Backup Updated

February 17, 2018 at 4:53 pm | Posted in Backup, Computers, Software | Leave a comment

I’ve written several articles on computer backup over the years. For example:

– Backup That Counts reviewed types and locations of backups

– Backup That Works talks about why you want a backup, and why you want to choose the system carefully.

However, many of the programs I’ve recommended have not been upgraded for more recent Windows versions. It’s time for a new article.

For my work computer, I have 3 kinds of backup:
– weekly system image of the boot drive
– daily data backup of changed files – a differential with monthly full, 3 months kept.
– backup on save (real time or file sync) of key files or folders from my current projects, with versions.

The first ensures I can recover my system and get up and running quickly. Standard backups don’t work well for restoring operating systems – you want imaging for that. The second ensures I have copies and quick access to everything I’ve worked on or collected. The third makes a copy each time I save the file, ensuring I lose little time if key files are corrupted, deleted in error, or similar. I can get working quickly even if the whole system died.

While I’ve not needed these backups often, they make a huge difference when I do. There are some files that could not be recovered.

While Windows 10 has a backup tool included, I don’t like the approach. It’s hard to check if you don’t know what it’s doing. Other tools I’ve used have become out-of-date or insufficient.

I found maintaining 3 different programs annoying so I ended up migrating to AOMEI Backupper to get the first 2 types of backup. This includes a tool to create a bootable disk so you can access your backup without the software installed, like in moving to a new system. Then after testing, I upgraded to the paid version to get the third, File Sync. The paid version also has some useful tools I wanted. AOMEI has served me well for awhile now.

I’ve not found other tools that combine these techniques. AOMEI isn’t perfect. It’s not always clear what some settings mean. But their web site covers the process for configuring most options. Most importantly, the software has been very reliable. Once it’s set up and scheduled, it’s simply worked.
David