Skip to main content

Preventing data loss - How to backup files properly

Let's imagine a scenario that is not really unlikely to happen to you:
You are drinking a cup of coffee and checking some typos on your essay that you wrote yesterday. Obviously, your headphones were plugged in and you simply enjoyed the time that you had available all for yourself. Fresh air brings new ideas and is a must after intensive work so you get up from your chair. What you forgot is that your headphones were beneath your coffee mug and as soon as you got up, your laptop and smartphone got full of liquid. 
Now every minute counts: You turn your notebook off immediately and let it dry for a bit. But what If you are one of the Mac users with a soldered storages device or even with a T2 Security chip and your notebook does not turn on at all to save all your data that you had?
This is where a reliable and proper backup comes in. In some cases, your data such as pictures, documents for work or university are more important than a MacBook. They could be more expensive to you than a 1000$+ notebook because it is your work and work equals time. 

We all could try to take care of your things but what if a device gets stolen? All these scenarios make show us that having a proper Backup of your devices can make a headache go way in those situations. 
So let's start:
Backups can be done over the cloud and with physical storage devices


Backup for PCs (including macOS)

What you need in both operating systems is a storage device. You can buy a hard disk drive with 1 TB of storage for around 50$ or try to get a good deal for an even faster Thunderbolt 3 SSD. SSD are much faster and are more resistant in the short run. Keep in mind that hard drives are sensitive and should always be handled with care. 

Microsoft Windows 10 already has an integrated backup software installed. 
For that follow this path: Go to the Windows Menu Bar -> Search "Control Panel" -> Click "System and Security" -> Search "Save backup copied of your files with File History -> Click "System Image Backup" -> "Create a system image" -> Chose your storage device where you want your backup to be stored -> Click "Start backup" and wait until the program is done.

Apple has Time Machine as a tool to backup an image of your whole system. It´s integrated to macOS since Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. You can always restore and have access to files with Finder that have been lost. The program is easy to set up. Just follow the instructions. You can launch the program by opening up Spotlight when pressing Command and Space. Search for Time Machine and you will be guided threw the setup process. 

You can always buy third party software or safe them manual to backup your files. These options can also be used simultaneously with the built-in software from Microsoft and Apple. 
If it's possible, save onto more then one storage device. There are many cheap and unreliable drives that can be your worst enemy when you need them the most.

Backup for mobile devices such as Smartphones and Tablets

Apple has a great iCloud Backup option for iPhone. iPad and iPod touch devices. You can set iCloud up to backup regularly without the need of a physical device since the backup is saved onto the cloud. 5 GB can be used for free and you have the option to upgrade when you have more devices in your possession. The backup settings for iCloud are accessible over the settings app under iCloud Account. 

Android smartphones also have built-in software to back up your personal data. It would be too long to list all hundreds of manufacturers and how they try to solve the problem. 
Samsung has an option to save most of your data onto your Samsung Account. Samsung gives you the triple of online storage for free. 
Since we are talking about Android, you have lots of third party options for backing up. 

Conclusion

Hard drives have gotten cheaper in price and many phones already take care of backups over cloud services. Most people regret not having backed up important data before something bad happened. Let's play it safe and keep our money so nobody needs to go to a professional data recovery center and spend thousands of dollars to get their data back. These alternatives are next to free. 
Labels:
Location: Rhein-Main-Gebiet, Deutschland

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How To Keep Your Phone For A Longer Time - Guide

Smartphones have become more than just basic communication devices that replace home line phones. They are our point-and-shoot cameras, navigation units, media consumption devices and add many more unique features to help us out in real world use-cases. With every new year comes a new generation of SoCs, camera sensors, charging and display technologies. This is also why it is tempting to buy the newest flagship phone on the market.  Adding the hype around these devices, people most are likely willing to upgrade sooner to the next gen devices then their use-cases require.  This creates many problems: First, changing phones every one or two years creates a large amount of waste and that way harms the environment. Also, new devices need resources that are most likely only available in mines with inferior labor rights compared to modern industrial countries. Well known cases of child labor and slavery shouldn't become a norm to satisfy the public.  But w...
Post a Comment
Read more

How To Fix Your Macbook Keyboard (Software Solution Included)

A while back I wrote about problems that could occur with modern notebooks. I mentioned the keyboard problem of many MacBooks released after 2016.  A quick recap of the issue: These laptops have a refined keyboard mechanism with new "butterfly" switches. This was allegedly a necessity since Apple wanted to make the newest iterations of their notebooks quite thinner and decided to develop a new keyboard mechanism with less travel and hight being used in the case.  The keyboards can have some problems such as double or even more keystrokes when pressing on one key. My keyboard was especially affected by this with the "E" and space key. Some users also report being unable to press the button because of it being hard.  Apple acknowledges these problems and mentions that this problem only affects a small user base. From experience, I can say that it depends on the usage of your keyboard. If you are a student who types a lot, then the risk of getting prob...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to make your PC faster for free or cheap

Note: I'm not responsible for any kind of damages caused by your actions or my advices. This is just an article with some tips for you to have an overview of your options when having an issue with a computer.  A while ago, I saw an advertisement about a USB Stick that claims to make your PC run like a new one while I was browsing YouTube. The product looked like a basic SanDisk USB Drive and was connected to an older HP Laptop from about 2009.  First it seemed like a scam and I was ready to report it. But a few seconds in, I noticed that in a comparison between the Notebook with and without the stick, that the PCs had totally different environments running. At this point I was pretty sure of what was going on here. What was happening? The ad shows a ferly old notebook running Windows Vista to compare the speed against the same notebook with the promoted product plugged in. The basic Vista Notebook is struggling to open up a video without the Stick...
Post a Comment
Read more