Back up data from your hard drive. Backup - what is it? File backup

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Good day!

Unfortunately, many users do not think at all about the safety of their data, even sometimes when they work on a document for days and weeks! But even simple viral infection(or failure in file system disk) - and files may disappear...

I hope that you came to this article not when everything was already lost, but prematurely, in order to do it in time backup copy (in English - backup (backup)) your important data.

In the article I will show the example of one quite convenient and functional program, how you can easily and quickly backup your folders, files, and even an entire disk. Moreover, you can configure it so that it is created automatically, without your participation!

In general, a backup made on time keeps a bunch of nerve cells in place, saves time, and makes you calmer ☺.

So, let's begin...

Advice: by the way, if we're talking about about regular files- then as a backup it is enough to simply copy them to a third-party storage device. This, of course, has its inconveniences - but that’s something!

What you need for work

1) Special program(s)

EaseUS Todo Backup Free

Official site:

Free and very convenient program, allowing you to easily create backups of anything and everything (documents, folders, disks, etc.). The program captivates with its simplicity and reliability: in just a few mouse clicks, you can arrange everything (below, in the article I will show examples of how all this is done).

Additional features: cloning disks (including system disks), the ability to configure schedules, creating an emergency flash drive (if Windows OS suddenly fails to boot), viewing and selecting files that you will restore from a backup.

Among the shortcomings: there is no support for the Russian language yet (although the developers are expanding the language environment, soon it will be our turn ☺).

2) Flash drive or external HDD

It’s best to make a backup on some external media(which will quietly lie aside from the computer/laptop, and will help out if something happens). Just imagine - if you make a backup copy on the same disk that you use - then if it breaks (for example) - this backup will not help you in any way.

Flash drive or external drive(even better) - should be of such volume that all your documents and files that you want to save can fit on them. Let's say if you have system disk 60 GB, and you want to make a backup copy of it, then you need a flash drive (disk) of at least 80-90 GB!

Making a disk backup

The first thing to do is click the "System Backup" button, located in top menu programs (see screenshot below).

EaseUS Todo Backup: making a backup of the system disk

select your system drive (number 1 in the screenshot below);
indicate the location where you will save (number 2 on the screen below. Personally, I recommended and recommend that you always save to a third-party storage device, for me it is an external hard drive);
Plan name: here you can set the name of your backup: it can be anything, as long as you remember what you have saved there, for example, in a month or two;
Description: description of your backup (same as the previous one, can be anything);
Schedule: if you need to make backups regularly, you can configure it once, and then the program will do it automatically. By the way, a screenshot of the schedule settings is given below;
Proceed - button to start the operation.

System Backup - settings (description, see screenshot)

As for the schedule, the program implements it quite well. You can set everything in 2-3 mouse clicks: specify how many hours you want to do it (daily, weekly, monthly), then select the days and select the time. In general, everything seems to be simple...

Schedule (for those who want to back up regularly)

After setting the basic parameters, in the next step, the program will ask you to specify the drive (and folder) where the backup will be saved (by the way, it will be a regular file).

Afterwards, the program will begin creating a backup copy. Pay attention to "Estimated time remaining" - this is the remaining operating time. In my case, for a ~60 GB disk the program took about 16-17 minutes of time. Pretty fast.

Note: The external drive was connected to a USB 3.0 port.

The disk backup is ready: the name of your backup copy will now be displayed in the main program window, opposite it there will be a button for recovery (Recover, see screenshot below).

EaseUS Todo Backup - system disk backup is ready!

Backup folders and files

This is done, in principle, in the same way as creating a copy of the disk (which was made in the previous step). To get started, launch the utility and click the button "File Backup" .

Select the file or folder: Folders (or even entire drives) you want to add to the backup. For example, I selected the "My Documents" folder;
Destination: where to save the backup (preferably on a third-party storage device);
You can set any name and description ( Plan name, Description);
Schedule: if necessary, ask (I usually never specify - when I decide to make a backup, I do everything manually ☺);
Proceed- start of the operation.

In general, the program quickly created a backup of my documents. By the way, the backup file itself can be recorded later on another medium (or even uploaded, for example, to a Yandex disk, somewhere in the cloud).

Reference!

Cloud storage: what, how, why? How to connect cloud drive to Windows, Android - safe storage files in the cloud, available anytime, anywhere -

Recovery example (and overview of files in backup)

And so, you lost some file (or even a folder), and you decided to restore this data from backup.

