How to backup data on your computer. How to make a backup Backing up windows files

Hi all!

The need to archive data is determined by the fact that in situations where the hard drive (HD) fails or your PC becomes infected, you risk losing all your photos, important documentation and work projects.

And if you can deal with viruses with the help of antiviruses, then failure of the hard drive is only a matter of time, since as practice shows, most hard drives do not live up to their sixth anniversary.

In this article, I will tell you how to backup the data contained on your PC so that you can easily restore lost information.

You can archive the data contained on your computer either using the archiving tool built into Windows OS or using special programs, which I already wrote about in the article “”.

Today we’ll talk about standard backup tools provided by the Windows OS.

They are extremely easy to use. Go to Start, select Control Panel, System and Security, Data Archiving, section “Recovery or Backup”. The menu is in the left column - “Create an image” and “Create a disk”.

Creating a system image

Determine the location where the future archive will be located: select a disk partition, optical disk or external HDD. In addition, you can save backup copies on the server. It is not wise to store copies on optical media, since the backup will require a lot of space, so it is better to use an external HDD to store them.

Once the storage location for the copy has been determined, click on “Archive”. The entire system partition will be backed up. This procedure can be carried out according to a schedule (the Windows system will independently update the created system image without creating a new one, this significantly saves time).

Create a system repair disk

If the operating system stops loading or displays an error message that you cannot fix, then you need to restore the OS. To do this, you will need a rescue disk. To create one, select the option called “Create a recovery disk” from the menu on the left and select the storage media.

It should be noted that only laser media are suitable, so owners of laptops that are not equipped with an optical drive are left in the dust. This is only suitable for those who have a personal computer.

The standard Windows OS tool has certain disadvantages. In particular, it does not have such a function as compression, and creating an archive requires a lot of time. Therefore, most users prefer to use special programs for backing up files (read about them in the article “”).

Reservation is not a simple matter, but it is extremely necessary. After all, it is better to save all important files in advance than to regret losing them later.

Tell your friends on social networks about this unique reservation opportunity. Be vigilant and treat your data responsibly, and then you will not be afraid of any failures in the operation of the operating system or even a breakdown of the hard drive!

Sincerely! Abdullin Ruslan

The Windows 7 operating system has built-in backup tools that allow you to back up the Windows operating system and user data. Archiving will allow you to create a backup image of the system and other user data, with which you can restore the system after serious problems.

This article will give an overview of using the built-in backup tools of Windows 7. The built-in backup tools of the operating system, in their capabilities, can satisfy most computer users.

How to make a backup? There are quite a lot of backup programs, among them such popular programs as, Nero BackItUp, Norton Ghost, Paragon Drive Backup Professional,. You can also back up your system without the help of third-party programs using Windows archiving and backup tools.

Why is it advisable to make backups? Because, if you reinstall the Windows operating system for some reason, all data on your computer will be lost that is on the system disk. You will have to reinstall all programs and make other operating system settings.

Suddenly, due to hard drive failure or viruses, you may lose all your data, and lost data may not always be recovered by recovery specialists.

The way out of this situation is to create a backup copy of the system and other files you need. After a sudden system or equipment failure, you can restore all data from a backup copy. The operating system, drivers, programs and other files that you archived will be restored to your computer.

Now you can move on to an overview of how archiving works in Windows 7.

To start a system backup, go to the Start menu => All Programs => Maintenance => Backup and Restore. You can also launch the built-in Windows archiving and backup tools from the “Start” menu => “Control Panel” => “Backup and Restore Files”.

It may happen that in case of serious problems with the operating system, you will not be able to boot the operating system in normal or safe mode. Then you will have to use a Windows 7 installation disk, or a bootable USB flash drive with an operating system image recorded on it, to restore the system.

A bootable Windows flash drive can be created using specialized programs, reviews of which you can read on my website in the “Programs” section.

If you do not have an installation disk with the Windows 7 operating system, you should create a system repair disk. The recovery disk, which contains the recovery environment, can be used to boot the computer.

This system recovery disc contains recovery tools for the Windows operating system, using which you can restore the operating system after a serious error, or restore the system from a created system image.

Creating a system repair disc

For those users who have pre-installed operating systems on their computer, creating a bootable system recovery disk is a must. Computer manufacturers now often do not include a Windows installation disc with them. In this case, an emergency system recovery disk will help boot the computer to restore it if it is not possible to boot in any other way.

In the “Backup and Restore” window, you must click on the “Create system repair disk” item to create an emergency system recovery disk. In this case, you will have an emergency CD for system recovery in case of serious problems with the operating system.

