Backup of your files is a task and is simple. There are numerous ways for backing up your files and also your whole PC or laptop. If your hard disk fails, you will restore it back. Below are the steps on how to back up your laptop and PC. Backup to an external hard drive is the simplest way to back up. With the help of USB hard disk, copy your files from your computer to the removable drive. You can download backup software to make the backup process and it is completely manual. Most of the external hard disks come up with backup software.
To make backing up your hard disk, first set up a backup profile. PCs with Windows XP have a useful application named ‘Windows XP Back Up’. Once open the application, follow the instructions and decide what you require to back up. If you are using a partitioned hard disk, choose to copy back to the original drive and this should safely store your data.
Mac OS 10.5 or later have an application called ‘Time Machine’ which is similar to ‘Windows XP Back Up’. This ‘Time Machine’ application allows to back up your data and set up a profile that will allow you to export data to an external hard disk.
Both of these applications perform backups and also allows you to back up data regularly. These applications will also sent you email alerts when carrying out backups. There are lots of standard backup solutions existing for both Windows and Mac.
Using External Hard disk:
External hard disks are readily available at your local store and also found at numerous online web sites. These disks can connect to your PC or laptop through USB port on your computer. Installing the hard disk is just a matter of plugging them to your PC. Some of the hard disks come with third-party software to back them up. Once installed, you will access your external hard disk similar the way you will access your internal disk connected to the computer.
Backing up your data to external hard disk is simple and the best solution because your data is safe on the external hard disk even if your computer is crashed.
Using cloud storage:
Cloud storage is the one which is having more popularity which helps in backing data up online to a fundamental location. There are numerous cloud storage websites. Some of them offer a few storage for free but you have to pay for more space. Make sure that when you put information on the web, you must do so carefully. There is an issue about the safety of your data as it is sent over the internet and kept on someone servers. Making backups using cloud storage will take a long time which is the main drawback.
Using other devices:
You will also back up your hard drive on CDs, DVDs or on a flash drive. CDs are better for smaller data backups and have fairly small amount of storage space. DVDs handle more information than CDs. Majority of CDs and DVDs are designed to be used once and they cannot be rewritten. You will also buy discs that can be erased and reburned. Flash drives can handle a few gigabytes of data and be rewritten in a similar way you would with a regular hard disk. If you have to lock your backups in a safety deposit box, use removable media. You cannot do this with cloud storage also. Taking a positive step by backing up your hard disk will limit the damage when your hard disk crashes.
Most people will use both locally and online back up. Documents which are serious need to be accessed quickly, should be backed up online. Photos and videos should be backed up on a hard disk and this is likely to be much faster and cheaper than online storage.
