What Backup Program Should I Use?

Backing up your computer’s data is critical. What backup program should you use? There are many, but pragmatically, the best is whatever you’ll actually use.

Backing up is kind of like eating healthier: everyone knows we should, and few of us actually do. Much like the heart attack victim who no longer binges on french fries, when it comes to backing up, the most religious are those who’ve been bitten hard by a failure in their past.

Asking what backup program to use is very much like asking, “What’s the best exercise program?”

The best program for exercise — or backup — is whichever one you’ll actually do. In order to choose what’s going to work best for you, there are several questions to ask.

Do I want to put a lot of thought into this?

If this isn’t something you want to spend some time learning about — and to be honest, most people don’t — then prepare to spend a little more money for some additional disk space and get a good dedicated backup program.

Hardware is continually changing, but I’m still pleased with my external USB Maxtor drive.

In addition to a drive, you’ll need a backup program. Many external drives come with backup software of some sort; that’s sometimes a good place to start. Unfortunately, while the drive may be good, you don’t always know the quality of the free software included with it.

If, as I recommend, you elect to get backup software, there are many good choices. I personally use and recommend Macrium Reflect or EaseUS Todo for most home users. (There are both paid and free versions of each.) Starting with Windows 7, the backup program included with the operating system appears also worthy of consideration.

Am I comfortable re-installing my system?

This is a comfort-versus-space tradeoff.

If you’re okay with re-installing your system from scratch, which means your operating system as well as all applications and customizations, and you can clearly identify what does and doesn’t need to be saved, you can save a lot of disk space by backing up only your data. This requires a great deal of diligence on your part, because anything you don’t specify that needs to be backed up will be lost in the case of a catastrophic failure.

Either way, you need to make sure to use a technique — either home-brewed or in the form of a backup or automated copy program — to make sure this happens automatically. Relying on your memory to back up isn’t the best choice.

Is there another machine nearby?

You might not have to go out of your way to get additional hardware for backup purposes.

Hard disks are so large these days that simply having another machine on your local network with sufficient free space can be a quick and easy solution. Many backup programs allow you to back up across a network. Having two machines back each other up is a quick way to ensure that if either has a problem, your data is safe on the other.

This does mean you’ll have to set up your local network and enable file sharing on it — something that isn’t always the easiest to accomplish or maintain.

How valuable is what you’re doing?

What if your building, including your machines and all of their backups, was lost in a fire?

If the potential data loss just sent a shiver down your spine, you should be considering offsite data storage for your backups. That could mean periodically taking an external disk with your backups on it to some other location, or, if the sizes are small enough, backing up across the network to a server not in your home.

When my wife had a retail store, I had an external drive for backups at her store and another in our home, and would periodically swap the two. Each location then had “offsite” backup at the other.

In recent years, another approach might be even easier….

Might an online backup program be an option?

If the amount of data you’re backing up is manageable and your internet connection is relatively fast, an online backup system may be worth considering.

These programs back up your critical files to secure servers on the internet, giving you data and offsite backup at the same time. In addition, some services allow you to access your backed-up files from any machine connected to the internet. For large backups, such as full image or complete system backups, this approach is impractical due to upload speed and storage size limitations.

How important is incremental access?

How important is it that you be able to recover a file from a specific day, and not a day before or after? If you simply back up all your files on top of previous versions, you’ll only have the most recent version. In many cases, that’s enough. In some cases, it’s not; one example might be needing to recover an older version of a file that became corrupt at some point.

What resources should I back up?

Have you thought of all of your computers? All the drives therein? How about external hard drives you’re not using for backup? Do you have a website? Do you have a backup of it? What would happen if your ISP “lost” it? (It’s happened.) If you’re a small business, do you have databases that need backing up? Office machines that belong to everyone but no one?

My answers and one possible approach

These questions can seem overwhelming. Actually deciding what to do can be agonizing.

But I really, really want you to take action and ensure that your precious data is backed up somehow, somewhere. I hear too often from too many people who have lost too much. It’s downright heartbreaking at times.

So here’s one possible approach that should work well for a large number of home and small business users.

1. Equip each computer with an external drive. It should be at least four times as large as the amount of spaced currently used on the computer’s existing drive(s).
2. Install an image backup program such as Macrium Reflect or EaseUS Todo.
3. Configure that program to take monthly full-image backups and daily incremental images.
4. Discard backups older than two months. (This can often be done automatically.)
5. Install a data-sharing program, such as DropBox, OneDrive, or similar, and store your data files in folders managed by the program for automatic offsite and cloud backup of the files you work on every day.

I’ll call this an 80% solution: something that will work well for most people. It won’t be exactly right for some, but it’s a start.

The bottom line for backing up is simple: just do it. Understand what you have and what you’re willing to invest in, but do something…

… before it’s too late.

This article originally appeared on Ask Leo! where you’ll always find updates as well as the most vibrant discussion. For the latest, subscribe now to The Ask Leo! Newsletter and get a copy of The Ask Leo! Guide to Staying Safe on the Internet — FREE Edition. This ebook will help you identify the most important steps you can take to keep your computer, and yourself, safe as you navigate today’s digital landscape.