Understanding Backup and Recovery Methods
Crystal Panek · 2019
This chapter offers information on local, manual, and network backups and discusses how to automate them. A backup is a properly secured copy of files and folders-and sometimes settings— usually saved in a compressed format. A backup is created so you can restore the files and settings in the event of data loss from a hard disk failure, accidental erasure or disk formatting, or natural events. Most users hope they never need backups. When they do need backups, however, they need them now! And if they don't have backups, it's often too late-their files might be gone forever. You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Backup Operators group to back up a computer or data. Backup and Restore (Windows 7) was designed to protect a computer in the event of a system failure by storing data on another medium (hard drive, network folder, or CD/DVD). It can also back up a system image of a computer, including applications. Backup and Restore (Windows 7), previously called Windows Backup and Restore and Windows 7 File Recovery, is available in Windows 10. However, because this feature has been superseded in favor of the new File History feature (discussed later), Microsoft does not recommend using both features at the same time.