Computers are used daily by millions of people to complete daily tasks. With so much important information being inputted into these devices, it’s important to have a back-up copy of your important files and information so you don’t lose it unexpectedly.
Computer backups are carried out across the year to help not only organize files but so you have duplicate copies of the information. This expert guide will give you the important reasons why computer backups are important, what causes files to be lost, and simple hacks on how you can clean up your computer to make the backup process more productive. But first…
What Causes Files To Be Lost or Damaged?
There are many ways files can be unexpectedly lost or damaged. The most common ways include:
- Physical Computer Damage – Physical computer damage refers to bring dropped, wet, or damaged physically in any way.
- Virus Infection – Viruses can disable computers and can corrupt files making them unusable.
- Computer Crashes – Computer crashes can lead to all data being lost. Computer crashes always happen unexpectedly.
- Theft – Having your computer stolen is a common way for you to lose your important information, especially when traveling. While any work can be redone, having photos of your family or travel adventures is irreplaceable.
Important Reasons Why You Should Perform A Backup At Least Once A Year
Backing up your data at least once a year is important for many reasons. Some of the reasons include:
- Protect Against Natural Disaster – Backing your files up to an online or external source will allow you to protect your information against any natural disasters that may occur. Depending on where your business resides or where you live you may run the risk of data loss from fires, floods, tornados, etc.
- Gain Access To Data That’s Been Accidently Deleted – Accidental deletions occur all the time, and unfortunately sometimes it can’t be restored. Having a backup of your files allows you to easily restore the document or image that you’ve accidentally deleted.
- Access Data That’s Been Stolen – Stolen data can be used against you or your company by hackers or thieves. When this data is stolen it can cause your business, your customers or yourself a lot of expense, especially if lawsuits go against your business. Backing up your data will allow you to retrieve it quickly after you’ve lost it to thieves so you can change login passwords and other important details before the hacker or thieves have a chance to use it.
- Protect Information Against Viruses – Computer viruses can wipe your data within minutes. When this occurs it can be frustrating. Protecting your data with a computer backup can help you recover any information that’s lost. Remember to create a backup of your backup files to ensure you have another copy, just in case.
What Data Should You Backup?
Generally anything important that you may need to use at a later date. Most times the most common data includes:
- Photographs/images
- People’s addresses
- Telephone numbers
- Account information
- Important documents such as legal letters etc
- Anything that you will need to refer to at a later date
Computer Cleaning Hacks To Help Make The Backup Process Easier
When backing up files, you don’t want to backup non-essential files that will take up space on your external hard drive or your online backup source. This is where cleaning old files out can help make the backup process much easier. Here are some areas that you can consider to make your computer file cleaning and backup much easier and faster.
- Use Disk Defragment on your computer to reorganize your files. This will take a bit of time to complete depending on how severely unorganized your computer is but will also help to speed up the computer’s operation in the process.
- Remove large files that are taking up a lot of space, but aren’t really relevant to your needs anymore.
- Delete unused or unnecessary folders and unfinished documents you’re not using or don’t need.
- Move important files into your backup drive as soon as you find them if possible and place them into a folder marked as updated. This will make it easier to keep track of everything that’s uploaded to the backup drive.
Overall
When it comes to backing up your computer files, it’s important to complete it at least once a year so you keep updated copies of your files and documents. Without backing up your important information you run the risk of losing all your data and important information forever. So have you backed up your files yet?
About the author:
With over 30 years in the IT industry, Bill M has helped many people overcome their IT problems by providing effective problem solving solutions. Bill is an IT consultant who initially started out as a computer programmer within the finance industry maintaining and developing large applications. Across his time working in these industries, Bill began to devise new ways to get better results for his customers. This lead him to become fully qualified in IT Service Management. He currently holds an ITIL Expert (V3) qualification. Today Bill is the owner of aJim's Computer Services franchise in Drouin. He works with small to medium businesses so they can get the most out of their technology, what they want to achieve, and what they own in today’s world. His aim is to help all businesses gain value from all technologies that are available to them for maximum results.