Few things are as frustrating for IT users as when computers break down without a recent file backup having been performed. No backup means all that work, essential business records, and creative thoughts are gone forever.
Everyone knows that they should back up their files regularly. But how often is regularly? That is an easy question to answer. Suppose you are happy to risk losing a week of work, backup weekly. For most people, losing even a day’s work can be expensive.
We recommend backing up your files hourly. Yes hourly. That may sound difficult to do. But we can set it up so that it takes place in the background, without you even knowing. Setting up computer backups is one of our IT managed services.
The most common backup approach
The usual approach is to create copies of your essential personal files – Word docs, Excel spreadsheets, pictures, videos, and voice files, and so on, allowing you to access those copies.
An alternative approach – create a system image
In addition to personal files, many other files can be backed up. These include your apps and computer settings. If you lose these files, you will need to spend many hours on your new computer configuring all the settings plus downloading and installing the applications you use.
Creating a system image of your computer saves you all that time. The image will include every folder, file, app, and setting. The benefit of this method is that if your PC crashes and you have to set it up again, you only need to restore the system image, and you are back in action.
Some businesses choose to back up their essential work files hourly and, in addition, create a system image once a month.
Conclusion
The importance of backing up all your important computer files, apps, and settings cannot be stressed too often. The process may be daunting for you because it is not something you do every day. However, we do. To learn how we can help organise your backups, please feel welcome to contact one of our Rapid IT Support team.
