We have heard about tragic data losses that cost economically and add-up to frustration. While a data disaster can strike anytime, there are ways to secure your data against accidental loss.
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File Backup is a process of creating a backup of your data. The primary purpose of backing-up your data is to reduce the impact of data disasters and make data easily accessible in the event a data disaster strikes. A recent backup shall allow your data to be recovered from accidental data deletion, malware infection, hardware malfunctioning, data corruption, natural calamities, fire, physical damage to storage drive, and other circumstances.
Where to Store Backups?
You can store your backups on a device of your choice. However, in order to ensure your data is always protected, consider storing your backups on external storage devices rather than the same hard disk that contains the original files. If your internal hard disk containing the original files and backup files get damaged, you may no longer be able to restore the backups. Nowadays, a wide variety of backup options are available ranging from USB stick, external hard disk and Internet cloud services. Microsoft OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox are some of the prominent ones.
Backup Interval
The backup interval plays a critical role in the data recovery process. If you’re backing up data on a regular basis and a disaster strikes, all of your data can be easily recovered. However, if you’re taking weekly or monthly backups, you might lose a large portion of the recent changes that you’ve made to your files after the last backup. This is why backing up data regularly is recommended to ensure smooth recovery.
How Much Space A Backup Might take?
The actual size of a file backup might largely depend on various factors such as the size of the original files, your compression level (if used), etc. Some backup programs allow you to select a compression level among low, normal and high. Higher compression will reduce the size of your backup, however the backup-restore process may become a bit slower.
Importance of Backing-Up Your Data
- Regularly backing-up customer’s data helps the organization build trust between customers, suppliers and other partners.
- It is mandatory for companies to maintain books of accounts and for taxation and audit. Taking regular backups will help companies comply with the local government’s tax regulations and avoid hefty penalties or Court proceedings.
- Regular backups of the data will help keep the investors informed about the company’s financial records and net worth and make informed decisions.
Backing Up Files in Windows 11
Method 1: Using Microsoft OneDrive
The easiest way to backup your documents in Win=dows 11 is using the OneDrive desktop client. Each OneDrive user gets 5 GB of storage for free. If you need additional storage, you can purchase a subscription.
- Click on the Start icon on the taskbar and select Settings.
- In the Settings window, locate the System tab.
- Click on Storage.
- Click on Advanced storage settings > Backup Options.
- Click on Sign in to OneDrive under Back up files to OneDrive.
- Enter your OneDrive login credentials or click on Create account, if you don’t have a OneDrive account.
- Specify a location for your OneDrive folder. The default location is C:\Users\%username%\OneDrive.
- Click on Next.
- In the subsequent page, click on Open my OneDrive folder.
Now you can backup all of your files to OneDrive cloud on a regular basis.
Method 2: Using Windows File History
File History is an in-house feature in Windows 11 and earlier versions. It keeps track of newer versions of your files and preserves each version to protect them against accidental deletion, data corruption or unauthorized modifications to the original data.
- Plug in an external storage drive such as an external hard disk.
- Click the Start icon on the taskbar, and select Settings.
- Click on System > Storage.
- Click on Advanced backup options > File History.
- In the new page, click on Add a drive under Back up using File History.
- Choose your external storage drive.
- You will notice the Backup using File History switch is now turned to the ON position (right-side).
- To configure which folders to backup, click on More options.
- In the Backup Options page, you may set up your backup folders, backup interval (the default interval is every year), backup retention period (forever, by default).
- Click on Save and close.
Keeping Your Files Always Organized
The key to organizing your files is to regularly scan them for duplicates and de-clutter your documents library. Duplicate files not only eat up your storage, they make it difficult to find the right file when you need it the most. Your search results are cluttered with too many entries of different versions of the same file. To avoid confusion and boost your productivity, it’s worth scanning your system regularly.
- Download and install Clone Files Checker on your computer.
- Add a folder that you want to scan for duplicates. For example: C:\Users\%username%\Documents.
- Click on Start Search and wait until all the files are scanned.
- CFC will display two options: Quick Fix and Review & Fix. Choose the latter.
- Review & Fix will allow you to manually review all of your files and decide a specific course of action. For example, using the Select Duplicates button, you will be able to select or deselect files based on specific patterns (for example, newest in group, oldest in group, etc).
- Once you’re done, click on Select Action > Move to Folder to move all duplicate files to another folder, or choose the Delete option to permanently delete.
Other Features:
- iTunes Scan: CFC not only scans your duplicate documents and files, it lets you declutter your iTunes library also. You can find and remove duplicate iTunes music based on music tags (such as, artist, album, etc).
- Cloud Scan: CFC comes with a complimentary subscription to its cloud duplicate scanning services to easily remove duplicate files from OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, Box Cloud, and Amazon S3.
- 100% Accuracy: CFC uses automated algorithms to compare the contents of your files which is 100% accurate.
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Raza Ali Kazmi works as an editor and technology content writer at Sorcim Technologies (Pvt) Ltd. He loves to pen down articles on a wide array of technology related topics and has also been diligently testing software solutions on Windows & Mac platforms. If you have any question about the content, you can message me or the company's support team.