Some people move all their photos from their computer onto an external drive and think they have a backup. Sadly, they don’t.
Backup is essentially TWO copies of your files. In fact, it’s at LEAST two copies.
To help you understand I’ll give you some background info. Your computer (whether it’s a traditional desktop, a laptop, or even a tablet or phone) has a part that stores your data. In a desktop pc it’s usually a 3.5-inch hard drive, a laptop will have a 2.5-inch drive. Sometimes these may even have a Solid State Drive.
Whatever type of storage your computer uses, it needs to copied or duplicated. In that way if something goes wrong with the computer you can copy the files from the backup drive.
But there’s a catch. If you MOVE everything from your computer to the backup drive and it’s now no longer on your computer – you do not have a backup. All you have is a single copy of your data in one location. Therefore, your photos etc are invulnerable. The reason? The backup drive is just as likely to fail as the one in your computer. You see why you need two copies now.
It’s a good idea to take that drive off-site, that is, to another location. Even in your garage, as long as it’s separate to the house.
Got backup? Tested it lately? If not, give us a call.