Since the Mac is so virus free, I decided not to waste my 1TB external HDD on backing up my important files using Time Machine. And it was a pretty bad decision.
5 Effective Methods to Backup your Computer (Windows/Mac)
A day came when the internal HDD in iMac was nearly filled up with my stuff, only 100 megabytes or so free space was remaining. Due to this, suddenly my iMac’s HDD crashed and all the data, system files, movies and what not got destroyed.
I had no backup of any files to recover them and I knew no software would be as reliable as if I would have manually backed up all the files. After learning this lesson, I am now using Mac’s Time Machine to regularly backup my files to my external drive.
This happened to me, and I know that millions other Windows and Mac user might be facing the same thing in their day to day life. But fret not, we have got you covered. Below are the best and effective methods to backup your precious data and files, be it Windows or Mac.
Methods to backup your Computer (Mac/Windows)
1. Cloud Storage:
As the tech titans say – The future is in the cloud. People are slowly and gradually migrating their data from a physical drive to cloud storage. It is more reliable, secure and damage free. I personally use iCloud Drive to store most of document format data so I can even access the documents on the go through other devices.
There are many other cloud storage services available in the market. Below are a few popular once:
Dropbox: You might have heard of Dropbox. One of the early cloud service providers in the world. I would recommend using Dropbox for storing all your images, since it offers only 2GB of free space. Sign Up here.
Google Drive: Google Drive is extremely reliable cloud storage providing 15GB of FREE fixed storage and up to 1TB of storage for paid plans.
Copy: I discovered this cloud storage service just 3 months ago and it is very much impressive. It gives 15GB of FREE storage and 5GB extra for each referral that joins through you. Sign Up for it now!
One Drive: One Drive is a service provided by Microsoft and I am not an active user of it. Its a service worth trying and I would recommend you to do so. It gives a whooping 25GB of FREE cloud storage and has premium plans too!
Box: Box is a well known cloud storage service around the globe and offers 10GB of FREE storage. The only drawback is, you can upload at the most 250MB of file at a single upload.
2. External Hard Drive
Well I know, this is probably the most obvious way of backing up files and you would have already known it. And indeed yes, it can be as reliable as a cloud backup service with a plus point that you can access the data even when there is no internet connectivity.
But there are some Do’s and Don’t for the same. Buy a good quality external hard drive which you will ONLY use it for backing up files on your computer, manually. Make sure, you use it only to backup and restore your files and nothing else. If your backup drive gets infected with malware, you are gone.
Buying a 1TB Portable HDD would be good initially but remember that data size keeps growing month after month so I wonder even that size would be enough.
3. NAS
NAS simply means, Network Attached Storage services. NAS dеvісеѕ are соnnесtеd to our оwn ѕуѕtеmѕ vіа wired nеtwоrkѕ оr wіrеlеѕѕ WіFі networks. Thеу wоrk automatically аnd аlѕо ѕhоw up in our оwn соmрutеr’ѕ fіlе ѕуѕtеm bесаuѕе thе соmрutеr treats it lіkе a nаtіvе hard drive.
Sресіаllу built NAS for соnѕumеrѕ hаvе features lіkе built in tоrrеnt downloading сlіеntѕ fоr dоwnlоаdіng stuff even whеn PC is оff. Evеn іf thе еntіrе system сrаѕhеѕ thе NAS storage device wоuld be safe because it’s a different device whісh is remotely connected tо our ѕуѕtеm. NAS іѕ one оf the mоѕt соnvеnіеnt mеthоdѕ оnсе уоu have thе арраrаtuѕ and all ѕеtuр.
4. Windows Backup and Time Machine
This is one of the classical methods to backup data on your computer. Windows provides in-built feature for one-click backup of data and save it in the same hard drive, which is not advisable as such. You can find this option in Control Panel for Windows.
On the other hand, Mac provides a feature similar to Windows, called Time Machine and is very customisable. You can make a separate external hard drive as a Time Machine drive and it will backup your files and folders as and when you change them. Super easy, super reliable. (Currently using it)
5. Data Storage Companies:
Offlіnе Data ѕtоrаgе companies аlѕо store реорlе’ѕ dаtа іn thеіr wаrеhоuѕеѕ. You саn ѕtоrе уоur dаtа іn disks or other media whісh they kеер safe in bоxеѕ inside thеіr wаrеhоuѕеѕ. Suсh оffѕіtе data ѕtоrаgе allows for safety frоm thеft аnd dіѕаѕtеrѕ.
But іn tеrmѕ оf ассеѕѕ it’s рrеttу difficult аѕ a lоt оf соrrеѕроndеnсе and рареr wоrk wоuld bе іnvоlvеd bеfоrе gеttіng уоur data back. Thе соѕtѕ involved are аlѕо very high and іt may nоt bе fеаѕіblе for mаnу uѕеrѕ.
Ball is in your Court
So above are the 5 widely used and effective ways to manage and backup your files to prevent data loss. Cloud storage services can really be a savour if you have a 24*7 internet connection and won’t cost you a bomb of buying a new Hard Drive or spend on Data storage companies.
I personally would recommend you to use cloud storage effectively as well as use an external hard drive to manually backup if you are a Windows user, or use Time Machine if Mac user.
Lets move forward for a discussion on the same in the comments below. What do you feel about the importance of backing up data that matters?
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