Jennifer in Arlington, VA asks:
How often should I back up my computer and how do I accomplish this?
In the technology realm, backups and redundancies are a way of life. In the event of power loss, theft or disaster, you want to make sure everything on your computer is saved somewhere.
Items you will want to back up frequently include your:
*operating system
*documents
*applications
*media: photos, video and music
There are two types of back up methods you should consider employing; hard drive and cloud.
Back up to an external hard drive. You can use a USB external hard drive, found at most electronics stores. Try to get one that has twice as much space as your computer so you have enough space. They’re inexpensive, fast and easy to work with. Every day you should plug in the drive, run the backup, remove the drive and store it somewhere safe. CDs and DVDs are other ways to physically back up your data, but not as simple and compact as a USB drive. Time Machine is the built-in backup that works with your Mac and an external drive. On Windows, a feature called Backup and Restore will help you with this.
Backing up over the Internet. This method is essential in case your computer and/or hard drive are both lost or rendered inoperable.
For PCs: Windows Live SkyDrive is one option available if you choose to back up your data to an online storage space. If you want to install SkyDrive, open the SkyDrive desktop app for Windows page and click on the Download Now button. You can also get this by installing the full Windows Essentials 2012 suite. You need to have a Windows Live account to proceed with the back up steps.
After you have created your account, you will see the SkyDrive homepage which will show the amount of storage space available. You can either create a new folder or add files without a new folder. The next step would be to drag and drop the files you wish to back up to your new folder or an existing folder. After the drag and drop is complete, click on continue and the upload will begin. When the upload is complete, you will get a message stating that files were successfully added.
If you have a Mac: Apple’s iCloud offers 5GB of backup space for free for in addition to other services like calendar, picture and contact syncing. It’s a good way to keep documents, calendars and music synced across multiple devices. iCloud automatically backs up the most important data on your device using iOS 5 or later. Once you have enabled Backup on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch in Settings > iCloud > Backup & Storage, it will run on a daily basis as long as your device:
- is connected to Internet over Wi-Fi
- is connected to a power source
- has the screen locked
You can also back up manually whenever your device is connected to Internet over Wi-Fi by choosing Back Up Now from Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup.
Cloud options that work on PCs and Macs include iDrive, MozyHome, Norton Online Backup and Crashplan. Check them all out to see which one works best for your situation.
For more information on the best tools and methods for backing up your data, call Teltek!
Teltek is proud to offer IT services as the fourth component to our multi-systems approach as your single source technology services company. This Managed Service Provider (MSP) offering completes our longstanding goal to provide our clients with a one-call resource for all of their business technology needs. IT outsourcing, remote back up and disaster recovery, helpdesk support, computer network relocations, security products and server/desktop virtualization are just a few of the services now available.