How to Backup Your Computer

You already know how devastating it would be to lose your data. So rather than listing all the reasons you should be backing up your computer, let’s focus on something more practical: how to do it, and what steps you can take right now to keep your files protected.

Your goal is simple: if your hard drive fails, your laptop is stolen, or your computer just stops working one day, you don’t want it to turn your world upside down. You want to be able to say, “This is inconvenient, but I’m prepared,” and then calmly restore your files and get back to work. With a proper backup in place, a hardware failure or lost device becomes a recoverable event—not a disaster.

By following a few straightforward steps, you can put a safety net in place so that, no matter what happens to your computer, you still have access to your important documents, photos, emails, and business files. Those steps are outlined below, and you can walk through them at your own pace.

While it would be nice if there were a single magical “Backup” button on your computer that automatically took care of everything, that’s not how it works in reality. The good news is that it’s still much easier than many people think. Once you understand the basics and set things up the right way, your backups can largely run in the background with very little effort from you.

Let’s walk through the process together, step by step, so you can put a reliable backup plan in place and know your data is protected.

How to Backup Your Computer in 3 Simple Steps:

Step 1 – Choose the Right Backup Storage (and Use More Than One)

Your first step is to decide where your backups will live. There are a lot of backup storage options, and which one you choose will depend on how much data you have, how you work, and how often you need to access your backups. Regardless of which device you pick, make sure it has enough capacity to store at least twice the amount of data you currently have, so you have room to grow.

For better protection, plan on using more than one backup device and rotating between them. That way, if one device fails or is lost, you still have a second, recent copy of your data. The last thing you want is to carefully back everything up, only to discover your only backup device has failed.

Common backup storage options include:

1. External hard drive
2. USB flash drive (thumb drive)
3. Network Attached Storage (NAS)
4. Tape drive
5. CD / DVD / Blu-Ray (optical media)
6. Cloud storage / cloud backup space (often managed through your backup software)
   

External Hard Drive

For most home users and many small offices, an external hard drive is a practical and cost-effective starting point. These drives offer high capacity at a relatively low price, are easy to connect via USB, and are much larger than typical flash drives. They’re portable, so you can disconnect and store them in a safe location when needed. For many people, an external drive dedicated to backups is the simplest way to get a reliable local copy of their data.

USB Flash Drive (Thumb Drive)

Flash drives are extremely portable and convenient, especially for backing up a small set of important files or moving data between systems. You can leave a USB drive connected for frequent file backups, and newer USB 3.x models offer much faster transfer speeds than older USB 2.0 devices. The main downside is durability and capacity: they’re more prone to being lost or damaged, and they typically don’t offer enough space for full system or image backups.

Network Attached Storage (NAS)

A NAS is a dedicated storage device that connects to your network and can be accessed by multiple computers and servers. This makes it ideal for small businesses, home offices, and anyone managing more than one system. NAS devices can centralize backups from different machines in one place and often support RAID for additional redundancy. They require a bit more initial setup, but once configured, they can provide a “set it and forget it” backup target that works well with automated backup software. Some NAS units are also easy to move off-site for added protection.

Tape Drive

Tape is typically used for long-term, off-site data archiving and for organizations that need to retain backups for years for compliance or policy reasons. Tapes are durable, have a long shelf life when stored properly, and the media itself is relatively inexpensive once you’ve invested in a tape drive. This option is more common in business and enterprise environments than for individual users, but it remains a strong choice for archival and regulatory needs.

CD / DVD / Blu-Ray (Optical Media)

Optical discs are easy to find and very inexpensive, and many people still have stacks of blank CDs or DVDs available. However, their limited capacity makes them less practical for modern systems with large amounts of data. You may need multiple discs to complete a single backup, which quickly becomes time-consuming and error-prone. Scheduled backups can also fail if a disc needs to be swapped and no one is present to do it. In addition, without careful labeling and organization, it can be difficult to identify which disc you need when it’s time to restore.

Cloud Storage / Cloud Backup Space

While not a physical device you plug into your computer, cloud storage has become a critical part of a modern backup strategy. Backing up to a secure cloud location—typically through your backup software—adds an off-site copy of your data that’s protected even if your computer and local devices are lost, stolen, or damaged (for example, in a fire or flood).

Cloud backups are encrypted, can be automated on a schedule, and are accessible from almost anywhere with an internet connection. For many users and businesses, combining a local backup device (like an external drive or NAS) with secure cloud backup provides the best balance of speed, convenience, and protection.

If you’re still unsure which option to choose, start by considering how much data you have, how quickly you would need to restore it, and whether you need off-site protection. Many people use a combination of local storage (external drive or NAS) plus cloud backup to create a simple, resilient “2-copy” plan: one copy close at hand for fast recovery, and one copy off-site for true disaster protection. However, the 3-2-1 backup rule provides a simple, proven framework to follow.

Step 2 – Select a Backup Software Program

There are a lot of backup software programs to choose from. Even Windows has its own built-in backup utility, but it is not as comprehensive or versatile as professional backup software programs. Only professional backup solutions will give you true backup automation with easy restoration, plus disaster recovery, file versioning, and more. When selecting a backup software program, there are a few features to look for.