Launch the EaseUS Todo Backup program and click on the button "Browse to Recover"(view backup).

EaseUS Todo Backup - see what is in the backup

Browse to Recover - select the backup you want to open

Next, you can view your backup: folders, files, everything is shown in a tree view (clear and simple). All you have to do is check the boxes which folders you want to restore (number 1 on the screen below), select the folder where you will restore the selected data from the copy (numbers 2, 3 on the screen below), and, in fact, start the process - by clicking on the button "Proceed" .

After some time, the folders and files will be restored. Convenient and fast...

Well, the last thing I wanted to dwell on in this article. I recommend that you create one more thing: an emergency flash drive, in case your Windows suddenly does not boot. After all, something needs to be loaded, where you press a button and the system disk will be restored ☺!

In this case, EaseUS Todo Backup provides for the creation of an emergency disk/flash drive. The whole process is very simple and does not take much time (in my case it took about 10 minutes).

Click tool "Tools", and select "Create Emergency Disk"(creating a rescue disk).

choose to create a WinPE disk (compatibility Linux versions The bootloader is much worse: your mouse may not work, the USB ports will not be visible when you boot from this emergency flash drive);
indicate correct letter flash drives (see screenshot below);
press the "Proceed" button (start recording).

By the way, the desired image The program will automatically download the disk from the official Microsoft website and write it to your flash drive. Convenient enough.

The flash drive was successfully written!

How to boot from this flash drive and work with the EaseUS Todo Backup program

Well, in general, in most cases it is enough to call the so-called Boot Menu, in which you can select the device from which to boot. As another option: you can configure the appropriate BIOS image(which takes longer and creates some difficulties for beginners).

Information!

BIOS setup topic and Boot call The menu is quite extensive. Most often, it is enough to press the F2, or Esc, or F10 button (these are the most popular) immediately after turning on the laptop/computer. But the treasured menu does not always appear...

Therefore, in order not to repeat myself here, below are several articles that will help you!

How to configure the BIOS to boot from a flash drive or disk (CD/DVD/USB) -

How to enter BIOS on a computer / laptop e -

Hotkeys for logging in BIOS menu, Boot Menu, recovery from hidden partition -

Depending on the device: the call can happen in different ways: on my laptop there is a special button- turn on the laptop by clicking on it, and it appears desired menu. Comfortable!

IN boot menu An emergency flash drive should appear (which we created a little earlier in the article). Select it and continue downloading.

If the flash drive was written correctly, with BIOS settings no problems - then you should see approximately the same window EaseUS programs Todo Backup, as if you were running it from Windows. To get started, click the button "Browse to Recover" .

Browse to Recover - browse connected drives and view available backups

Actually, all that remains is to start the recovery (example below in the screenshot).

To start recovery, click the "Next" button.

It is worth noting that if we are talking about a backup copy of a folder (files), then you can also view the contents of the backup and restore not the whole thing, but only certain data (example below).

View files in a backup - can only be restored selectively!

Actually, that’s all I wanted to tell you today ☺.

PS: all users are divided into two types: those who have not yet made backups, and those who have already started making them...

Backup is an important matter, and for this task it is more correct to consider first-tier manufacturers. There are only three of them: WD, Toshiba and Seagate. Line of portable hard drives WD My Passport celebrated its tenth anniversary last year. My Passport Ultra, if you look at it from above, it is indeed comparable in size to a regular passport and is enclosed in a durable plastic case with a nice, but completely unobtrusive design. There are as many as five colors to choose from: black, white, blue, red and grey.

WD My Passport Ultra

Inside the case is a 2.5-inch HDD with a capacity of 500 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB and a spindle speed of 5400 rpm. average speed writing and reading is around 80 MB/s, but for backup this is not so important: since the process is long, it is better to run it at night. Much more important is high-quality software, which WD has long paid close attention to. The disk is pre-installed with the SmartWare Pro program, with which even the most inexperienced user can easily and easily set up regular data backups. By the way, if you use Dropbox, then SmartWare Pro can synchronize with this cloud storage.

If you need a compact, but at the same time more capacious portable hard drive, good choice will become (it will start selling in April). The maximum memory capacity here reaches 3 TB and, I must admit, after the announcement I began to be a little jealous. The fact is that for backup I also use an HDD of similar capacity, only it is larger (3.5 inches versus 2.5 for Toshiba) and installed in a special box with a power supply. In short, the combination of size and capacity in the Canvio Connect II is very captivating.

