How to Back Up Your Computer

Learn How To Saturdays

 Imagine turning on your computer and finding that everything is gone. It’s enough to cause a panic attack, right? We’ll there’s an easy way to handle that anxiety – back up the data on your computer! Here’s what you need to know to get the job done and protect your valuable information.

Step One.

Decide what type of backup is right for you.

There are many types of backups from the old fashioned copy your files on a disk to a more advanced backup storage device. Depending on the volume of information you have to backup either process might be right for you. If you’re simply backing up financial information and documents then something as small as a key drive might work as a backup device. USB flash drives come in a variety of capacities and 2-4 gigabytes are common, easy to find, and appropriate for basic backups. You can also use a simple disk and copy your files.

However, if you have larger files, photos, music and software to backup then a larger device and backup system is necessary. An external hard drive is a great option and there are many online storage services available.

Step Two.
What to backup. Depending on your needs you can backup only the information you can’t live without or you can back everything up. When considering what to keep safe consider:

* Pictures
* Music
* Contracts
* Accounting and financial information
* Calendar
* Contacts
* Documents
* Software

Step Three.

Backup schedule. There are myriad choices here. Some suggestions include:

A daily backup – important for business owners who are constantly updating and adding files.

Weekly backup – this is typically the minimum experts recommend. In this case you could set up your system to automatically backup to an external drive every Friday night. Backups can take a long time so it’s important to schedule them when you’re not too busy.

Combination backup – this is a common practice whereby a person backs up their vital information like contracts, financial info and the like on a weekly basis and then performs a monthly full backup where everything from small txt files to major software programs are backed up.

The important thing to remember when creating a schedule is to balance your needs with your time. A full backup every night is time consuming – automating the process to occur when you’re sleeping makes it much more convenient.

Step Four.

Backing up the backup? Just because you hit ‘backup’ doesn’t mean the process is working. Test your backup occasionally. Make sure the system is working and the information is there. There’s nothing worse than thinking you’ve been backing up your information only to find that it’s not there when you need it.

I use an external drive and CMS BounceBack software. I’m using Vista so needless to say I have had two major crashes in the last 6 months and have been able to recover fairly quickly. I backup every other night, with a full backup on the weekends. I balance the time it takes to complete a backup with how much I need my computer.

Whether you back up your computer manually with a USB drive, backup with an online service provider, or automatically with backup software and an external hard drive the important thing is to back up consistently! Protect your information, test your backup, and maintain a backup schedule. You’ll be glad you did.