What is the frequency of your important data backup

Data backup is a crucial process which is missed by many. I made this poll to find out what the frequency you backup your important data. This consist of your photos, emails, files, etc. Well in my case I skip this thing too much. Because my backup software takes a long time and it slow down my system. But I try my best to take the backup atleast one is 2 week. So that if anything happens I have a 2 week old data with me.

I do that every week. It is very important for me. Because already I had lost my photos long before when I formatted the system. I had synced the digital camera that copied everything in My Picture which is located in the Windows partition. And when I ran the complete restore everything was lost.

Well if you go ahead with manual backup stuff then it is always completed to keep a track. So it is far more better to stick with a automated process. Like using a software that can take backup automatically. I am using windows backup utility here. I am using this from long time. Windows backup utility offers very basic and simple solution. At a regular time interval the backup is triggered automatically and it copies everything. I keep my data at multiple places. First copy remains in my hard drive. The second one goes in the external hard drive and the last one goes in the cloud storage. On Google drive. It is configured to sync automatically when the system turn on. So this is quiet helpful. Because here I do not have to manually press ye or no to get the backup stored in my system. I just check in the nd of every week whether the backup goes well or not. I find that through the file history. Now there are some automated software also which can make your job more easier. The benefit of keeping the file on cloud is that you can access it anywhere you want.

I do not trust Windows backup utility. It does not work so well. I had always faced issue when I try to use it. A number of time the backup is corrupted or damage. I am using Norton Save and Restore. This apps work fine and has no performance problem.

There are tons of tools available for the backup purpose. But what matters is a reliable process. Now it is not a habit of every person each day to copy paste data from one place to another. It is a bit annoying. Now if you need a backup software then use some automated which is loaded with tons of new things. Some advance features through which you can manage your backup more effectively. Acronis Backup and recovery is one of the best among them. This tool has a professional edition through which you can not only backup files but your entire windows partition. The new edition is more advance. It has support for Windows server. The advance option provide industrial level solution through which you can get more accurate backup tools. You can use this only for your system also. The backup configuration is easy. You can set time as per the backup stuff needed. The process will be automated. For storing the data you can go ahead with different solutions like NAS, SAN, FTP, Optical Drive, etc.

Acronis is a very advance tool and I do not really think it is quiet needed for such advance backup solution. There is no free version available. You have to buy it and it is ideal for those who wants advance backup solution. But if your usage is limited then no need to have it.

I think going for a composite solution is much better. A process through which you can have cloud and offline backup solution. I am trying to test Acronis by configuring a ftp server on the same. So that if something happens to the regular hardware, a copy still remains on the internet and we can download the same. There are many free backup software available on the web which you test. One among them is Cobian backup. I am using this from bit long time and it works well. It is free and reliable. The software allows to copy files one by one at different location. But it does not comes with any kind of ftp support. Sometime the files are damage when transferred through this tools and cause issue. I hope there will be some better way available. I am using Dropbox to keep my files on cloud. I just drag the important files in it and that's all.

If you want to make that thing automated you can just tell the backup software the location of drop box or sky drive. And set the time. The backup software will automatically move fresh files in it. This is one the best way to keep files on offline and online location.