In addition, the gadget has an excellent design: the disk is enclosed in a beautiful, streamlined plastic case; color options are the same as My Passport Ultra, except instead of gray the manufacturer chose gold. The disk also comes pre-installed with software for setting up backups and organizing remote access to the data. Well, and one more bonus - 10 GB per cloud storage Toshiba is free (Dropbox, by the way, only gives 2 GB). Not as much as we would like, but enough to keep all the most valuable things.

The portable hard drive differs from its two competitors primarily in its metal casing. There are four color options: black, blue, silver and red. The storage capacity can be 500 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB, and backup helps you configure the Seagate Dashboard.

If your budget when choosing a HDD for backup is not very limited, then in addition to saving data, you should think about the ease of working with it. You can pay attention to more expensive ones, wireless models, and kill a couple of extra birds with one stone.

For example, a wireless hard drive not only creates and stores data backup, but also provides two additional benefits: relieves the user of unnecessary wires and acts as a portable “cloud”. Everything works very simply: inside this strict black box there is not only an HDD, but also Wi-Fi module, connecting to which any user ( knows the password, of course) will have access to all files or specific folders.

As a result, you can upload cartoons to Canvio AeroCast Wireless so that your child can watch them from a tablet at home, and download TV series for yourself and connect to the gadget from a laptop. You can take the device on the road, for example, to view documents from your smartphone. Full charge The battery lasts for five hours. Plus there is a small, but extremely nice bonus for photographers: the case has a slot for SD memory cards, with which you can “transfer” pictures from the camera.

WD also has its own portable wireless drive - this is. The operating principle is similar, but there are a few interesting differences in the details. For example, a buyer can choose the capacity he needs from three options: 500 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB. Stated time battery life longer – i.e. up to six hours of broadcast streaming video or 20 hours standby time. The matter also could not be done without an SD slot for operational transfer video recordings and pictures, which is very convenient for photographers and owners of action cameras, and maximum amount There are up to eight devices that can be connected to My Passport Wireless.

And, of course, software - here WD is again at its best. Everything is done so that any user can handle the technically difficult device. The proprietary control panel is very clear and convenient. In addition, all WD software is updated regularly.

The wireless drive is also worthy of attention, but is inferior to gadgets from WD and Toshiba in that it is not equipped with a slot for a memory card. In addition, there is no USB 3.0 connector on the device body. As a result, to connect Wireless Plus to a computer using a wire, you need to connect the case to a special adapter. This has advantages for advanced users who prefer FireWire or Thunderbolt, but the average user does not need all this at all.

On the other hand, with its main tasks - backup and file transfer to various devices– Wireless Plus does a good job. Access to information is provided through the nice SeagateMedia program, plus you can choose the most suitable storage capacity - 500 GB, 1 TB or 2 TB.

As you can see, there are many decent hard drives for backup – there’s plenty to choose from. I will only add that before purchasing you should consider this important factor like reliability. Sometimes analytical data appears on the Internet that allows you to get a rough idea of this choice parameter. For example,

Many users are accustomed to storing contacts, documents and photos in a single copy - in the device’s memory. However, the safety of data in this case is minimal, because at any time the information can be damaged by a technical failure or the actions of a malicious software. A backup will help protect you from losing important files. What is it and how to make a backup on popular systems Windows and Android, this article will tell you.

Backup is a backup

A backup (from the English back up) is a full or partial backup copy of any data, for example, an operating system, programs, user documents. Such an archive allows you to restore information after technical failures or equipment breakdowns. Also, using backup tools, you can automate the process of transferring settings and programs from one device to another. This allows you to get two systems with an identical set of applications and parameters without manual configuration.

How to make a backup on a Windows computer

You can create a backup standard means Windows OS. Starting with Windows 7, there is a “Backup and Restore” item in the control panel - it is with this that the user has access to the functions of creating backup copies.

To backup the system partition, you must complete the following steps:

After finishing copying a backup system partition, it is recommended to create boot disk, allowing you to quickly restore the OS in case of technical problems. To do this you need to follow three simple steps:

In the “Backup and Restore” window, in the menu on the left, select the “Create a system repair disk” option;
Specify the disc recording device (if there are several);
Click the “Create Disk” button and wait until the image is completed.

