I have tried several packages for backing up both business and personal files (about 2 Tb in total.). FWIW I now use two external hard disks and also back up work files at to an internal hard disk on the home computer and vice versa, so there are always three copies of everything across two geographic locations.

The trick is to find software you are happy with in terms of the balance between complexity and configurability. I have ended up with (an older version of) this:

**LINK**

and it's reasonably easy to configure so that all I have to do is plug in the external drives at each end and click a couple of actions to ensure everything is synchronised. But you do need to be thinking clearly when setting it up… especially when using 'incremental' backup mode (only changed files). It is worth doing, though, as a full scan 'from scratch' will take several tens of minutes unless your disks are a lot faster than mine!

Having seen the latest version is still free I might ponder upgrading to it. There are also paid for versions but the free one has all the basic stuff you need – see their comparison.

I use Genie Backup Manager to backup to an external disk and it works well for me. The latest basic version called Timeline Home seems simple to use and is £30. link

I use DirSyncPro

Neil

Am I missing something? – I use the standard Microsoft Windows Backup and Restore.

It's under the Control Panel/System and Security of Windows 7.

You can schedule backups whenever you want.

Jon

Hi John.

The backup programme I use is called Synkron for all my backup needs to a separate PC setup for the purpose, though the software will also work to a USB drive as required.

The software is totally free for life, works across different platforms and, best of all, is ad-ware, pop-up and virus free.

When run (As Administrator if using Win7) the software looks at previous backups and only backs up files that have changed or are new since the last backup was taken. The only user input required is to tell it which drive to back up and to where, and then only at initial setup, then you simply click "Sync" and the package does the rest.

It's perhaps worth bearing in mind that the initial backup will take some time, depending on how much data you need to backup. Subsequent backups are much quicker as it only backs up changes to the drive and not the entire contents again.

The software can also be set to backup your files according to a schedule set by the user

I have been using Synkron for years and it has never once failed me.

Give it a try, you might like it.

Link: **LINK**

The best backup strategy and software is very much dependent on you use your computer for and your need for security. Using a computer for business makes backing up important.

This is what I do:

I have Luckybackup installed (you could try Backup maker which has similar facilities for a Windows machine). I have it set up do automatically do nightly incremental backups of my data (ie., only changed files) and keep the last seven backups so that if I find I have made an error in the last week I can go back to before the error. I do these backups to a second, internal drive.

About once a month I copy all my data files to an external hard drive.

That takes care of my data and personal settings but it doesn't cover the system with all the software I've installed and all the time that's gone into getting it as I like it. For that I use RedoBackup. It is burned to a bootable CD and will make a complete image of your hard disk and makes it easy to restore to exactly the state your computer was in when the image was made. It can be used to restore everything to a new disk (same size or bigger) and will even backup multiple operating systems on the same disk. It can take a long time so I only do that when I have made major updates or installed new software.

Hope that helps a little.

Russell.