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SAVE YOUR WORK – AVOID THE HEART ATTACK
If you are someone like me who, one, has files saved as word documents, Google documents, and PDFs (LOL) and, two, has a heart attack every time her computer crashes because she doesn’t know which files will be saved and which ones she’ll lose, this one’s for you.
There is nothing like the stomach-churning feeling that accompanies your computer crashing. That sinking feeling stays with you until you restart your computer and find out if all your work was saved or if you need to break down, have a good cry and then start all over again.
Backing up your computer refers to the act of making copies of all your existing files and placing them in an external location. The purpose of doing this regularly is to ensure that you never lose your work even if your computer does crash, or the WiFi stops working. By saving this externally, it guarantees that one, there is a second copy of everything you’ve worked on and two, you can log in and access it from anywhere, anytime and from any device.
How often should you back up your computer?
Backing up your computer should be done every week if not more. The more you do it the smaller the window is for losing everything you’ve been working on. If you are someone who works with computers often, then it’s recommended to back up all your files daily.
What storage solutions can I use to back up my computer?
There are several external third parties such as GoogleDrive, OneDrive or and External Hard drive that can be used to save your files.
GoogleDrive
GoogleDrive is Google’s version of Microsoft’s OneDrive. It is a cloud-based storage solution that allows you to save your files and access them from anywhere at any time on any computer or mobile device. Using GoogleDrive is effortless since it does the work for you by automatically saving your work as you go. GoogleDrive is my fave for its fluid and flexible ease of use, and all my work is saved automatically so that I don’t always need to panic when my computer crashes since I can log in on my brother’s computer and it will all still be there. AND, it’s free! All you need is a Gmail account and you’re set!
OneDrive
If you have never heard of OneDrive, DON’T worry. It’s simply the Microsoft version of GoogleDrive that you need to pay for (because the free version doesn’t give you enough storage lol). The main difference is that you are saving your Microsoft documents to it (because it’s a Microsoft cloud-based storage system) instead of your Google documents. If you are a frequent user of Microsoft Word this is the backup solution for you! To start backing up your files with OneDrive you need to create and pay for a OneDrive account and then sync all the folders you want to be stored, then, just like a GoogleDrive, it will save them automatically without you needing to do it yourself. In other words, you can sync your primary folder on your desktop to OneDrive and then everything you save to that folder moving forward will also be backed up to OneDrive. Additionally, just like a Google account, you can log into your OneDrive account from anywhere, anytime and from any device and have access to all your files!
External Hard Drive
An external hard drive is a less efficient method of storage because you need to carry it with you to access the files that are saved to it. Using an external hard drive can help save space on your cloud-based operating system and keep everything organized. That way, you only keep the files you really need in your GoogleDrive of OneDrive and those you don’t, on your external drive. Files you would save to an external hard drive include old photos or videos, any old files you need to hang onto like those for tax purposes, any editing files that you are working on for clients, etc.
It can take a few extra minutes to set up any one of these clouds of storage systems. However, the heart attacks it will save you from are WORTH the time spent.
Hope this helps you stay a little more organized and a LOT less stressed!
Bisous