One
easy way to insure you have the list when needed is to use the
print
all
feature from the Family Emergency Plan A or B screen. This will print all
reports for your inventory, contacts, and emergency plan. You then will
have at the very least a printed list with photos to provide to the
insurance company or other agencies if needed. Plus a copy of your emergency
plan with images of important documents that you have placed in the database.
IMPORTANT!
-
Filenames
that end with .TPS
are
your data files. These files store your inventory data.
Just
copy the all of the My I.C.E. Plan folders to another location to
backup
. That's all to it! However read below for some backup solutions that are
portable and easily accomplished.
Other
backup options are..."unplug
and go" and/or "plug and go"
You
should make sure that you backup your data. To do so make sure you
back
up the folder that the software was installed in
. It contains the data files for your inventory as well as all of your image and
movie files.
We
like and favor the idea of using a USB external hard drive or USB thumb drive
because it is extremely easy and portable. Just insert the thumb
drive into a USB slot on any computer and use it. You can also
use purchase security software to password protect the drive. Space on
a thumb drive may be an issue if you have many images and
movies. Although you may be able to buy thumb drives that have 8+ gig of
space that may satisfy your needs. USB External hard drives can be purchased
with plenty of space for a very inexpensive price and is an excellent choice
too.
One
idea would
be to install the software on a external USB hard drive along with any
other documents you deem valuable. You can then take the external hard drive and
leave the house when an emergency arises. Or you can purchase a 2nd USB external
hard drive that is at least the same size as the external drive you work on
and back up everything onto that drive, syncing or mirroring the two
drives. Then store that 2nd drive in a safe deposit box or other safe
location. Do this at least once per month or when you make major changes. Using
an USB external drive will allow you to
" unplug and
go" and/or "plug and go" .
Meaning you can take the USB drive, plug it into any other Windows computer (or
MAC computer running Windows) and have all of your images, important
documents, and other important files as well as being able to use My
I.C.E. Plan all in one easy connection in a matter of minutes. When the
time comes in the form of a disaster (and we hope never) you will be extremely
glad you had taken time to create a solution to get at all of your important
files in minutes. Not to mention the relief in knowing you have an inventory
of your items to submit to the insurance company and other agencies. My
I.C.E. Plan was designed to be able to run anywhere from any Windows computer
without re-installing the software.
There
are many options - use the one that best fits your needs and liking but
most of all make sure you do a backup. Even if it is a printed report but do
one.
Storing
data on a web server
The
advantage to storing your data on a web server means your data is available to
you 24x7 . The disadvantage is that your personal data may be compromised
by some hacker. It is also available for viewing to any one who has access
to the servers. The decision to store all of your personal information regarding
items owned, finances and notes about your family is one that should not be
taken without great care in the decision process.
