Friday, May 15, 2020

Backup - Pulling it All Together

Again I ran into into a question that I get asked quite often. I believe it is worth another one of the instances where I quote my email reply to the customer:  
Backup and Restore likely are for the non-technical home computer user the most misunderstood area of handling a computer. I have learned the hard way that discussing that over the phone usually is fruitless, mostly because a non-technical home computer user lacks basic background knowledge.
I am very reluctant to  advise about that area without the customer having a decent understanding of the terminology involved. Additionally a solid understanding of the different Pro and Cons of available technologies is requires.
If you want to read up about Backup/Restore than I can give you a few links to articles that expound on the basics.
  1. TechTerms' basic explanation of Backup
  2. PC Magazine's Beginner's Guide to PC-Backup
  3. How-To Geek's How to Use All of Windows 10’s Backup and Recovery Tools
And here are some of my own musings from my blog related to Backup; these links are  in no particular order!
I trust that you will find or take the time to digest all this reading. I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.
It may happen that you run into problems with single terms or technical words; please do an internet search yourself before you ask me, I would only have to send you links to Wikipedia that you easily can find yourself...
I know, all this may sound like I try to avoid a direct answer to your suggestion but, sorry, you will have to "do your homework".
After reading through above text I have to add one more article to the first group of links:
  • How-To Geek's What's the Best Way to Back Up My Computer?
    IMHO  this is one of the best articles about backups that I ever have read!

    My experience shows that on-line backups to remote servers are often VERY time consuming; UPload speed for data from your computer to a remote server is generally MUCH slower than download speed from the same server!

For the average home computer user who is not a computer geek and does not plan for his house burning down my recommendations are

Re. SSDs:
Whether you  use an old fashioned HDD for backups or an SSD, you need a drive with USB 3 connection. USB 3 is much faster than USB 2. 
  • If your current computer does not have USB 3 then your next computer will for sure.
  • Laptops can generally not be upgraded from USB 2 to USB 3.
  • Desktop computers generally can be upgraded to USB 3 for reasonably low cost.
Re. Macrium Reflect:
Even if you upgrade to the paid version of the program I want to remind you that I DO NOT get any kickbacks or any other hidden compensation!

Well, that was it for today. Stay safe, computer and health wise.