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12038  What should i backup ? 
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URL: /Support_Kb.aspx?kbname=what_to_backup
Created: 23-Jan-2007     Last updated: 23-Jan-2007

There are many ways you can unintentionally lose information on a computer. A child playing the keyboard like a piano, a power surge, lightning, floods. Equipment can be lost or stolen and sometimes equipment just fails. A typical heavily used hard disk might only last 3-5 years before it fails and you've lost your data. 

If you regularly make backup copies of your files and keep them in a separate place, you can get some, if not all, of your information back in the event something happens to the originals on your computer.

Deciding what to back up is highly personal. Anything you cannot replace easily should be at the top of your list. Before you get started, make a checklist of files to back up. This will help you determine what to back up, and also give you a reference list in the event you need to retrieve a backed-up file. Here are some file suggestions to get you started:

Bank records and other financial information

Digital photographs

Software you purchased and downloaded from the Internet

Music you purchased and downloaded from the Internet

Personal projects

Documents and work e.g. word, excel, powerpoint, CAD

Your e-mail address book and emails

Your Microsoft Outlook calendar

Your Internet Explorer bookmarks

If you haven't already decided where you want to store your backup copies, we strongly recommend external hard disk drives as the best media to use. These days.

After you've decided what you want to back up and where you're going to back up, you're ready to learn how to backup. Please move on and read our helpful walkthrough introduction to creating and running your first backup with enhanced windows backup. click here

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