Backing Up Your Computer – What You Need

Unfortunately, when it comes to backing up ones (very important) files on their computer system, a all-to-high number of us simply don’t do it (at all or regularly) until it is far far too late, usually when the disastrous system failure we have been dreading, has already happened.

The concept of backing up home PCs has most definitely been around since the 90s, but back in those days, it wasn’t the most easiest of tasks.

There weren’t commercially available hardware, such as external hard drives, or software such as the many backup tools available on the market today, that were in reach (both in financial and availability terms) of the general public.

However, nowadays, its a much different story.  And considering how relatively inexpensive and low on time it is to set up, it’s something that we all should be really doing (unless, of course, you couldn’t care less about any, not even one, file on your system).

Hardware

Firstly, we’ve got to the hardware.  There will be a number of factors that influence this, namely:

• Budget
• Payment preference (recurring or one time)
• Amount to backup
• Frequency of backup

The first major choice to make regarding hardware is whether its going to be your hardware in your own home, or someone elses (usually a companies) hardware in a data centre.

If you choose to use your own hardware, its a one off payment, usually between £30 to £120 depending on the size of the space you require for backups.

If you choose a companies hardware (by using a cloud based system, such as Mozy) then its usually a recurring fee.

There are pros and cons of both (too many to explore in this particular article) but to sum it up, a cloud based backup system will be more secure and reliable but will be more expensive.  Conversely, a home backup system will be less secure and probably less reliable (depending on your outlay on hardware), but will be less expensive – usually a one off (ish) cost.  This ‘ish’ comes into the fact that hardware used for backups is fairly prone to fail after prolonged or intensive usage.

If the budgets big enough, we say go for a cloud based hosting solution with a reputable company – they can be obtained fairly cheaply these days (sometimes a few pounds a month – again, the cost goes up with the increase in storage space required).

The other advantage to a cloud based solution is that you don’t have to specifically consider the hardware.  If you go with a reputable company they’ll usually pick some top quality enterprise quality hardware – because its easy to afford that when you divvy up the space between customers and buy in bulk.  Therefore, a cloud based backup solution definitely give you the most bang for your buck.

If your going for the slightly less expensive and glamorous option, check out Amazon for some of the best deals on hardware.  Ensure that you pick a reputable brand (such as WD [Western Digital] or Seagate – there are more, research for any particular brands or models that are top of the pops at the moment).  Also ensure that, obviously, you have enough space for your needs.

Space wise, whether you go cloud or home based, you could need anything from a few gig to a couple of thousand gig (GB).  There’s no true way to estimate this for individual systems without knowing the size of the system and what you actually want to backup.  For an extremely rough estimate, probably half the space of your hard disk(s) will be more than enough – with a bit of room to grow.  Remember, we’re backing up files that we can’t replace (or replace easily).  Things like programs can be reinstalled – don’t back these up, there’s no point (although its worth noting that some data files from programs you may want to backup).

Software

The worlds your lobster with this one.  Again, budget and reliability-required dependent.  Anything and everything from expensive and robust to free and potentially not as robust.

Lets look at a few options:

Windows Backup

Reputable – check.

Free – check.

Fairly reliable – check.

Windows Backup will meet the needs of the many.  With its ‘set and forget’ functionality it can be configured and then allowed to work its wonders on a regular basis.  Don’t pick a drive on your own computer.  Use an external (obviously).

I won’t explain the whole ‘how to do this’ as a) you may already know and b) its been done a million times.

Take a look below:

TimeMachine

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For the Mac Lovers out there, the OS X equivalent is Time Machine.  Very good, simple to use and set up tool.  Probably edges Windows Backup and Restore.

And the paid ones…

There’s that many, you could change on a weekly basis and not run out of options.  The key here is to pick the one that works for you.  Most backup providers are going cloud based now (it is the future), but companies such as Acronis still do reputable paid for local backup software solutions.

Conclusion

The biggest piece of advice to take away with yourself here is – do something.  It doesn’t have to be the best solution, but even the worst solution is better than nothing!  Take action before its too late!

Image: Wysz.