Before you even think about the actual backup process, you must consider correct file maintenance procedures. Your files should be in the "Documents" or "My Documents" folders. You should create sub-folders in the Documents folder to sort and store your files. Keeping your files organized streamlines the backup procedure. You should never save files on the desktop. Although it is technically possible (especially on Microsoft-based operating systems) it is a bad practice for several reasons. You can cause serious damage to files by keeping them on the Desktop. If you currently save files to the Desktop, STOP NOW! Place those files in the My Documents folder (or sub-folder).
Once you have all of your files in the correct location, you have several options for creating a backup. You will need a medium for saving your backup to. This could be a CD, DVD, external USB Hard Drive, a network share, cloud storage, or even a USB thumb drive. I would highly suggest a combination of CD/DVD and external USB Hard Drive (or two USB hard drives). It is my belief that you need two different storage mediums for a backup. You can rotate the backups between the mediums or make monthly backups on the CD/DVD and quarterly backups on the external drive. Either way, make sure you have more than one backup and backup often.
With Microsoft Operating Systems (Windows 7), the backup procedure is included with the system. You simply click on the Start button and go to Control Panel. You locate the Backup and Restore Icon and follow the prompts to create a backup schedule. The Mac OS also has a built-in backup. It is called "Time Machine". Both of the backup programs are menu driven and user friendly.
You also have the option of manually backing up your data files. The problem with doing a manual backup is: most users don't know where their data resides and do not understand the proper use of copying and pasting files and/or saving files to a different location. However, if you are tech savvy, you simply highlight the files and folders in your "Documents" folder and paste them into a folder on the external drive. Assuming you fall into the "Tech savvy" camp, you can also burn the files onto a CD/DVD disc. The program that I use for CD/DVD backups is CDBurnerXP. I have been using CDBurnerXP for years to create backups on CD/DVDs without any problems. It is an excellent, no nonsense program.
If you decide to purchase an external USB hard drive, most of them have a free backup utility included on the drive. I recommend purchasing two external drives and rotating them for backups. That way, you will have two backups, a current one and a month old backup. External drives are cheap, and really, you can't put a price on having a dependable backup!
You can find many backup program (both free and paid programs) on the Internet. Although I don't use backup programs (I write scripts to automatically backup my files to rotating external drives) I will list several backup software programs that come highly recommended.
- Cobian Backup
- Paragon Hard Disk Management
- Crashplan Cloud-Based backup
- FreeFileSync
- FBackup
- PureSync
Regardless of which method you use, you should start right away. A few things to keep in mind:
You should consider keeping one backup offsite. Why? What if disaster strikes and your computer AND backup are destroyed? If you have a safe deposit box at a bank, that is a great place to keep a backup of your data.
If you absolutely fear creating a backup routine, pull out the checkbook and pay your trusted techie person to setup a routine for you. It will be well worth the few dollars spent.
Now, get that computer backed up!
