It’s All About Your Personal Data
Let’s start with the
obvious: what do you need back up? Well, first and foremost,
you need to back up your personal files. You can always reinstall your operating system and redownload your programs if your hard drive fails, but
your own personal data is irreplaceable.
Any personal documents,
photos, home videos, and any other data on your computer should be backed up
regularly. Those can never be replaced. If you’ve spent hours painstakingly
ripping audio CDs or video DVDs, you may want to back those files up, too,
so you don’t have to do all that work over again.
Your operating system,
programs, and other settings can also be backed up. You don’t have to
back them up, necessarily, but it can make your life easier if your entire hard
drive fails. If you’re the type of person that likes to play around with system
files, edit the registry, and regularly update your hardware, having a full system backup may save you
time when things go wrong.
The Many Ways to Back Up Your Files
There are many ways to
back up your data, from using an external drive to backing up those files on a
remote server over the Internet. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of each:
Back Up to an External
Drive:
If you have an external USB hard drive, you can just back up to that drive using your computer’s built-in backup features. On Windows 10 and 8, use File History. On Windows 7, use Windows Backup. On Macs, use Time Machine. Occasionally connect the drive to the computer and use the backup tool, or leave it plugged in whenever your home and it’ll back up automatically. Pros: backing up is cheap and fast. Cons: If your house gets robbed or catches on fire, your backup can be lost along with your computer, which is very bad.
Back Up to a USB Flash
Drive:
1. Click on the
“Settings Button” on the Task Bar.
2. Click “Update &
Security”.
3. Insert the USB
Flash Drive in your computer and click the red X.
4. Click “Backup”
5. Click “+ Add a
drive” (Will search for your USB drive.
6. Pick the ADATA UFD
(Your may have a different name).
7. Click on “More
Options”.
8. Using the “Down
Arrow Dropdown”.
Change
“Back up my files” to “Daily”.
Change
“Keep My Files” to “1 Year”.
You can Add or Subtract from Folders to
Backup but it is
better to leave what is shown.
9. Click “Backup Now”.
10.
Will indicate “Backing up your Data” (Only flashing HD light)
tells you that it is working.
Best to Backup overnight.
11.
The next time you do a Backup the Overview will look like this.
12. Click on File Explorer
on the Task Bar and Scroll to the ADATA
UFD line.
It shows the File History Folder. Opening all the Sub
folders
with the “arrow on the left” shows the details.