After clicking on the “Create a system repair disk” item, the “Create a recovery disk” window opens. To create a system recovery disc, you need to insert a blank CD or DVD into your optical disc reader, and then click the “Create Disc” button.

Next comes the process of creating a system recovery disk. After completing the creation of the emergency recovery disk, you need to click on the “OK” button. The Windows 7 emergency recovery disk takes up about 150 MB.

You will now be able to access system recovery options using a bootable recovery disc if you are unable to boot your computer using other methods.

To boot your computer from a rescue or installation disk, you will need to select in the BIOS the boot priority from a CD/DVD reader, and in the case of using a bootable flash drive, from the USB drive to which such a bootable flash drive is connected.

If, when creating a recovery disk, you are prompted to insert an installation disk with the Windows 7 operating system, this means that the necessary files to create a system recovery disk were not found. In this case, you will need to insert the Windows 7 installation DVD into your computer's optical drive.

Using the Windows 7 installation disk or recovery disk, you will be able to boot into your computer and have access to all of the operating system's recovery options.

Creating a system image

If you select “Create a system image” in the “Backup and Restore” window, then a system image will be created for its recovery, which includes copies of the disks necessary for the operation of the Windows operating system. You can include additional disks in the system image and use it for recovery in case of problems. However, you cannot use individual elements for recovery.

In the "Create a system image" window, you will need to select a location to store the backup.

In the “Create a system image” window, you will need to select the disks that you want to include in the backup. In this case, it will not be possible to add the disk on which the backup copy will be saved. Then click on the “Next” button.

In the new "Create a system image" window, you will need to confirm the archiving parameters and backup location. After that, click on the “Archive” button.

Backup in Windows 7

Now let's move on to the archiving and backup settings. In the “Backup and Restore Files” window, click on the “Set up backup” item.

Next, the “Archiving Settings” window opens. You will have to wait some time while data archiving starts. You will see the message “Starting data archiving” in the window, but the archiving itself is not yet happening.

Then the “Archive Settings” window opens. In this window, you must select a location to store the backup archive.

The best option for storing the system backup being created would be an external hard drive. Because if you back up your copies on another partition of your computer's hard drive, then if the hard drive fails, then the operating system, your data, and the backups created for recovery will be lost forever. The data, in this case, is physically located on one hard drive, they are only located on different logical drives.

This image shows that the system itself suggested a storage location for me - an external hard drive, with enough space to create a backup copy.

In the Archive Settings window, you will need to select what to archive.

If you choose Windows, the operating system will archive files saved in standard folders, in libraries, on the Desktop, and will also create a system image that will allow you to restore your computer in case of problems. All your data and settings will be archived, and you can restore your system from a backup if necessary.

In this case, you can select specific drives and select individual folders located on the selected drive. Be sure to check the box next to “Include disk system image: (C:)” so that you have the opportunity, if necessary, to restore the system from the created backup copy.

The data you select will be archived according to a schedule unless you start archiving manually. After completing the selection of objects for archiving, click on the “Next” button.

In the archiving settings window, you need to check the archiving settings again, and then click on the “Save settings and start archiving” button.

Before starting the backup, you can click on the "Change schedule" link to select your schedule or perform backups on demand.

If you do not perform archiving according to a schedule, but manually when you need it, then you will need to uncheck the box next to “Run archiving on a schedule (recommended)” and then click on the “OK” button.

Next, you will need to start archiving. The time it takes to create a backup will depend on the size of the disks and files that will be backed up, as well as the power of your computer. Repeated backups will be faster because only files that have changed since the previous backup will be overwritten.

Please remember that if you set up a scheduled backup, the external hard drive must be connected to your computer at the time. If you will be doing backups without a specific schedule, then the best option would be to back up about once a month. In this case, you will retain the system settings that you made relatively recently.

Important data that you change frequently will need to be backed up more than once a month to always have an up-to-date backup version for recovery.

How to disable archiving in Windows 7

Sometimes, it is necessary to disable archiving if you have set up scheduled backups, and the disk where you save the backups runs out of free space. In this case, you will need to disable scheduled backups.

To do this, you will need to go to the “Start” menu => “Control Panel” => “Administration” => “Services”. In the "Services" window, you need to find the item "Block-level backup engine service (WBENGINE service is used to perform backup and restore operations)."

To disable automatic archiving, you must change the service startup type from “Automatic” to “Manual”. To do this, you need to right-click on the “Automatic” item and select “Properties” in the context menu.

In the “Properties: Block-level archiving module service” window that opens, in the “General” tab, in the “Startup type” item, select “Manual” and click on the “OK” button. Next you will need to restart your computer. Now you can run the backup manually at your discretion.

