Prevent data loss by backing up your valuable data! Follow this checklist with backup scripts and documents to perform a professional, regular and comfortable local data backup.
- 1. Read the documents to plan the best backup strategy.
- 2. Get hard drives with enough capacity to hold all your data (different types recommended).
- 3. Label the hard drives by writing the disk size and a unique name onto them (e.g. "4TB BACKUP DISK #1"), then connect them with the computer and rename the disks using the same name.
- 4. Download this repository (5.8MB), then unzip and copy it as top folder 📁my-backups onto each backup harddisk.
- 5. Set up a reminder in your digital calendar to back up your data every day/week/month/etc.
- 1. Connect your smartphone to the PC and copy photos into the Pictures folder, documents into the Documents folder, and so on.
- 2. Connect the next hard drive to the PC and open the top folder 📁my-backups and then 📁scripts.
- 3. Execute the backup scripts one after another, e.g. 📄save_Pictures.bat which copies your 📁Pictures folder to the backup disk at 📁my-backups/my_data/Pictures
- 4. Disconnect the hard drive and store it in a separate (!) and secure (!) location.
- 1. Get the hard drive with the latest (!) backup.
- 2. Check the hard drive: in case it's damaged read the documents.
- 3. Connect the hard drive to the PC and open the top folder 📁my-backups and then 📁my_data.
- 4. Manually copy (=overwrite files) or sync (=overwrite folder content) the missing or corrupted data back to the computer (but DON'T MOVE the data).
- 5. Disconnect the hard drive and store it in the separate and secure location again.
- Follow the 3-2-1 rule: Keep 3 copies of any important file (1 primary and 2 backups). Keep the files on 2 different media types to protect against different types of hazards. Store 1 copy offsite (e.g., outside your home or business facility). One of these copies should be stored offline to protect against ransomware attacks.
- A full backup is made at first (slow for big data), but then only changes ("deltas") are copied in no time.
- A backup history is available at: 📄Logbook.csv (table in .CSV format, updated by the backup scripts automatically).
- No encryption is performed to keep it simple and robust! Use an encryption program and a vault to protect your backups against unauthorized physical access.
- Test your backups regularly to ensure that they are working properly. Restore your backups to a test environment and check that all of your data can be accessed as expected.
- Feedback is welcome! Create a pull request or send your email feedback to: markus.fleschutz [at] gmail.com
- DISCLAIMER: All informations are given according to my best knowledge, but without guarantee.
This open source project is licensed under the CC0-1.0 license. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.