The following video tutorial demonstrates in detail the process of creating a backup in Windows:

Disadvantage this method is that the backup includes only files on the system partition. But what if you want to make a copy of other disks as well? Microsoft Company provides for this free solution- RichCopy program (https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2009.04.utilityspotlight). It allows you to transfer files and directories while maintaining the structure and attributes. Copying is multi-threaded (which speeds up the process of information transfer) and fault-tolerant (if errors occur, the operation does not stop). I hope it’s clear to you that this is a backup and why you need to do it.

How to make a backup on Android smartphones

Modern Cell phones contain no less (and sometimes more) important data and applications. Therefore, regular Android tools also allow you to make a backup.

To do this, you need to open the application " Backup and restoration."
Specify the location where the archive will be saved (usually an SD card) and select what data will be included in the copy.
After this, all that remains is to click on the “Create a backup copy” button and wait for the operation to complete.
If necessary, the archive can be protected with a password.

The process of creating a backup on Android is clearly shown in the following video:

In contact with

Good day.

Very often, many instructions, before updating drivers or installing any application, recommend making a backup copy to restore the functionality of your computer or Windows. I must admit that I often give the same recommendations...

In general, Windows has a built-in recovery function (if you haven’t disabled it, of course), but I wouldn’t call it super-reliable and convenient. In addition, it should be noted that such a backup will not help in all cases, plus add to this that it restores data loss.

In this article I would like to talk about one of the methods that will help you make a reliable backup copy of the entire partition hard drive with all documents, drivers, files, Windows OS, etc.

So, let's begin…

1) What do we need?

1. Flash drive or CD/DVD

Why is this? Imagine, some error occurred and Windows no longer boots - a black screen just appears and that’s it (by the way, this can also happen after a “harmless” sudden power outage)…

To run the recovery program, we need a pre-created emergency flash drive (or a disk, just a flash drive is more convenient) with a copy of the program. By the way, any flash drive will do, even an old one with 1-2 GB.

2. Backup and recovery software

In general, there are quite a lot of programs of this type. Personally, I suggest going with Acronis True Image…

Acronis True Image

Key benefits (in terms of backups):

- quick creation hard drive backup (for example on my PC system partition hard drive with Windows 8 OS with all programs and documents takes up 30 GB - the program did full copy this “good” in just half an hour);
- simplicity and ease of use (full support for the Russian language + intuitive clear interface, even a novice user can handle it);
- easy creation bootable flash drive or disk;
- hard drive backup is compressed by default (for example, my copy HDD partition by 30 GB - was compressed to 17 GB, i.e. almost 2 times).

The only drawback is that the program is paid, although not expensive (however, there is a test period).

2) Create a backup copy hard section disk

After installation and launch Acronis programs True Image, a window similar to this should appear in front of you (a lot depends on the version of the program you will use; in my screenshots the program is from 2014).

Immediately on the first screen you can select the backup function. Let's launch... (see screenshot below).

The disks on which we will make backup copies (here you choose yourself, I recommend choosing the system disk + the disk that you backed up Windows system, see screenshot below).

Specify the location on another hard drive where the backup will be stored. It is advisable to save the backup copy to a separate hard drive, for example, to an external one (nowadays they are very popular and affordable).

The copy creation process will begin. The creation time varies greatly depending on the size of the hard drive you are making a copy of. For example, my 30 GB disk was completely saved in 30 minutes (even a little less, 26-27 minutes).

While creating a backup copy, it is better not to load your computer with extraneous tasks: games, movies, etc.

Here, by the way, is a screenshot of “my computer”.

And in the screenshot below is a 17 GB backup.

By making regular backups (after great job, before installation important updates, drivers, etc.) you can be more or less calm about the safety of information, and indeed, the performance of your PC.

3) Create a backup flash drive to run the recovery program

When the disk backup is ready, you must create another emergency flash drive or disk (in case Windows refuses to boot; and in general, it is better to restore by booting from a flash drive).

And so, let’s start by going to the backup and restore section and clicking the “ create bootable media «.

Then we will be asked to indicate the medium where the information will be recorded. Select a flash drive or disk.

Attention! All information on the flash drive will be deleted during this operation. Don't forget to copy everything important files from a flash drive.

That's all. If everything went without errors, after 5 minutes (approximately) a message will appear stating that the bootable media was successfully created...

4) Restore from backup

When you want to restore all data from a backup, you need to configure the BIOS to boot from a flash drive, insert the flash drive into the USB and restart the computer.