If you are annoyed by messages that appear from time to time about the need to configure archiving from the Notification Panel (tray), then such messages can be disabled. To do this, go to the Start menu => Control Panel => Action Center. In the “Support Center” window, in the “Maintenance” field, in the “Archiving settings” item, you must click on the link “Do not receive any more messages on the topic: “about Windows archiving.”

Conclusions of the article

Using the built-in operating system tool - Windows 7 Backup, you can backup Windows, the entire contents of your hard drive, or make copies of individual disks, files and folders.

In the event of a serious failure of your computer, you can restore the system and all your data from a backup copy. Archiving allows you to make backups not only manually, but also according to a schedule you choose.

Backup in Windows 7 (video)

Good day!

Unfortunately, many users do not think at all about the safety of their data, even sometimes when they work on a document for days and weeks! But even a simple virus infection (or a failure in the disk file system) can cause files to disappear...

I hope that you came to this article not when everything was already lost, but prematurely, in order to do it in time backup copy (in English - backup (backup)) your important data.

In this article, I will show, using the example of one fairly convenient and functional program, how you can easily and quickly make a backup of your folders, files, and even an entire disk. Moreover, you can configure it so that it is created automatically, without your participation!

In general, a backup made on time keeps a bunch of nerve cells in place, saves time, and makes you calmer ☺.

So, let's begin...

Advice: by the way, if we are talking about ordinary files, then it is enough to simply copy them to a third-party storage device as a backup copy. This, of course, has its inconveniences - but that’s something!

What you need for work

1) Special program(s)

EaseUS Todo Backup Free

Official site:

A free and very convenient program that allows you to easily create backups of anything and everything (documents, folders, disks, etc.). The program captivates with its simplicity and reliability: in just a few mouse clicks, you can arrange everything (below, in the article I will show examples of how all this is done).

Additional features: cloning disks (including system disks), the ability to configure schedules, creating an emergency flash drive (if Windows OS suddenly fails to boot), viewing and selecting files that you will restore from a backup.

Among the shortcomings: there is no support for the Russian language yet (although the developers are expanding the language environment, soon it will be our turn ☺).

2) Flash drive or external hard drive

It’s best to make a backup on some external storage device (which will sit quietly away from the computer/laptop and will help out if something happens). Just imagine - if you make a backup copy on the same disk that you use - then if it breaks (for example) - this backup will not help you in any way.

A flash drive or external drive (even better) should be of such a size that it can accommodate all your documents and files that you want to save. Let's say, if you have a 60 GB system disk and you want to make a backup copy of it, then you need a flash drive (disk) of at least 80-90 GB!

Making a disk backup

The first thing you need to do is click the “System Backup” button, located in the top menu of the program (see screenshot below).

EaseUS Todo Backup: making a backup of the system disk

select your system drive (number 1 in the screenshot below);
indicate the location where you will save (number 2 on the screen below. Personally, I recommended and recommend that you always save to a third-party storage device, for me it is an external hard drive);
Plan name: here you can set the name of your backup: it can be anything, as long as you remember what you have saved there, for example, in a month or two;
Description: description of your backup (same as the previous one, can be anything);
Schedule: if you need to make backups regularly, you can configure it once, and then the program will do it automatically. By the way, a screenshot of the schedule settings is given below;
Proceed - button to start the operation.

System Backup - settings (description, see screenshot)

As for the schedule, the program implements it quite well. You can set everything in 2-3 mouse clicks: specify how many hours you want to do it (daily, weekly, monthly), then select the days and select the time. In general, everything seems to be simple...

Schedule (for those who want to back up regularly)

After setting the basic parameters, in the next step, the program will ask you to specify the drive (and folder) where the backup will be saved (by the way, it will be a regular file).

Afterwards, the program will begin creating a backup copy. Pay attention to "Estimated time remaining" - this is the remaining operating time. In my case, for a ~60 GB disk the program took about 16-17 minutes of time. Pretty fast.

Note: The external drive was connected to a USB 3.0 port.

The disk backup is ready: the name of your backup copy will now be displayed in the main program window, opposite it there will be a button for recovery (Recover, see screenshot below).

EaseUS Todo Backup - system disk backup is ready!

Backup folders and files

This is done, in principle, in the same way as creating a copy of the disk (which was made in the previous step). To get started, launch the utility and click the button "File Backup" .

Select the file or folder: Folders (or even entire drives) you want to add to the backup. For example, I selected the "My Documents" folder;
Destination: where to save the backup (preferably on a third-party storage device);
You can set any name and description ( Plan name, Description);
Schedule: if necessary, ask (I usually never specify - when I decide to make a backup, I do everything manually ☺);
Proceed- start of the operation.

