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Every drive fails eventually. The only question is whether the photos, documents and records on it exist anywhere else when it does. A good backup is not complicated, and once it is set up you should never have to think about it.
The 3-2-1 rule
It is the standard advice because it works:
- 3 copies of anything you care about: the original and two backups
- 2 different kinds of storage, for example the computer and an external drive
- 1 copy kept somewhere else, so that a fire, flood or burglary cannot take everything at once
For most people that means the computer itself, an external drive, and an online backup service.
Syncing is not the same as backup
Services such as OneDrive, iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox keep your files the same on every device. That is useful, and it does protect you if a laptop dies.
But sync copies your mistakes as faithfully as your work. Delete a folder, or have ransomware scramble it, and the change is copied everywhere. Most services keep deleted files and old versions for a limited time, often around 30 days. That is a safety net, not a backup plan.
A real backup keeps older versions for as long as you choose, and it is separate from the files you work on.
Part one: an external drive
Buy an external drive at least twice the size of the data you need to protect, and use the backup tool already built into your computer.
- Windows: File History, or Windows Backup, depending on the version
- Mac: Time Machine
Both run automatically whenever the drive is connected and keep older versions of your files. For a desktop, leave the drive plugged in. For a laptop, make a habit of plugging it in at least once a week.
One weakness to know about: a drive that is always connected can be hit by the same ransomware, power surge or theft as the computer. That is why part two matters.
Part two: an online backup
An online backup service copies your files, encrypted, to a data center over your internet connection. It runs in the background and covers the disasters that an external drive in the same room cannot.
The first backup can take days on a home connection. After that, only changes are sent, and you will not notice it running.
Choose a service that keeps old versions of files, and keep the account password and any encryption key somewhere safe that is not only on the computer being backed up.
What a small office should add
- Back up the shared files, not just individual computers. If everything lives on one server or network drive, that device needs its own backup.
- Back up your cloud accounts. Email and files in Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace are not backed up for you in the way most people assume. Separate backup services exist for them.
- Know who is responsible. One named person should check that backups are running.
- Write down how to restore. In an emergency, the person who set it up may not be there.
Test it
A backup that has never been restored is a hope, not a backup. Twice a year, pick a file, delete your working copy, and get it back from the backup. Check the dates too: the most common failure is a backup that quietly stopped months ago.
If it is already too late
If a drive has failed and there is no backup, stop using it. Every attempt to start it can make recovery harder. Files can often be recovered from a failing drive, but the chances fall quickly the more it is used.
The short version
- Turn on File History or Time Machine with an external drive.
- Add an online backup service.
- Restore a test file twice a year.