Almost every business we visit says, “Yes, we have backups.” Far fewer have ever tried getting a file back from one. That’s the real test, and it’s where a lot of backups quietly fail.
Common ways backups let people down
- The backup only covers one folder, and important files were saved somewhere else, like the desktop.
- The backup drive filled up months ago and stopped working, and nobody noticed the warning.
- The only copy sits right beside the computer, so a fire, flood, theft or ransomware attack takes out both.
- Email and cloud files (Microsoft 365, Gmail, OneDrive, Google Drive) were never backed up at all, because people assume Microsoft or Google does it for them.
Our simple rule
Keep at least three copies of anything important, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy off-site. Then test it: pick a file at random every few months and restore it. If it comes back, your backup works. If it doesn’t, you’ve found the problem on a quiet day instead of the worst day.
Five minutes you can spend today
- Find out where your backup actually goes, and when it last ran successfully.
- Try restoring one file you’d hate to lose.
- Ask yourself what would happen if this computer disappeared tonight.
If any of those answers make you uneasy, that’s the right instinct.
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