The question isn't whether your hard drive will fail — it's when. Every mechanical drive fails eventually. The only protection is a good backup. Here's a complete, practical guide.
What to back up
Focus on irreplaceable personal data: photos and videos, important documents (financial, legal, medical), creative work, emails, and contacts. You don't need to back up installed programmes — these can be reinstalled. You don't need to back up Windows itself — that can be reinstalled too.
The 3-2-1 backup rule
Keep 3 copies of your data, on 2 different types of storage, with 1 copy offsite (e.g. cloud). This protects against drive failure, fire/flood (offsite copy), and ransomware (offline copy).
Practical options
External hard drive (essential)
Buy an external USB hard drive (1–2TB, around £40–£60). Use Windows Backup (built-in) to create automatic daily backups. Keep the drive plugged in when at home.
Cloud storage (essential for photos)
Google Photos (free up to 15GB, then paid) or OneDrive automatically backs up your photos. This provides offsite protection for your most irreplaceable files.
Full system image (recommended)
Use Windows Backup or Macrium Reflect (free) to create a complete image of your system. If your drive fails entirely, you can restore everything to a new drive in an hour rather than spending days reinstalling.
Need help setting up backups?
Darren configures backup solutions as part of computer services across Okehampton and Devon. It's one of the most valuable things you can do.
📞 Call 07564 432851