The best backup is the one that happens without you. Any backup that needs a regular action eventually stops being done.
That is what we see in the field, and there is no arguing with it. People who lose data are not careless: they had an external disk, plugged it in conscientiously for three months, and then life took over. Automation is not a comfort, it is what makes the difference between a backup that exists and a backup that used to.
Not everything, and that is what makes it manageable. Software can be reinstalled, Windows can be reinstalled. What is irreplaceable:
That list, drawn up with you, is the most important part of the work. An automatic backup perfectly configured on the wrong folders is worth nothing - and it is a case we come across regularly.
A scheduled backup, at a time when the machine is on but not busy. On a machine switched off at night, scheduling for the small hours produces nothing: that obvious detail is a frequent cause of failure.
Several generations kept, rather than one copy overwritten each time. Corruption or encryption going unnoticed for a few days destroys a backup that overwrites itself.
Two destinations where possible: local media for speed, an online copy for keeping it off site. See cloud backup.
A visible check. This is the most neglected point: with no clear indication, a backup that stopped months ago goes completely unnoticed. We put in place a simple way of knowing it is still running - a notification, a log you can consult, or a check built into our visits.
A restore tested in front of you, so that you know how to do it on the day you need to.
Take three or four files at random from your backup and actually open them: a document, an old photo, an important file. Many people discover at the worst possible moment that their backup had been empty for months, or that it did not hold what they thought. Five minutes, twice a year.
Windows includes backup mechanisms, usable and free, but their reliability over time calls for careful configuration and regular checking. Dedicated products bring finer management of generations, alerts, and a more comfortable restore.
We choose according to your situation, not from a catalog - and we tell you straight when the free tool is enough. What matters is not the software but what it backs up, where, with how many generations, and how you know it is running.
It deserves spelling out, because it cancels out everything else. A scheduled backup that always replaces the previous one is a problem against ransomware or silent corruption: if the problem goes unnoticed for a few days, the last clean copy has been replaced by a copy of files that are already unusable. You find out at the moment of restoring.
The answer is simple: keep several generations, by rotating media or with a product that holds history. The extra cost is small, and it is exactly what makes the difference on the day it counts. See ransomware protection.
Three situations need something extra. Files in use - an open database, a locked accounting file - do not copy correctly through a normal backup: they need a suitable mechanism, without which the copy obtained is unusable.
Data that is not on the machine: email hosted with a provider, documents in a collaborative space, online accounting. Many people assume these services back up on their behalf, which is only partly true and rarely over a long period.
And mobile devices, phones and tablets, which today hold most of a family's photos without ever passing through the computer. See our article on transferring photos from your phone.
Automation has one limit: media that is always plugged in is always reachable. That is why we readily add to the automatic setup a drive kept unplugged between backups, handled on a realistic rhythm - once a month actually done beats once a week abandoned.
For businesses, see business backup. For the overall logic, our article on how to back up your data.
Not fully by default. Some folders may be synced with online storage without you choosing it, which is not the same thing as a backup with history.
While it runs, slightly. That is why it is scheduled for a quiet hour. Later backups only handle changed files and are therefore quick.
Rarely worthwhile for a household: a clean reinstall beats restoring an already cluttered system. It is your data that counts.
By actually opening a few restored files, twice a year. It is the only check with any value: a green icon proves nothing.
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We set it up, and we test the restore in front of you.
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