The Importance of Backing Up Data

Backing up data:

Do you often ask yourself should I back up my data? or in frustration say to  yourself why didn’t I back up my information? If your answer is yes to one of these questions or you just want to read this then continuing reading my article on the Importance of Backing up Data. The definition for backup in terms of computers means the process of making backup copies of data (documents, pictures, music, ect…) which can be restored to its original state after in an event if there was a data loss.

I ran across a frustrating moment once when I had to reinstall windows from scratch after a badly infected virus tore down my computer. I thought I had backed up all my important information but it turned out I didn’t.  Because of my actions I lost some very valuable information and this is one reason why it’s Important to back up your data. So below are some tips and tools that can be done to back up your Data.

 

 

 

 

Why are backups Important ?

Often people make the mistake of backing up their files on the same computer their operating system is stored on and in most cases this is not a good idea. Why?  There are many factors that could cause issues some of these are: if the operating systems fails, viruses, or hard drive crashes then your backups maybe corrupt, damaged or even lost.


When Should I back up my Data?

It’s often good to back up your data whenever you make period changes to your files, If you write a lot of documents, use excel files, or  have a lot of music, and Especially when you have a lot of important pictures that mean a lot to you.


What Programs Can I use to automatically make backups?

Windows 7 has a very unique feature called Backup and Restore. as shown in this diagram

To open this  hit your start menu which is the circular windows logo sign and in the search bar type Backup. This will display a list of programs windows finds based upon what you typed. If you see Backup and Restore Select that and a new window will pop up taking you to the backup and restore window. More information of this feature from Microsoft can be found here Win7BackupRestore.

 

If you have Windows Vista Starter and Windows Vista Home Basic then the backup and restore feature is not available. Vista Home premium and up can get to the backup and restore by going to

  1. Start Button   2. Clicking Control Panel  then  3. select system maintenance and click on the Backup and restore center. More information on this feature can be found here:  Vistabackup

 

Windows XP Home/ Professional:  backup instructions can be found here:  XPbackup

Some other free backup tools other than windows that can perform back are listed below click on the name to download and try it out.

  • Comodo backup- Backs up your files to an online storage or make backups to Cd’s and DVD’s
  • FB Backup- it’s a free backup that protects your files by backing it up to Cd’s/DVD’s or storage location. Works with win  XP and up  (32 and 64-bit)
  • Cloud Storage For information about online storage you can read my article on cloud storage by clicking my link below

Where can I Backup my data?

The best places you should make backups on are CD’S/DVD’s, USB Flash Drives, or any external or additional internal device that can store information. You can also backup your files “To the Cloud” which is basically a term for online storage. You can read more about this on my Cloud Storage Article by clicking here: What is Cloud Storage?

 

Closure

Remember it important to back up your files especially when they have great value, and in case of an event to data loss. “ I always go by the rule Better Safe than Sorry” it may sound silly but it’s a good thing to say to yourself before you ask the question should I backup my data or not?