We all know our precious files need protection, but backing up can seem like a tedious chore. It doesn’t have to be that way: Nik Rawlinson has no-fuss, hands-off backup options for all your devices
BACKINGUP WINDOWSFILES
There are countless backup suites for Windows, and we certainly wouldn’t advise against using them. But if you don’t have a proper backup system in place, an occasional drag-and-drop copy provides some quick and easy peace of mind.
Naturally, you shouldn’t keep your backups on the same drive as the originals. Consider investing in an external drive: at the time of writing, you can pick up a Crucial X6 1TB portable SSD for £46, or a 1TB Kingston DataTraveler Max USB flash drive for £75.
Indeed, once you’ve got your backup drive, there’s no need to restrict yourself to manual copies. Windows 10 and 11 include the underappreciated File History feature (introduced in Windows 8), which runs in the background and automatically backs up your personal data to an external drive or network location. You won’t find it in the Settings app, though: you have to open the legacy Control Panel app (search for it in the Start menu), then select “Save backup copies of your files with File History”.
When File History is enabled, your local Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures and Videos folders will all be regularly backed up, along with anything else contained in a user library. By default, copies are made every hour and kept forever, or until your destination runs out of space. To add an extra folder to your backup set, just right-click it in the File Explorer, select “Show more options” from the context menu, then select “Include in library…”.
When you want to restore files, Windows brings up a handy Explorer-type interface showing all of your backed-up files and folders. Arrow controls at the bottom let you step backwards and forwards in time, and the big green button restores selected items.
You’ll notice that the whole File History experience has a distinctly retro look. The fact that Microsoft hasn’t updated it for Windows 11 suggests that it’s on its way out. For now, though, it remains one of the easiest ways to protect your data. We’ve just one warning – don’t use the same backup drive or network location with multiple computers, as files from one could get overwritten by copies from the other.
BACKING UP TO THE CLOUD