In general, the program quickly created a backup of my documents. By the way, the backup file itself can be recorded later on another medium (or even uploaded, for example, to a Yandex disk, somewhere in the cloud).

Reference!

Cloud storage: what, how, why? How to connect a cloud drive to Windows, Android - secure file storage in the cloud, available anytime, anywhere -

Recovery example (and overview of files in backup)

And so, you lost some file (or even a folder), and you decided to restore this data from backup.

Launch the EaseUS Todo Backup program and click on the button "Browse to Recover"(view backup).

EaseUS Todo Backup - see what is in the backup

Browse to Recover - select the backup you want to open

Next, you can view your backup: folders, files, everything is shown in a tree view (clear and simple). All you have to do is check the boxes which folders you want to restore (number 1 on the screen below), select the folder where you will restore the selected data from the copy (numbers 2, 3 on the screen below), and, in fact, start the process - by clicking on the button "Proceed" .

After some time, the folders and files will be restored. Convenient and fast...

Well, the last thing I wanted to dwell on in this article. I recommend that you create one more thing: an emergency flash drive, in case your Windows suddenly does not boot. After all, something needs to be loaded, where you press a button and the system disk will be restored ☺!

In this case, EaseUS Todo Backup provides for the creation of an emergency disk/flash drive. The whole process is very simple and does not take much time (in my case it took about 10 minutes).

Click tool "Tools", and select "Create Emergency Disk"(creating a rescue disk).

choose to create a WinPE disk (compatibility of the Linux version of the bootloader is much worse: your mouse may not work, USB ports will not be visible when you boot from this emergency flash drive);
indicate the correct letter of the flash drive (see screenshot below);
press the "Proceed" button (start recording).

By the way, the program will automatically download the required disk image from the official Microsoft website and write it to your flash drive. Convenient enough.

The flash drive was successfully written!

How to boot from this flash drive and work with the EaseUS Todo Backup program

Well, in general, in most cases it is enough to call the so-called Boot Menu, in which you can select the device from which to boot. As another option: you can configure the BIOS accordingly (which takes longer and creates some difficulties for beginners).

Information!

The topic of setting up the BIOS and calling the Boot Menu is quite extensive. Most often, it is enough to press the F2, or Esc, or F10 button (these are the most popular) immediately after turning on the laptop/computer. But the treasured menu does not always appear...

Therefore, in order not to repeat myself here, below are several articles that will help you!

How to configure the BIOS to boot from a flash drive or disk (CD/DVD/USB) -

How to enter BIOS on a computer / laptop e -

Hotkeys to enter the BIOS menu, Boot Menu, restore from a hidden partition -

Depending on the device: the call can occur in different ways: on my laptop there is a special button for this - you turn on the laptop by clicking on it, and the desired menu appears. Comfortable!

An emergency flash drive should appear in the boot menu (which we created a little earlier in the article). Select it and continue downloading.

If the flash drive was written correctly and there were no problems with the BIOS settings, then you should see approximately the same EaseUS Todo Backup program window as if you had launched it from Windows. To get started, click the button "Browse to Recover" .

Browse to Recover - browse connected drives and view available backups

Actually, all that remains is to start the recovery (example below in the screenshot).

To start recovery, click the "Next" button.

It is worth noting that if we are talking about a backup copy of a folder (files), then you can also view the contents of the backup and restore not the whole thing, but only certain data (example below).

View files in a backup - can only be restored selectively!

Actually, that’s all I wanted to tell you today ☺.

PS: all users are divided into two types: those who have not yet made backups, and those who have already started making them...

Regularity. Creating backups should be as regular as brushing your teeth in the morning.
Examination. Check the backup you just made. It will be very disappointing if, at a particularly tense moment, your lifesaver turns out to be a dummy. Open several files from the archive and make sure they work.
Separateness. It is better to store backups not in one place, but in at least two. For example, on an external hard drive and in the cloud. After all, disks sometimes fail, and cloud storage may not be available at the right time.
Demarcation. Divide what you plan to store into several clear categories. Data of varying importance require different approaches to archiving.

System solutions

Windows

Windows has a standard backup and recovery tool that allows you to save both individual files and an entire image from which you can restore the system in the event of a failure.

Windows 7

Go to the “Control Panel” by left-clicking on the “Start” button and selecting the appropriate item. In “Control Panel” select “System and Security” → “Backup computer data” → “Set up backup”.

Next, the system will ask you to specify a location to save the archive. Please note: if you want to backup data from drive C, you will not be able to save it there. To do this, you will have to select another medium, for example a second physical disk, flash drive, DVD or a folder on the local network. If we recall the principles of creating a backup, the archive must be stored on a separate medium, and not on the very computer from which the copy was made.

