Backup your computer files

Everyone loses data at some point in their lives. And what files do you really need to back up? Well, first and foremost, you need to back up your personal files. You can always reinstall your operating system and redownload your programs if your hard drive fails, but your own personal data is irreplaceable.

Any personal documents, photos, home videos, and any other data on your computer should be backed up regularly. Those can never be replaced. Your operating system, programs, and other settings can also be backed up.

There are many ways to back up your data, from using an external drive to backing up those files on a remote server over the Internet. Here are the strengths and weaknesses of each:. While backup programs like Backblaze and cloud storage services like Dropbox are both online backups, they work in fundamentally different ways. Dropbox is designed to sync your files between PCs, while Backblaze and similar services are designed to backup large amounts of files.

Backblaze will keep multiple copies of different versions of your files, so you can restore the file exactly as it was from many points in its history. Depending on how much data you have, one could be cheaper than the other. Backblaze and Carbonite do have one big limitation you should keep in mind. If you delete a file on your computer, it will be deleted from your online backups after 30 days. So be careful when deleting those files if you might want them back!

So which should you use? Because you want both offsite and onsite backups. Offsite backups are stored at a different location. Onsite backups are faster and easier, and should be your first line of defense against data loss. If you lose files, you can quickly restore them from an external drive. In the search box on the taskbar, type Control Panel , then select it from the list of results. In the search box in Control Panel, type File History. Select Save backup copies of your files with File History from the list of results.

Select it from the list of results, then select Backup and Restore Windows 7. Select another backup to restore files from , select the location of your external storage device, and follow the instructions to restore your files.

Recovery options in Windows Open Backup Settings. Use File History to back up to an external drive or network location. In the search box on the taskbar, type restore files , and then select Restore your files with File History. When you find the version you want, select Restore to save it in its original location. To save it in a different place, right-click Restore , select Restore to , and then choose a new location. Find your backups created on previous versions of Windows.

You can restore files from a backup that was created on another computer running Windows Vista or Windows 7. Choose Select another backup to restore files from , and then follow the steps in the wizard. If you're restoring files from a backup that was made on another computer, the files will be restored in a folder under the user name that was used to create the backup.

If the user names are different, you'll need to navigate to the folder where the files are restored. For example, if your user name was Molly on the computer that the backup was made on but your user name is MollyC on the computer that the backup is being restored on, the restored files will be saved in a folder labelled Molly.

Select the Start button, then select Computer. Double-click the Users folder. You will see a folder for each user account. Double-click the folder for the user name that was used to create the backup. The restored files will be in the various folders based on where they were located originally. After you restore your computer from a system image backup, there may be newer versions of some of your files in a file backup that you want to restore.

To restore files from a file backup that was created after the system image backup was created, follow these steps. Choose Select another backup to restore files from. In Backup Period , select the date range of the backup that contains the files that you want to restore, and then follow the steps in the wizard. Windows 8. Note If you are prompted to close programs, make sure that you have saved any open documents and close those programs. Or, click Close Programs.

Under Back up or restore your files , click Set up backup. Select where you want to save your backup, and then click Next. Note Remember to save your backup files to removable media or a network location. Click Let Windows choose or Let me choose , and then click Next. Make the appropriate selections, and then click Next or Save Settings and run backup. Click Back up files under Back up files or your entire computer. Select where you want to store the file backup, and then click Next.

Select the disk or disks that you want to back up, and then click Next. Select the file type or file types that you want to back up, and then click Next. Click Next , click Old computer , and then click Next. Select how you want to transfer your files. If you select Other , you can save to a network location or to removable media so that you can keep a backup for your records.

Note Manufacturers frequently configure a recovery partition on a computer. Typically, a recovery partition is displayed as a hard disk drive. Always store the media that you use for backups in a secure location to prevent unauthorized access to your files.