The computer has crashed and all data has been lost! For many people, especially in the professional field, losing a computer is a problem, but the real tragedy is not being able to access the data that was in it, in which perhaps years of work had been invested and that cannot always be recovered . Fortunately, such losses can be prevented. If you create regular backups or backups, you don't need to worry about data loss . Copies of individual files, folders, or even the entire system can be created so that virtually all data is secured..
Most users know the importance of backups , yet doing them regularly is still too tedious for them. What you may not know is that copies can be made automatically. If Windows is configured to create backups regularly and without requiring user intervention, securing data is a breeze.
On January 14, 2020, Microsoft stopped offering technical support and security updates for Windows 7 , with the exception of paid technical support for businesses, which continues until 2023. If you do not have the latter, it is highly recommended that you install one latest version of Windows. To learn more, don't miss our comprehensive article on Windows 7 end of support..
Securing data in Windows 7 does not require any additional software, as all the necessary functions are included in the operating system. To do so, from the system configuration, go to the section? System and security? and click on the option ? Backup and Restore ?. If this is the first time you are using the automatic backups feature, Windows will tell you that there is no backup yet. Click? Configure backups ? to set the appropriate settings.
Backups can be saved to disk removable hard or a shared folder on the network..
You can also use an external service to make regular backups of your system. With Backup Cloud or HiDrive storage in the IONOS cloud you can save your data online and access all your files from anywhere.
Once you have chosen the most suitable medium, Windows will show you two options: decide yourself which files will be included in the backup or let the operating system decide. The automatic selection is the best choice for most users, but if you know the ins and outs of your computer especially well, the recommended manual selection , which lets you copy entire hard disks or only certain folders.
Manual selection also offers the possibility of creating a system image, that is, a copy that contains not only folders and files, but the entire system configuration . With it, if you want to restore the operating system after a failure, you can return to work without losing practically anything and without having to reconfigure Windows from scratch.
After you have chosen one of the two selection methods, either manual or automatic, Windows displays a summary with the most important information, which includes the option to configure the timelines for regular backups . Do not forget that your computer must be turned on and connected to the corresponding storage medium when it is time to perform them. You can also decide how often Windows 7 should make copies: daily, weekly, or monthly. To make this decision, consider how often you make major changes. The least risky option is, of course, daily copies.
When you have defined all the options, confirm the changes and thus start the first copy . From then on, Windows 7 will be regularly backed up without your intervention. The strategy followed by the operating system is not to copy all the data each time, but only the data that has changed since the last copy.
If a backup has already been created, it can easily be recalled if necessary. To do this, you have to access the backup menu again and choose the option? Restore my files ?. Then, you choose the backup folder that had been saved on the external hard drive, and then you can decide whether you want to use the original directory or a new folder. The restoration will begin when you commit the changes.
If Windows gives problems in general, it is better to perform a full system recovery than just the files. The option to do this is at the bottom of the backup menu:? Recover system or computer settings ?. Once there, a wizard will guide you through the restoration process and you will be able to choose which restore point you want to return to. Sometimes it is convenient not to go back to the most recent one, but to one in which the Windows failures were not yet present.
To secure the system, a recovery disc may be useful : a CD or DVD to use as a last resort, if nothing else works, to restart Windows 7. If you want to create this type of disc, go back to the backup and restore center . There you will find, on the left side, the option? Create a system repair disk ?, where you can select your disk drive and define an empty storage medium.