Next, the system will prompt you to automatically or manually select folders for archiving. Click on “Give me a choice” and in the window that opens, check the boxes for the folders you want to save. Click Next → Save settings and exit.

Now the “Archive” button appears in the “Backup or restore files” window. Clicking on it will start the process of archiving your data.

Recovery follows the same principle. To do this, click on the item “Select another backup to restore files” and indicate the one into which the backup was made.

Windows 8 and above

The built-in File History tool allows for real-time archiving. For it to work, only initial setup is required.

Go to "Control Panel". To do this, click on the “Start” button with the right mouse button and find the desired line in the context menu.

As a storage location, select a disk other than the system one, a flash drive, or a network folder. Click Enable.

“File History” will automatically copy the following libraries: “Documents”, “Music”, “Images”, “Videos” - and standard user folders: Windows, “Desktop”, “Favorites”.

By default, backups are made every hour, but you can change this time, for example, to 10 minutes. However, this will require more disk space. The retention time for each copy can be configured in the Advanced Options menu.

macOS

Time Machine is a standard Apple solution designed for creating backup copies of applications, files and folders, documents, videos, and music.

To use Time Machine, you will need third-party storage, such as a flash drive, external hard drive, or network solution.

When you connect your external drive to your Mac, you should be asked: Should I use it as backup storage? Select "Use as backup drive."

If the window does not appear, you must select the backup disk manually:

go to the menu and open Time Machine settings;
click on “Select backup disk”;
select the one you need and click on “Use disk”.

Backups will be automatically created once per hour, copies for the past month - every day, and backups for the entire time - every week. Don't be afraid that the capacity of your hard drive will be small. Time Machine will only save changed information, and old copies will be automatically deleted as disk space becomes full.

Android

Android Backup Service

Designed to create backup copies of Google account data. With its help you can save:

data about Wi-Fi networks;
desktop wallpaper;
Gmail settings;
Google Play apps;
language and input settings;
date and time;
settings for a number of third-party applications.

To create a backup you need:

open device settings;
go to “Personal data” → “Restore and reset”;
enable "Data backup".

To restore data on another device, just log in with your account. To restore the settings of saved applications, go to “Personal data” → “Recovery and reset” → “Auto recovery”.

Synchronization

Android has a standard synchronization tool that allows you to save user contacts, applications installed from Google Play, calendar, display settings, languages and input methods, Google Drive data and settings of some third-party applications. The tool requires a Google account.

Synchronization in Android is enabled by default. If you want to get the latest backup copy, do the following:

open your phone settings;
in the “Accounts and Synchronization” section, select Google;
Check the required boxes and click “Synchronize”.

The data will automatically be sent to Google cloud storage. To restore them on another Android device, just connect your account to it.

You can also synchronize most popular accounts: Skype, Telegram, Viber and VKontakte. To sync photos and images, Android has a built-in Google Photo solution.

iOS

iTunes

Apple's universal application for receiving and playing content. Allows you to locally save data from a device connected to a computer running Windows or macOS. This is especially convenient when you do not have Internet access.

To create a copy using iTunes, do the following:

connect the device to the computer;
go to the “Devices” tab;
click "Sync".

photos;
notes;
contact list;
calendar;
SMS/MMS messages;
Safari browser;
access point settings;
application data;
main screen view.

iCloud

Cloud service for storing user data. Like any cloud, it has two limitations: the need for Internet access and a relatively small (5 GB) amount of free allocated space.

To save data using iCloud on your device, open Settings → iCloud → Backup and start the process of creating a copy.

Saved in iCloud:

purchase history in the App Store;
photos;
Phone settings;
application data;
main screen view;
ringtones;
voice mail.

Software

Windows

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: There is.

A simple solution for creating backups. Allows you to save both individual files (photos, music or movies) and mail files, for example from Microsoft Outlook or TheBat.

In the main program window, click “Create a new task” → “Create a backup copy”. From the directory tree, select the data you want to save. In our case, this will be the “Music” folder on the desktop.

Finally, give the task a name and click Finish. Archiving is complete.

Data recovery is performed using the same principle. Select the saved backup copy, and then select the location where you want to restore it.

The trial period for using the program is 30 days. The developers offer to purchase the full basic version for 800 rubles. There are other versions of Handy Backup - Professional and Expert. Their capabilities are much wider and tailored to professional needs; for our purposes, the Standard version is quite sufficient.

License: shareware.

Russian language support: No.

Another solution for creating backups and recovering lost files. The interface is so simple and clear that even the lack of Russian language will not be an obstacle.

