives in its lifetime.

But now, the ITS backup and recovery solution, Iron Mountain, can save the day – and your data.

Previously available only for UNC-Chapel Hill departmental purchases, Iron Mountain is now offered to faculty, staff and students for use on personal Windows-based computers.

The online data backup and recovery service gives users on-demand data retrieval 24 hours a day, seven days a week, over any Internet connection anywhere in the world. Easy to use, efficient and reliable, Iron Mountain protects data through secure automatic backups.

“If you think data loss can’t happen to you, think again,” says Priscilla Alden, assistant vice chancellor for User Support and Engagement. “This is a wonderful opportunity for the Carolina community to take advantage of a low-cost solution to a very real problem. With Iron Mountain, even if you have complete hard drive failure, you can retrieve a virtual clone of your machine, with all your data and personal settings intact.”

Iron Mountain is available at a cost of $120 per year – less than 33 cents per day – and can be purchased at the ITS Response Center (ITRC) in the lower level of the R.B. House Undergraduate Library with a UNC One Card.

Purchasers who bring their laptops to the ITRC can have ITS staff install the program and do the initial backup for them. The ITRC suggests that the installation and the first backup be performed on-campus because the UNC-Chapel Hill network offers optimum speed and efficiency.

For more information, visit http://software.unc.edu/IM or call 962-HELP.