The Discussion Geek

It happens all the time, even to the most computer savvy amongst us and this unfortunate occurrence will repeat itself for most computer users. I’m speaking of data loss or corruption. Have you ever accidentally deleted an important file and purged it from the recycle bin? What about making multiple changes to an important file and running out of undos, or the software you are using doesn’t even support undos! You may have had the experience of working on a vita file and your computer crashed resulting in all your changes being lost and irretrievable. Every end user of a computer system is susceptible to data loss whether we would like to admit it or not.

So, if you are seeking information regarding various file backup solutions, you have come to the right place. There are multitudes of backup software for Windows available, all with varying features.

A standard file backup solution may include a simple interface where you specify which files you would like backed up and when. You can specify that you only want files that have changed since the previous backup to be included in the schedule backup. This is very effective if you accidentally delete a file or if you want to revert back to an old version of a file. These benefits are enough for some computer user but you should realize that the integrity of your data files can be jeopardized.

Almost all Windows backup software supports backing up your data file to storage devices which include external hard drives, DVDs and other USB type storage devices. Some will even let you backup to a server on the Internet or over your local area network.

If you require a more advanced backup solution then the standard file backup discussed above, you may want to look at software that supports disaster recovery and/or continuous data protection.

Disaster recover technology give you the ability to restore all of your computer data to a earlier time. You will not be required to reinstall Windows or your applications, and you won’t have to restore your settings and data files. They will all be included in the backup.

With Continuous Data Protection, your files are backed up in real time. Each time a revision is made to your file as you are working on it that change will be saved or backed up. That way if you need to restore a file, you won’t be restoring an old copy that was created from the last scheduled backup, you will be restoring whichever revision you need, even one from 2 minutes ago or last week.

So, there you have it. A synopsis of the things to look out for when you are deciding on a backup type for your computer data. You can quickly and easily employ a set and forget backup solution to help with data loss. The type of software you choose will be indicative of the importance of the data you are backing up.