It's important to know what data you should back up, how often you should do it, where you should store the backed-up data and how to get it there. Here are the three basic backup methods to consider. Show
You've got thousands of photos, hundreds of songs and who-knows-how-many important documents safely tucked away on your laptop's hard drive or solid-state storage. Safe, that is, until the drive goes belly up or a virus infects your files or the laptop lost its lap and met the floor with fatal results. So long memories, music, and good-bye to all those receipts, tax records and other evidence of living in the digital age. A recent backup of your data would have changed that unfathomable loss into a minor annoyance. That is, assuming you regularly back up your PC's data. Scheduled backups ensure that you have at least one other copy of your important files that can be easily restored if the originals get deleted or damaged. And while it may seem like a bother to copy all that data so often, the good news is that it's easier than ever to maintain up-to-date copies of your data using a variety of methods. Backup terms you should knowBefore you decide on the most expedient way to back up your files, it will help to get familiar with a few terms often used to describe some backup operations, including:
What to back up and where to put the filesAs noted, you can back up only data files or your entire system. This is assuming the backup application you're using -- whether it's locally installed software or a cloud backup service -- can support a full system restore. It's a good idea to do an inventory of your stored data on your hard disk or solid-state drive to ensure that you back up all important files. For example, on a Windows PC, you're likely to have all your Word documents and Excel spreadsheet files stored in the Documents folder. But you should also check to see if any other applications create their own folders for the data they save. Often the installation process for an application allows you to choose a folder or accept the app's default location. Of course, you'll also want to make sure that all of your multimedia files -- your photos, music and videos -- get backed up. You should end up with a list of folders that you will want to back up on a regular basis, and you'll use that list to set up a backup application or as a checklist if you decide to do manual backups. The most important aspect to consider about where to back up your data is that the target should be physically separate from the PC that's being backed up. If you back up to an external hard drive that sits right next to your PC, and then something happens that can physically damage the PC – such as fire or flood -- it's likely that the external drive with your backup data also will be damaged. Storing the external drive in another room is better, but getting it completely off-premises is best. Using cloud storage as your backup target solves the problem of getting the backup data off-premises, but your backups might take a little longer to occur because the data has to travel over the internet. Three basic backup methodsPC data backup can be divided into three general groups, with each defining a method of data backup.
The best backupWith so many alternatives, there's really no excuse for not backing up your PC's files. The angst of losing data is definitely avoidable. The best method depends on your preferences -- what you find to be most convenient and take the least amount of your time is probably be your best choice. Regardless of the route you choose, the app you ultimately settle on should point your data in the direction of the cloud. Dig Deeper on Data backup and disaster recovery
What makes copies of files to be used in case the originals are lost or damaged?Data restore makes a usable copy of the data available to replace lost or damaged data and ensures the data backup is consistent with the state of the data at a specific point in time before the damage occurred.
What is a duplicate of a file program or disk that can be used in case the original is lost damaged or destroyed?In information technology, a backup, or data backup is a copy of computer data taken and stored elsewhere so that it may be used to restore the original after a data loss event.
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