We probably all know we should be doing it, yet most of us either don’t do it at all, do it infrequently or are unsure if their backup system really works – until disaster strikes!
Is it really necessary?
Can you really afford to lose all data and information on your computer like accounts, customer contact details and correspondence? How would you feel if you lost all those family photos, login and password details, personal settings and emails? Would you be able to hunt down all those CDs for installed software, printers etc. and painstakingly re-install them one by one?
Why?
- Hard drives fail: even new hard drives can fail completely
- Accidental deletion of files (I blame the kids…)
- Virus attacks: sometimes only a complete system wipe will do
- Installations or updates gone wrong
- Theft or fire
So, even with the best computer and all the luck in the world – one day you are likely to lose some – or all – of your data. So, we all know we should do it, but…
Why aren’t we doing it?
“I just haven’t got round to it”
It really is not as a big and daunting job as you might think. And if you really do not want to face it, outsource it – get a professional in, an hour well worth investing in.
“I am not quite sure how”
Fortunately, there are only three questions to think about:
| 1. What? | What do you want to back up – just a few photos, files and emails or everything? |
| 2. Where? | Where do you want to save your back-up: CD / DVD, flash drive, external hard drive or online? |
| 3. How? | How often do you want to back up and do you manually want to copy the files or have it done automatically for you? |
The safest way is of course a combination of all of the above.
3) “I just can’t afford it right now”
Oh yes you can! You could make use of free back-up solutions. Windows, for example, includes a basic back-up utility and there are also other good free programs out there such as Macrium Reflect Free or how about backing up files online, e.g. via Dropbox or IDrive?
However, for more advanced options, i.e. quick incremental and automatic backups, you will probably need to pay a small one-off fee – well worth it, as a reliable, non-intrusive back-up solution really is priceless!
And finally…
Most importantly, once you have a back-up solution in place (and before you quite rightly pat yourself on the back) make sure it actually works by testing it!
Have PC Harmony,
so you can concentrate on the more important things in life…
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