Scott Drinkard

How Do I Back Up My Important Files? Computer Back Up Made Easy



Posted: Thursday, April 08, 2010

by Scott Drinkard
The Computer Guy

"How do I back up my computer?" or "What files do I need to back up?" are some of the more common questions that I'm asked by my customers. When someone brings in their PC for repair and it has for whatever reason, become unbootable, they are suddenly (and understandably) worried about the contents of the hard drive. Whether it's hundreds (or thousands) of dollars worth of downloaded music and movies, software that was purchased and paid for online, countless hours of work on personal or business documents or the unthinkable loss of those irreplaceable digital photos, the sudden realization that you have never backed these things up can be a very upsetting. In this article, I'll look at some of the things that you should know about backing up your PC.

One of the first questions I ask when someone calls and tells me that their pc won't start is if they have a recent backup of their data. Sadly, more often than not, the answer is no. I always hate to hear this because backing up your data is vitally important and it's not really difficult. There are backup utilities and services available to consumers now that make the process so simple and automated that anyone can do it easily and quickly. And the best part is, there are so many competing products you will easily find one to fit your budget if you shop around. One word of caution, though. Try to avoid using the built-in backup utility in Windows if at all possible. It's cumbersome, featureless and not very dependable. You probably won't like it so you won't use it and then the next time your hard drive crashes (it will happen sooner or later), you won't have a backup. I've seen it happen too many times! Third party software is definitely the way to go.

Anyway, whatever backup application you decide to use, It's important to understand what needs to be backed up. Following is a list of things you should DEFINITELY include in your backups:

The 'My Documents Folder' - This is hands down the most critical folder for most people in terms of data backup. This is where all of your personal and sometimes irreplaceable data is stored, by default, in Windows. It contains all of your photos, music, documents, videos, etc. In some cases, such as digital photos and home videos, if these items are lost or corrupted, they are gone forever and cannot be replaced.

Your Accounting Data - If you use personal or business accounting software on your pc, backing up the data file on a regular basis is an absolute MUST! Enough said.

Your Email Address Book- You have a lot of important contact information that you have gathered over the years. Backing up this data is especially critical if you are a business person and you utilize email in your daily business.

Your Internet "Favorites" - These are your bookmarked web pages. Although not the most critical folder to back up, it can save you a lot of time searching for those web sites that you use frequently.



Things you don't need to bother with backing up include:

The 'Windows' Folder - This is the folder on your hard drive where Windows system files are located. Backing up this folder is a waste of space and time. Windows must be installed from installation media and cannot be reinstalled by simply copying this folder. You should already have a copy of your Operating System on disk.

Any programs that you installed from disks - You DO need to back up the data files (such as for your accounting data), but not the program itself. Just like your operating system, programs must be installed using installation media.

Well, there you have it. Backing up is easy if you have the right software. No more excuses. Get yourself a good backup application and start protecting your valuable data today. I hope this article has been helpful. For more on this and other PC related subjects please visit my website at www.westtexascomputerguy.com .
If you enjoyed this article visit him on Facebook at facebook.com/odessacomputerguy and become a fan.

Scott Drinkard is a freelance computer repair and networking technician living and working in Odessa, Texas. As the owner of Odessa based "The Computer Guy" Mr. Drinkard has been serving the fine people of West Texas for 12 years. You can read more by Mr. Drinkard by visiting www.odessacomputerguy.net.
This Article has been viewed 176 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.
We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.