A simple backup routine that survives a lost laptop

A practical guide for Ridents readers, written from everyday experience.

The rule to remember is three copies, on two kinds of storage, with one kept somewhere else. Your working files are copy one. An external drive that you plug in once a week is copy two. A cloud backup that runs quietly in the background is copy three and the off-site copy at the same time, which is what saves you when a bag is stolen or a flat floods.

The rule to remember is three copies, on two kinds of storage, with one kept somewhere else.

Automate the parts you would otherwise forget. Set the cloud tool to back up the folders you care about and check its status once a month. Test a restore twice a year by recovering a random document; a backup you have never restored from is only a hope. Keep photos and important papers in the same routine so a single plan covers your whole digital life.