First of all, choose where to save your data. Let it be a removable drive E.

The next step is to specify the data to be saved. The program offers both a smart selection, where you can mark desktop files, system folders “Pictures” or “Videos”, and a directory tree at once. Go to it and save the already familiar “Music” folder.

After clicking on the checkbox, the archiving window will open. On the selected drive, the program automatically creates a Genie TineLine folder, where it places the saved files.

Save and restore functions are available in the basic version of Genie Timeline Free. The advanced paid versions of Genie Timeline Home and Genie Timeline Pro have much greater capabilities: sending notifications by email, highly secure data encryption, and setting up a schedule. But for saving home files, the Free version is quite enough.

Genie TineLine has an iOS app that allows you to check the status of your backups on your computer.

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: There is.

A powerful tool for creating backups and restoring data. You can store backups not only on physical disks, but also on Acronis’s own cloud service. However, to do this you will have to subscribe for a year, and the amount of space provided will depend on the tariff plan. With a standard subscription, 50 GB are allocated, when purchasing a premium version - from 1 TB.

Immediately after installation, the program prompts you to choose what data to send to the copy: from the entire computer, from disks and partitions, or individual folders.

Select "Files and folders" and select the ones you need. Let this again be the “Music” folder on the desktop. Click "OK" and proceed to select storage.

Select flash drive E, click “OK” → “Create a copy” again. A copy of the “Music” folder has been created on a flash drive.

Acronis also has other useful features. For example, “Archive” allows you to free up disk space by packing large files, and the “Disk Cloning” tool will create a complete copy of local disks, which will allow you to restore the system to its original state in the event of a failure.

The cost of the program is 2,700 rubles. A standard subscription for a year will cost users 2,400 rubles, an extended one - 5,100 rubles. Mobile applications work in conjunction with the desktop version and are downloaded for free.

macOS

Carbon Cope Cloner

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: No.

A utility for creating a duplicate disk. Russian language support is not provided, but understanding the interface will not be difficult.

In Source Disk, select the drive you want to copy. In Target Disk, specify the location to store the copy. Start the process with the Clone button.

The free period of using the program is 30 days. After Carbon Cope Cloner will cost 2,405.65 rubles.

Android

License: shareware.

Russian language support: There is.

A convenient solution for creating backups and synchronizing applications on Android that does not require root rights. However, for full operation you will have to install Helium on a computer running Windows, Linux or macOS.

After installing the application on your smartphone, you will immediately receive a notification about the need for the desktop version. To make installation easier and save time, the program offers to send a link to a user-friendly messenger or email. From there follow the link to the program website, download and run. Installation in the style “Next” → “Next” → “OK” does not cause any difficulties.

While the program is installing, the mobile application asks you to connect the phone to the computer and enable USB debugging.

After receiving a notification about successful synchronization, you can disconnect your smartphone from the computer.

Open the mobile application. From the list of installed programs, select the ones you need and click on the “Backup” button. Specify where the backup will be stored and wait for the process to complete.

To restore from a backup, go to the “Restore and Sync” tab, select the storage location with the copy, select the desired applications and click “Restore”.

The basic version of the program is free, the cost of the extended version is 149.86 rubles.

The extended version allows:

disable advertising;
set up scheduled backups;
enable synchronization between Android devices;
save data in the cloud.

Owners of Motorola devices and some Sony models will not be able to install the application.

License: shareware.

Russian language support: There is.

The most popular application backup tool among Android users. Requires root access to the device.

To create a backup copy of one or more applications, open the “Backups” tab, which provides a complete list of installed software. An exclamation mark next to an application indicates that a copy has not yet been created for it. The phone icon means that the program is stored on the device's internal memory. The SD card icon indicates applications stored on the memory card.

Select the application and click “Save” in the menu that opens.

The backup has been created. Now, if you enter the application again, you can see the “Restore” button.

Titanum Backup supports group work with applications and backups. To do this, go to “Menu” → “Batch actions”.

This function allows you to:

check backups - both recently created and entire ones - for errors;
make backup copies of all installed applications;
make backup copies of all system data;
delete old backups;
restore all backups;
restore all system data;
clear application cache;
remove system or user applications.

The functionality of Titanium Backup is much broader, but for our purposes the listed capabilities are quite sufficient.

The extended version of Titanium Backup costs 349 rubles. Its main features:

creating multiple backups for the application;
encryption of reserved data;
checking all archives;
batch freezing and unfreezing of applications;
synchronization of backups with the cloud.

iOS

iMazing

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: There is.

Compatibility: Microsoft Windows, macOS.

