How to Back Up Your Computer

Summary

How to back up your most important data by using Drive for Desktop.

Your computer should be backed up BEFORE an issue occurs. The steps below are simple, proactive ways to make sure your most important data stays backed up in the event of an issue.

If your computer contains personal data, please back it up to a personal storage device or service.

NOTE: Time Machine (Apple's Backup Utility) is not supported by DD&D, and the Migration Assistant Utility (to restore a Time Machine backup to a computer) is blocked on DD&D computers.

You will not be able to restore data backed up with Time Machine to a DD&D computer.

Sections in this Article

Why should I back up my files?

From time to time the only way our IT Team can fix an issue is to erase the computer and revert it back to its original configuration. This means that any information not already stored in the cloud will need to be backed up, and applications that you installed will need to be reinstalled. Below, we detail how to ensure your data is backed up correctly to ensure you don't lose anything important.

If you are not sure if your data is backed up properly, please feel free to reach out to your local IT Team. We will be happy to check this with you.

Chrome Accounts

If you are signed in, Chrome automatically backs up all bookmarks, extensions, history and passwords. This will be indicated by your photo in the top right hand corner in Chrome:

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Google Drive for Desktop

Google Drive for Desktop is an automatic backup service that sync your information securely with your Google Drive int eh cloud. It's incredibly easy to keep your documents, desktop, downloads, photos and other files backed up by configuring a few settings in the app.

First, install Drive for Desktop from the link here: Google Drive Help

Be sure to specify DOWNLOAD GOOGLE DRIVE FOR DESKTOP, not Backup & Sync; Backup & Sync stores files locally on your computer instead of in the cloud.

Manual Bookmarks Backup

Occasionally, Chrome is unable to sync your data automatically. If it says 'Person 1' or there is an exclamation mark where your name should be shown, this means you're not backed up. If this is the case, you can manually back up your bookmark with the steps below:

Choose the Bookmarks menu, then select Bookmark Manager
Click the 3 dots in the upper-right
Then choose Export Bookmarks
Save the bookmarks as an HTML Text file on your desktop and email it to yourself or sync it to your Google Drive for safe-keeping.

Google Drive

At DD&D, everyone has unlimited online storage available through Google Drive.

If you would prefer to manually drag-and-drop your important files to your Google Drive, you can reference this article from Google to accomplish that.

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