Automatic Backup Scheduling

The backup software should allow you to schedule your backups to run automatically at regular intervals. This is especially useful if you want to leave your storage device attached to your computer for backups (recommended). If you set up your backups to run and the device you set it up to save to is not attached, it will fail.

Incremental Backups (and Differential Backups)

Another feature, although common, is incremental backups. Rather than doing full backups every time, you want the ability to just back up the data that has changed since your last backup (whether full or incremental). Incremental and differential backups are both smaller in size and faster to run than full backups.

For most modern backup strategies, an incremental-forever approach takes this a step further by running a single full backup and then only capturing block-level changes going forward. This significantly reduces backup windows, network load, and storage consumption while still allowing you to restore to specific points in time.

Incremental forever backups are the more efficient and scalable option for today’s environments, especially when you are protecting multiple systems or using cloud storage as part of your backup plan. Some backup programs will even allow you to back up files that are currently open, which is a great added benefit for those of us who keep files open for extended periods of time.

File Versioning

When you accidentally save over that presentation you labored over all day, you'll find this feature essentially useful. File versioning essentially gives you the ability to roll back to an earlier version of your file so you can pick up where you left off, rather than starting over from scratch.

Not all backup software programs will include this, but file versioning will let you find and restore historical versions of a file. It shouldn't matter when or where the files were backed up to roll back to earlier versions of your files.

Disaster Recovery / Image Backups

Another feature that is a must-have is disaster recovery. Some programs call it an image backup, or disk image, or even system backup, but essentially it is the same thing. Image backups allow you to create an exact copy of your old system, including your operating system, applications, files, images, videos, emails, personal settings, preferences, and more.

Disaster Recovery image backups allows you to recover everything exactly as it was. Where some programs differ is in their ability to restore to systems with dissimilar hardware. Not all programs allow you to do this, so be sure to find one that does. In reality, you are not going to purchase the same computer when it comes time to restore your files. If your computer crashes, you want to make sure that you can get back up and running quickly on any computer.

Step 3 – Back Up Your Computer Files

Now that you’ve selected your backup software and storage, it’s time to actually create your backups. The exact screens and terminology will vary depending on the program you’re using, but the overall process is very similar across most backup solutions.

Below are the key steps to set up and run a reliable file backup:

1. Install your backup software

• Follow the installation wizard for the backup program you selected.
• When prompted, create or sign in to your account (if required) and complete any initial setup steps.

2. Connect your backup storage

• Plug in your external hard drive, USB flash drive, or other backup media.
• If you’re backing up to a NAS or network share, make sure you can access it from your computer.
• If you are using cloud backup, confirm that you’re signed in and that the software can reach the cloud destination.

3. Launch the backup software

• Open the application and locate the area where you create a new backup job or backup plan.
• Many programs will offer a “File Backup,” “Data Backup,” or “Backup Wizard” option—start there.

4. Select what you want to back up

• Choose the folders, drives, or file types that matter most (for example: Documents, Desktop, Pictures, email data, and business-critical folders).
• When in doubt, include your entire user profile so that documents, photos, and configuration files are all protected.
• If available, consider including both user data and key configuration files for applications you rely on.

5. Choose your backup destination

• Select the device or location where your backup will be stored (external drive, NAS, or cloud repository).
• For hybrid protection, configure both a local backup (for fast restores) and a cloud backup (for off-site protection), either in separate jobs or a combined plan, depending on your software.

6. Configure your backup schedule

• Set your backups to run automatically so you don’t have to remember to start them manually.
• Recommendation:
  • Run a full backup at least once a week.
  • On the other days, run incremental (or differential) backups that only capture what has changed since the last backup or opt for Incremental Forever backups. This keeps backup windows shorter and reduces the impact on your system and network.
• Choose a time when your computer is typically on but not heavily used (for example, evenings or early morning).

7. Set additional options (if available)

• Enable encryption to protect your backups with a strong password, especially for portable drives or cloud backups.
• Configure retention and versioning so you keep multiple versions of important files and can roll back to earlier copies if needed.
• Turn on email or in-app notifications so you’ll be alerted if a scheduled backup fails.

8. Run your first backup

• Start the initial full backup and allow it to complete. This first run may take longer, especially if you’re sending data to the cloud or backing up a large amount of information.
• Once finished, verify that the backup completed successfully and, if your software allows, review a quick restore test (for example, restoring a single file to a temporary location).

9. Rotate and safeguard your backup devices

• Recommendation: Rotate between at least two backup devices (for example, two external drives) and store one in a separate, secure location. This way, you always have a backup of your backup, and you’re better protected against theft, hardware failure, or a local disaster.
• Make sure your backup devices are labeled clearly and that you have a simple system for rotating them (for example, weekly or biweekly).

Once these steps are in place, your backups should run quietly in the background. Periodically check your backup reports or dashboard to confirm everything is running as expected and to adjust your plan as your data grows.

If you decided to go with NovaBACKUP software, we have written a complete step-by-step guide on how to recover your files with NovaBACKUP. Click here to download a free trial of NovaBACKUP

A full Disaster Recovery image backup is the only way to protect your complete system so that you can get back up and running immediately after restoring your system. All of your applications, photos, emails, videos, files, bookmarks, settings, and your operating system can quickly and efficiently be restored as if nothing ever happened. Keep in mind, if you have made changes to your documents since you created your image backup, you will also need to use your file backups to restore your files.