Windows Data Backup: How to choose a good backup solution

Different backup solutions

Backing up your data is crucial to keep things intact. No computer or other electronic device is crash proof, and problems can occur at any unexpected time resulting in the loss of data. Data backup is the best and only way to ensure that your files, photos, music, documents and more remain safe and secure. Make sure that you backup your data regularly. This is a law today!

There are many types of data backup and often it is not easy to choice between them. One important factor that you must consider is unattended backup execution. With unattended software backup, you can set the software to create a backup of your data automatically. You should be able to configure your backup, test it and then forgot about it. We have so many things to do all day that often we forgot to run the backup. So, an integrated scheduler is a must today. It should be flexible and allow us to run our backup using different strategies.

Different backup methods

There are many data backup modes as well, including full backup, incremental backup, update backup, mirrored backup, disk image backup, differential backup, catalog backup and others. It is not easy to select the best one. Of course a "better" doesn't exist in absolute. All depends on what you want to do. For example, if you want to backup daily then you do not want to spend too much time backing up and then you need a quick solution. The solution in this case is the Incremental or Update backup. This mode let you update an existing full backup in order to update changed file or to add new files. As a daily work doesn't involve too many files then this will result in a quick backup execution. One scheduling approach I prefer in this case is to manually run the backup at end of day and have the backup software shutdown my machine at completion, if no errors. This allows me to do other things while the backup run and then just verify that the computer has been shutdown and thus the backup made no errors. Such approach is the less invasive one and also has the advantage to give the program the full machine cpu power because you are not working on it. So, in summary, each strategy has a best backup method and you must carefully think about it before to setup the backup software. This also tell you that simpler backup software are to avoid because if you will change your mind then the software should allow it and follow your new reasoning. Freeware software must be "KEPT OFF" for many reasons. They are simple, lack many professional options, are not well supported and can die from one day to the other leaving you without a required support. When you change your mind about your backup strategy is very helpful write to the backup software support and ask them the better solution for your case. Having someone that answer you precisely and suggest you the best options is something that is worth the price for a software license.

Select a data backup software

When you decide to get a software program to assist you with backing up your files, you should always get a program that best fits your needs. Ease of use and overall reliability should always be important factors when it comes to your data. Most programs are easy to use, so even if you have never backed up your data before, you will be able to do it without any problems. All you will need to do is load the software then follow the instructions that come up on the screen. Often users want to learn programs using them directly. They avoid program documentation and go directly to set options on inspiration. Well, as you valuable data are involved, you must avoid this simple approach. Even if the program is intuitive and simple you must read the program help and tutorials in order to better understand what you should do. A very important option not easily found in all backup software is the "simulation" option. Using this option you can simply simulate the backup without to write a byte into the destination disk and see if all is going well. Also you can verify the backup report and see if "all" your valuable data has been backed up or not. From my point of view this option is a must!

How often back-up

How often or how much you need to backup things however, all depends on how you use your computer. If your data is very important or if you use your computer for work, you may need to create a backup of your software on a daily basis. You can use various devices and equipment to backup your data, such as DVD and CD burners, external hard drives, servers on the local Network or servers on the Internet, and so on and so forth. Although each one has pros and cons, you should always use more than one backup method if your data is extremely important to you, just to be on the safe side.

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