Recently, my friend asked me to explain to her how to backup data. She's a humanitarian, so she wanted options that didn't require any customization. Since she is not a stupid person who likes to understand the problem herself and make decisions, I decided to collect the basic principles for her and describe the pros and cons of certain options (as I see them). I decided to publish it here in case some of you find it useful - to help a friend or relative. I would be very glad to receive comments on how the text could be made simpler and clearer.

Basic principles

1. Regularity and frequency

Data backup should be as regular as taking pills. It is for this discipline that you can thank yourself if some kind of collapse suddenly occurs. Sometimes losing even just a few working days due to a failure to backup can be very painful. It’s possible to answer the question of how often you can make backups by understanding the data for what period of time would be least painful for you to lose. One of optimal options- backup data once a week on weekends.

Separateness

It is advisable that the data be saved to a separate external hard drive (or other storage medium) and stored in a separate place from the main data. The principle is quite obvious - if a problem occurs, it will be localized in one place. For example, if the hard drive on your computer fails, the backup disk will function perfectly. However, there is a balance to be struck between ease of access and security. Having a hard drive next to your computer significantly increases your motivation to use it for its intended purpose. And at the same time, this is not the safest option for very important data that should not be lost under any circumstances. That is why there is a distinction between data backup and data archiving.

Double check

As soon as the first backup copy of your data is made, you must immediately check that this data can be restored from it! This means not only that the files become visible. You need to open several files to choose from and check that they are not corrupted. It is advisable to repeat such a check once every certain period (say, once a year).

Discrimination

The best practice is to differentiate data into categories. The category could be their importance to you, the frequency of updates, or simply the topic.

Often backup programs create so-called “images”. They look like one single file. So, it is better to save various data in each such image.

What is it for. Data of different importance requires different handling, this is obvious. You will probably want to store your important documents more carefully than, say, a collection of films. By dividing the data by update frequency, you can, for example, save time spent on backups. Topic - what data is desirable to recover together in one step? A striking example of two types of backups that should be done separately:

Data backup

This Word documents, photographs, films, etc. The same applies to this, but is often forgotten - bookmarks in the browser, letters in mailbox, The address book, calendar with meetings, configuration file banking application, etc.

System backup

We are talking about the operating system with all its settings. This backup eliminates the need to install operating system again, make all the settings, install programs. However, this is not the most required types backup.

Where to make a backup

1. External hard disk. You can often buy it straight out of the box. There are laptop ones - such disks are small in size, but more expensive. Regular hard disks You can buy a 2 TB one relatively cheaply - then you won’t have to worry about disk space for a long time.

Fairly reliable (as long as you don't drop or shake excessively)
+ Relatively inexpensive

You must remember to connect the backup disk yourself.
-Not very convenient to carry (does not apply to laptop drives)

2. USB stick - suitable as additional remedy when you would like to transfer data from one computer to another and/or have it at hand. Also, if you don’t want to store the data itself on your computer.
There is one big but - a flash drive has a limited number of records, so if you store data from an application on it that will write intensively, then the flash drive (usb stick) will quickly die out. In addition, in my personal impression, they break quite often. A friend of mine, buying the most expensive flash drives, which were positioned as “unbreakable”, received a broken flash drive within a month or two. To be fair, I must say that I still haven’t had a single flash drive break; some have been working for 5 years already. However, I wouldn’t store data on a USB stick alone.

Mobile storage
+Takes up little space
+Very cheap

Unpredictable reliability

3. Data storage on remote server(or in the cloud).

There are pros and cons:

The data will be available not only at home, but also at work and while traveling.
+Local separation of main data and backup copies (for example, if, God forbid, a fire happens, the data survives)
+There is no need to connect a hard drive for backup; as a rule, everything is done completely automatically.

It is advisable to encrypt the data, since it is unknown who can access it
-A large amount of traffic is wasted (if it is limited, problems arise)
-Often you can only store data up to 2 GB for free. So, such a backup is an additional expense item

List with good description services can be found

How to backup

Here is a list of applications that are worth paying attention to (in my opinion) when backing up to your hard drive.

Popular among the free ones

1. Genie Backup Manager is a very convenient program, but it is a little slow when working
2. Handy Backup - simple interface, works quickly.

Additionally

Often in the settings of backup programs there is an option to make an incremental or differential backup. The practical difference is quite simple. With differential backup, you can save on the space it takes up. But there are only two recovery options: data in the state when a full backup was made + data at the time when a differential backup was made.

Incremental backup allows you to roll back to any point in the past when the backup was made. However, especially if changes in data occur frequently, the space will be consumed quickly.