Choosing Windows Backup Software

When shopping for Windows backup software for your computer, it is easy to become confused by all the various backup types that are available on the market. Before choosing a product, you will want to consider your specific computer needs, and select a backup product that is the best fit for how you work on your computer.

Virtually every backup software package is going to allow you to do a full backup. This means that when you perform the backup, all of the files and folders that you select will be completely backed up. When you plan to do incremental backups in the future, it is important to realize that you will first need to do one full backup of all the data on your computer. After this is done, the process going forward will only require you to incrementally back up the files that have changed since the last time a backup was performed.

Ideally, the backup package that you choose will allow you to both do a manual backup, as well as provide the capability for you to schedule them to run on an automatic basis according to a schedule that you pre-determine. Some packages even provide continuous data protection by backing up files almost immediately after they are edited which ensures that no data is ever lost.

Some software also will allow you to perform what is known as a block level backup. This means that only the changed pieces of any given file will be backed up, instead of dealing with the entire file. If your backup software provides this functionality, you will notice that backups are performed much faster.

Another feature to look for in backup software is Disaster Recovery. Using this feature, you can backup not only the files, but the entire contents of your computer. This is extremely handy if you need to quickly recover from any type of computer disaster such as a hard drive crash, because you will also have the Windows operating system, all of your applications as well as their settings included in the backup, along with your files.

Another handy feature to look for in backup software is media spanning. This will allow you to span your backup over several devices, such as two smaller backup drives or even CDs or DVDs. This can be very handy if you send your backups to off-site storage.

There are a number of other types of things to take into consideration when choosing backup software. For example, you will want to make sure that it supports various types of backup media. Of course, you also need to make sure whatever you choose supports the version of the Windows operating system that you are currently using.