Backup for home data

Every now and then someone asks me about a backup strategy for home, this is my current recommendation. I suggest you investigate what's suitable for your own environment before making decisions.

Macrium reflect free: Full *system* backup, install and run this periodically even if only once when you get a new PC and its fully setup. This allows you to go back to a working state if you get virused or you have a hard drive failure or a bad windows update.

https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
Cost $free

Notes:
Make sure you make a "rescue disk" on a USB thumb drive when you install the software

• You will need a backup drive to store the backup such as this (cost ~$80): https://www.officeworks.com.au/shop/officeworks/p/wd-elements-se-2tb-usb3-0-portable-hard-drive-wdel2000se. Don't buy Seagate I have had so many of those fail its just not worth it
• Note this is not intended for a "data" backup in this context just for restoring windows and saving yourself hundreds of dollars of IT labour if this is necessary

Backblaze: Continuous backup of all^ *data* files to the internet for off-site cloud/internet storage. Unlimited storage

https://www.backblaze.com/cloud-backup.html
Cost US$70 per year

Notes:

• May not be suitable if you don't have good internet
• May not be suitable if you don't have unlimited internet
• Doesn't keep "versions" (at the base cost)
• Backups files only stored for 30 days after deletion
• ^Check that it *IS* including that weird folder location that your [insert weird software product name here] is using

• Hint: Make an automated copy of all your data to one "always-on" PC in the house and you can back up an unlimited number of PC's

Remember all PC's will fail eventually, there is a good chance that you will eventually lose all your data if you don't have some strategy in place.

EXTRA NOTE:
saving all your data on an external hard drive is NOT a backup. That's just data on an external drive, which is arguably more susceptible to failing that your actual PC. A backup is a second copy of your data.