Reasons for backing up a database and some ways to back up a database.

Because backing up a database is an important step in protecting your data from loss, you should perform backups on a regular basis. Databases usually save changes as you make them, so undoing actions or closing a database without saving the changes you made often is not possible. For this reason, you also should back up a database:

(1) Before modifying or deleting data

(2) Before performing any maintenance operations on the database

(3) After adding data to the database.

The following points discuss ways to back up a database:

•If your computer already has a backup program running, it might be backing up your database. Check your backups and determine whether your database is included in the backup. If not, configure the backup program to back up the database.

•Copy the database to another storage device. For example, if the database is stored on a server, you could copy the database to your computer. If the database already is stored on your computer, you can copy it to a server (if you have access to one) or to an external storage device, such as a USB flash drive.

•Copy the database to a different folder on the same storage medium as the original database. Note: Although this method is effective for keeping multiple copies of the database in an accessible location, you will lose both the original database and the backups if the storage device fails.