Backup in Windows

I am a big proponent of backing up files. I have had a number of hard drives fail over the years. The only reason I didn't lose data was because I have kept my files backed up.

I recommend most people use a backup service like Crashplan or Backblaze to backup files. Microsoft has been pushing their Windows Backup solution. While it is a good option, it only backs up to Microsoft OneDrive. I wish it had more options, such as backing up to a local or network drive of my choosing.

Turns out there is such an option built into Windows. In the Control Panel is File History. Here you can select a drive to back up to, either network or a local drive, and select which folders on your computer you want to back up. From there Windows will backup your files on a regular basis. This gives you a copy of these files in case your computer crashes.

This isn't a perfect solution. Ideally you should follow the 3-2-1 rule, at least three copies on two forms of media one of which is off site. Unless you are using a network drive somewhere else on the Internet, this fails on off-site portion. If your house burns down you still lose all your data if you are backing up to an external hard drive. 

I use this to copy my files from my laptop to my desktop then I back the desktop up to an offsite backup service. This allows me to have local copies of my files if my laptop is damaged and the offsite backup in case of a bigger disaster.