In fact, it is a file manager with backup capabilities. In many ways it is similar to iTunes, but working in it is much easier and more enjoyable. You can transfer data both via cable and via Wi-Fi, and in iMazing there is no limit on the number of connected devices.

When you connect your device to your computer, iMazing automatically makes a backup of it. The function of changing data directly in a saved copy is very useful: the next time you connect, the changed data is instantly synchronized.

The free period is 30 days, after which you will have to pay $39.99 for use on one computer.

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: No.

Compatibility: iOS.

A tool for backing up devices with . Allows you to save notes, contacts, photos, messages, call history and much more.

To create a backup, just select what you want to save and click on the corresponding icon. A copy can be stored on your smartphone, computer, in the cloud, or sent by email.

To restore data, click on the Restore button in the menu on the left side of the screen.

BackupAZ costs $2.99.

iLex

License: free software.

Russian language support: There is.

Compatibility: iOS.

And this software product will require you to have a jailbreak. The free iLex application allows you to save absolutely any data from your device, and it doesn’t require a computer to work.

Having created a backup copy, save it where it is convenient for you, and after flashing the device or in case of loss, copy the archive to your phone and restore the necessary information.

Cydia

License: free software.

Russian language support: There is.

To do this, just go to Manage Accounts, enter your account and select Installable Purchases. But this can only be done for purchased applications. Cydia does not save information about free ones.

Cloud solutions

Google Drive

License: shareware.

Russian language support: There is.

Compatibility:

Allows you to store user data on Google servers, differentiate access rights to files and folders, open access and share them with other Internet users.

Storage includes:

Google Drive - used to store files;
Gmail - stores the user's contacts and is a powerful email client;
Google Photo - automatically finds images on devices and saves them to the cloud.

15 GB is provided for free. For larger volumes you will have to pay from $2.99 to $299. The maximum storage capacity is 30 TB, and the maximum uploaded file is 5 TB.

2 GB of storage is available for free use. The cost of 1 TB will be 9.99 euros. Unlimited space can be purchased for 10 euros per month.

Yandex.Disk

License: shareware.

Russian language support: There is.

Compatibility: browsers, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android, iOS.

Cloud service of Russian origin, former Yandex.People. Like previous solutions, it allows you to save data in the cloud and share it with other Internet users. Supports synchronization between different devices.

Users are provided with 10 GB free of charge. For an additional 10 GB, Yandex asks to pay an additional 30 rubles, for 100 GB - 80 rubles, and the cost of 1 TB will be only 200 rubles.

Data backup is the most important procedure to ensure the safety of files located on your PC. Any organization, be it a huge enterprise or a small company, periodically makes backups of information stored on their computers. Unfortunately, ordinary home PC users often neglect to back up their files, which sometimes leads to very unpleasant consequences in the form of losing important documents, photos or videos taken with their camera. Meanwhile, setting up the process of creating backup copies is not at all difficult and can be done by any PC user.

What files should I copy?

Before starting the process of backing up files, you should decide which files will be copied. There is no point in creating duplicates of folders such as Windows or Program Files. If the hard drive fails, the operating system and programs will still have to be reinstalled. In order to save space on the media that will be used for backup, you should not create backup copies of movies or music, with the exception of rare ones. All this can be downloaded from the Internet if necessary. There is no point in making a copy of the games either, since they can be reinstalled.

So what files need to be copied?

Important documents. There may be hundreds of similar files on your computer. You should back up these documents periodically to ensure you have the latest version.
Photos. People often store photos of loved ones or important events on their computers, without thinking at all that they may be irretrievably lost if the hard drive fails.
Music. In some cases, storing copies of audio files does not make sense. For example, if you have very little music on your computer, and these songs can be easily restored by downloading from the Internet. The decision to copy or not copy such files is determined by the availability of free space on the media where the backup copy will be stored. But, if you are a music lover and have been collecting a music collection for several years, it is definitely worth making a backup copy of it.
Letters. If your email client only stores emails on your computer's hard drive, and some of them are important, it makes sense to back up your email periodically. To do this, just copy one of the files in which all your mail data is stored. For Microsoft Outlook, for example, this will be a file with the extension .pst.
Important program settings. In some cases this can be very useful. And, if you know where these settings are stored and can, if necessary, restore them from a backup copy, it is better to duplicate them.
Browser bookmarks. In this situation, you need to proceed from how important this information is to you. If you know how to do this, it is better to copy your browser bookmarks. These files take up very little space.

Where to store backups?

Experts recommend storing the backup copy separately from the main data. This is understandable - if the computer fails, it will be easier and faster to restore information from a backup that was stored on an external drive. There are several options for storing copied data.

