Backup Basics Presentation. Presented by Tom Crittenden RASCALs 2015

Transcription

1 Backup Basics Presentation Presented by Tom Crittenden RASCALs 2015

2 What we ll Cover Why Backup What to Backup Where to Backup How to Backup When to Backup The screens in this presentation are from Windows 8 & 10

3 Glossary CP Control Panel IMHO In my humble opinion PC Personal Computer (as in it's your PC, not mine do your homework). I ll use PC generically for laptops, desktops, tablets, etc. W10 (or 8 or 7) Windows 10 or 8, or 7 11/12/2015 3

4 Why Backup? Why should you backup (or you do backups don t you??). Do you have information on your PC that would be difficult to recover if lost (photos, important documents, etc.)? Do you store information that can be recovered, but would take a long time to do so? Do you ever work on projects that take awhile, and you would be perturbed (cry?) if you lost the work in progress? Do you work on financial or other important programs? Do you store on your PC (e.g. use an program like Outlook vs. a web browser)? Do you download programs you ve paid for and then installed? Have you ever deleted a file only to find you really wanted it back? If any of these are yes, you probably need to do backups. In other words, if the only thing you use the PC for is web browsing and web you may not need backups. IMHO all the rest of us do. 11/12/2015 4

5 What to Back Up? Well, we partly answered that in the previous slide. All the important stuff. The easiest way is to backup you your Libraries (more in a moment), and Desktop folders. As long as you save all your important files in these locations, then backup is easiest. You ll notice I haven t included backup of your whole disk. There are programs that will do that, and obviously restoring is much simpler. But they also take a lot of time, and a much large backup location. Some feel that s the way to go, but my preference is to backup my important stuff. I can always get Windows reinstalled, or put my files on a new PC if the old one is destroyed. 11/12/2015 5

6 A brief look at Libraries Libraries are links to the storage locations for your PC. W8 comes with 4 Libraries (Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos) which initially have links to your corresponding folders, as well as the public folders (e.g. Documents and Public Documents). If you click on the File Explorer Icon on the W8 Desktop Taskbar, it should open in your Libraries. You can also set up custom Libraries if the built-in ones aren t enough. If you re using an program that doesn t store data with your Documents (e.g. Live Mail), find out where they are stored (do and Internet Search) and include that location in your Documents Library. 11/12/2015 6

7 Add to Libraries Libraries are kind of like the old card catalogs you can include files from anywhere on the PC in any library (again all that s created is a link your files stay where they are). Here I m preparing to include a custom location in the Documents Library. How this relates to backups is that any file(s) included in the library should be able to be backup up when you back up a library. 11/12/2015 7

8 Windows 10 Recovery Disk Another area to backup is Windows OS. W10 has an easy way to back up the recovery disk that your PC vendor probably included. In CP click Recovery options, then Create a recovery drive. You will need a USB flash (thumb) drive that is at least 16 GB. I will erase all data and reformat the drive, so copy an data first. 11/12/2015 8

9 Windows System Image If you don t have a recovery partition, and don t have a Windows install disk, you can use Windows System Image. It makes a complete copy of your drive you will need either an external hard drive large enough for your data, or several DVDs. System image is accessed from CP, then Backup and Restore. 11/12/2015 9

10 Where to Backup? First evaluate how much data is in the files you ve chosen to back up. Allow for a good deal of growth I d start with how much you have now and double it (or more) Also consider allowing for multiple backups to multiple devices. I use both external hard drives, and flash drives. Prices continue to tumble for both external and flash drives. OK I just mentioned two alternatives. You can also use DVDs, another PC, or a drive connected to your home network. Remember that no device has an infinite life hence the recommendation to use multiple devices. I recommend keeping at least one backup away from your PC if the house burns down you lose the PC and the backup. Consider a safe deposit box or close friend/relative. If you can fit your important stuff on a flash drive you can take it with you. 11/12/

11 Should you Encrypt? Well, those that know me know the answer. While you PC is a risk for theft, external devices are ripe for theft/loss. I ll discuss Encryption options briefly in the Security Basics presentation. 11/12/

12 How to Back Up? I can feel the ice getting thinner! A lot of this is personal preference. But it also starts with the previous what and where. First, it has to be easy. If it isn t you ll quickly give up. A Microsoft survey found less than 5% of Windows users used the built-in MS backup tools hence the File History tool (wait for it). It has to be relatively fast again if you have to wait hours your going to quit. Note that most backup tools have an incremental option that only backs up changes once an initial backup is done. It needs to know where to find the files to backup. Do you have multiple users and need to back up for all users? It needs to not be expensive (free is great!). 11/12/

13 Backup that comes with a drive. Many devices (especially external hard drives) come with built in backup software. I ve used some, and found them OK. Check to see if they support multiple users. They re free (well included in the cost of the drive). Downside of some is they store data in proprietary files, and not copies of your current files. That means you can t look at the files, or recovery them without the backup software. 11/12/

14 Synchronization. Synchronization software can be used for backups, as well as to synchronize multiple PCs. I use ViceVersa (a paid program) to backup to hard and flash drives when travelling, and to synchronize to my desktop at home. It s probably overkill if you only need backups, but if you have multiple PCs it can kill both birds with one software. 11/12/

15 File History File History comes with W10 & 8. It fixes many of the issues with earlier MS backup (fairly easy to use, fast once initial copies made). But, it also gives versioning to be able to roll back to one of multiple versions. It keeps your changes in temporary storage on your PC until you reconnect the external drive. If you have multiple users each will need to do their own file history. Also as discussed make sure any files like are included in your Libraries. It copies files and folders that mirror your PC, so you can see (and copy if desired) the backup files. 11/12/

16 File History Display To access the File History versions, connect the backup device and select a file (or folder) that is being backed up. In File Explorer Home ribbon click History. The display will show the most recent, as well as how many backups are available. You can scroll to find the one you want and restore, or just save it to recover that block of stuff you accidentally deleted and then saved the file. I use File History along with my other backup methods to get versioning. 11/12/

17 When to Back up There are no hard and fast rules. I good rule of thumb I use is: What s the pain factor? How much would I cry if I lost something and didn t have a backup. Did I spend several hours on a RASCAL presentation? Has it been a while since I backed up can I remember when? If I m using File History is it squawking to insert the external drive? Do I have financial transactions (e.g. from Quicken) that I wouldn t want to lose or redo? For me the above works out to pretty close to daily. For others maybe every few days, or weekly. Whatever you decide, make a plan and stick to it. 11/12/

18 Review Backups need to be part of your use of a PC if you have anything important saved. Need to decide: What to backup Where to backup How to backup When to backup Ease of use is probably the most important factor in doing backups consistently. Have a plan and follow it. 11/12/

19 Resources and Questions? (search backup basics) Windows Help (Cortana in W10) for File History ViceVersa Software: Western Digital: Seagate: VeraCrypt: 11/12/