USB storage. This is the simplest solution that does not require significant costs. Currently, you can find high-capacity flash drives on sale at a relatively low price. This carrier is simple and compact. But, unfortunately, it has low reliability. Flash drives often break down and, in addition, they have a limited number of data overwrites. If you make frequent backups, the media will quickly fail. It is better to use a USB drive only as an additional option for storing backup copies.
. The industry produces a large number of external drives of varying capacities and prices. You can buy a relatively inexpensive disk with a capacity of several terabytes, which is quite suitable for regularly backing up your computer data. External drives are reliable and quite compact. Among the shortcomings, they can only be called the need to connect an external drive every time to perform the next backup.
Cloud storage of copies or use of external servers for this purpose. This backup method is quite suitable for home computer users and is being used by them more and more often. One of the advantages of this method is its independence from environmental conditions. For example, if there is a house fire or flood, the data will still be saved. In addition, with this method of performing a backup, there is no need to connect an external drive every time. If desired, it is possible to configure automatic creation of backups. Despite the convenience, this method has some disadvantages. For example, it is recommended to always encrypt your file backups to ensure that no one else has access to your data. When choosing this method of creating backups, you must take into account that this process will consume a lot of traffic, which is quite critical when the Internet is limited.

How to create a backup?

There are two types of backup:

Backup of individual files and folders.
Operating system image backup.

In the first case, only the specified files and folders are copied. Restoring them individually from a backup copy is not difficult. In the second case, a single image of the system is created with all its settings. This can be useful, for example, when reinstalling Windows. This will reinstall all the settings that were in effect at the time the system image copy was created. This saves a lot of time when reinstalling the system.

Let's look at how to create a backup copy of individual files located on your PC's hard drive in Windows 7. Copying will be done to an external drive using the software built into the system to perform backups. Before you can start a backup, you need to connect the external drive to your computer.

Go to “Start” and open the “Control Panel” section. Select "Backup and Restore" there.
In the window that opens, select the “Set up backup” link.
In the list of backup destinations, select your external drive and click Next.
In the next step, you will need to select which folders to include in the backup list. You can let the system choose what exactly will be archived, or you can specify the folders for backup yourself. To do this, check the “Give me a choice” section and click the “Next” button.
In the window that appears, specify the folders that will be backed up and click the “Next” button.
At the next stage, the system will prompt you to check your backup settings. Pay attention to the backup schedule.
If necessary, you can change the archiving schedule.
Click the “Save settings and start archiving” button.
When the copying process is completed, the following window will appear.

The Manage Space link allows you to view the backed up files.

For Windows 10 the process is similar.

How to restore a backup?

How to restore a lost or accidentally deleted file from a backup? This can be done using the built-in tools of Windows OS. Moreover, you can restore both the entire archive (for example, when replacing a failed hard drive), as well as individual folders and files from a backup copy. Let's look at this procedure using the example of restoring files from a backup copy on a computer with the Windows 7 operating system.

Connect the media with the backup stored there to your computer. Go through “Start” to “Control Panel” and select the “Backup and Restore” section. Click the "Recover my files" button.
In the window that appears, click on the “Select another date” link and select the desired date for creating the archive. By default, the most recent backup of files is taken.
If you need to restore individual files from an archive, click on the “Search” button and enter the file name partially or completely.
Mark the found files and click "OK"
The Browse Files and Browse Folder buttons allow you to view the contents of the backup.
Once all the files that need to be restored are found in the backup, click on the “Next” button.
In the window that appears, select the location where the recovered files will be located. You can restore them to where you specify, or to the same place where they were previously located.
Click the "Restore" button. After the recovery process is complete, review the recovered files.

This method allows you not only to restore files and folders from a backup, but also to delete the files you specify from the archive.
For Windows 10, the sequence of actions to restore files from an archive will be as follows.

Backup to Google Drive

Google recently released a file backup and synchronization service that automatically copies data from your PC drive to Google drive. This backup method has many advantages:

Files are synchronized automatically, without your participation.
There is no need to connect an external drive every time where backups are stored.
You have access to the copied data at any time and from anywhere in the world if you have Internet access.
Data will not be lost even if you experience a fire, flood or other natural disaster.
Files from archives can be viewed not only from a computer, but also from another device, for example, from a phone.

In order for you to be able to synchronize your folders with Google Drive, you need to download the “Backup and Sync” application from the Google Drive website. Then you should install this program on your computer. The sequence of actions when installing the application will be as follows.

If you go to Google Drive through a browser, you will see a folder with the name of your device in the “Computers” section.
If you need to change the synchronization settings, you can click on the “Startup and Sync” application icon in the tray and change the program settings.