{"id":26341,"date":"2015-03-30T10:50:00","date_gmt":"2015-03-30T17:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=26341"},"modified":"2025-12-11T14:16:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T22:16:35","slug":"the-complete-guide-to-computer-backup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/the-complete-guide-to-computer-backup\/","title":{"rendered":"The Complete Guide to Computer Backup"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-26351\" src=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/blog-header-resource-center.jpg\" alt=\"Backup Resource Center\" width=\"720\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/blog-header-resource-center.jpg 720w, https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/blog-header-resource-center-300x165.jpg 300w, https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/blog-header-resource-center-560x307.jpg 560w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"bzdropcap\">\u201cHow do I backup my computer?\u201d That should be an easy question to answer, but if you\u2019ve spent any time at all searching online you know that a simple query produces a myriad of results that are often confusing, incomplete, and in the end are not very helpful.<\/p>\n<p>What would be great is a single place that addresses all of the available backup options for your computer, your smartphone and your iPad\/tablet. The information there would be unbiased, easy to understand, and give you the ability to create a backup plan that fits you. Yes, that would nice.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why today we are introducing the <a title=\"How do I Backup my Computer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/cloud-backup\/personal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Complete Guide to Computer Backup Resource Center<\/a>. The center consists of multiple sections, each covering the topics needed to create and implement a backup plan that fits your devices and your data. Each section is designed to help the backup newbie as well as the seasoned computer pro to safely and efficiently backup their data.<\/p>\n<p>Below, you&#8217;ll find a quick overview of each of the sections of the Backup Resource Center.<\/p>\n<h2>Getting Started with Data Backup<\/h2>\n<p>If you are new to data backup, you can begin with the <a title=\"Computer Data Backup\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/cloud-backup\/personal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Computer Backup Guide<\/a>. This introductory guide starts by answering, \u201cwhat is a computer backup?\u201d and looks at different backup options like drive cloning, external hard drives, and online backup.<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/cloud-backup\/personal\">Computer Backup Options<\/a><\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019re ready to dig a little deeper, then the next step is to read the <a title=\"Computer Backup Options\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/cloud-backup\/personal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Backup Options Guide<\/a>, which details the pros\/cons of each type of backup product option available, ranging from CD\/DVDs to cloud-based services.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"How to Backup Your Computer: The Complete Guide to Computer Backup Options\" width=\"750\" height=\"422\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Vjd6c7wdOhI?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1&#038;origin=https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>How to Backup Guides for Mac and Windows<\/h2>\n<p>Once you are comfortable with your options, the next step is to implement a backup system. We have specific guides for<a href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/cloud-backup\/personal\/mac-online-backup\"> how to backup your Mac <\/a>and <a title=\"How to backup a Windows PC\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/cloud-backup\/personal\/windows-online-backup\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">how to backup your Windows PC<\/a>. These are hands on instructions for specific tasks like setting up Time Machine, cloning a <a href=\"\/blog\/life-and-times-of-a-backblaze-hard-drive\/\">hard drive<\/a>, and using Windows Backup and Restore functions.<\/p>\n<h2>Mobile Device Backup Options<\/h2>\n<p>Of course, in this day and age no backup guide would be complete without exploring your options for backing up your iPhone, iPad, and Android devices. The <a title=\"Mobile backup options\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/mobile.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mobile Device Backup Options<\/a> does just that. This guide digs into the various Apple and Google systems for backup as well as third party and manufacturer options.<\/p>\n<h2>Online Storage vs. Online Backup<\/h2>\n<p>Lastly, a lot of people are confused about the <a title=\"Online vs offline storage\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/cloud-backup-vs-cloud-sync\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">differences between online storage and online backup<\/a>. Although on the surface, the services have many similarities, the ideal use cases are in fact very different. In this guide, we delve into what makes each service different and when it is best to use one or other or both in conjunction.<\/p>\n<h2>Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n<p>In the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/cloud-backup\/personal\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Computer Backup Resource Center<\/a> you will find everything you need to easily set up your own backup plan. Without a backup plan, a <a href=\"\/blog\/managing-for-hard-drive-failures-data-corruption\/\">hard drive failure<\/a> or a stolen or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/cloud-backup\/features\/find-my-computer\">lost computer<\/a> or smartphone can mean the loss of years of irreplaceable digital memories. Now there is a comprehensive collection of backup options in one place. Take a few minutes, read through the guides, and get backed up before you wish you had.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cHow do I backup my computer?\u201d That should be an easy question to answer, but if you\u2019ve spent any time at all searching online you know that a simple query produces a myriad of results that are often confusing, incomplete, and in the end are not very helpful. What would be great is a single&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/the-complete-guide-to-computer-backup\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">The Complete Guide to Computer Backup<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[469],"class_list":["post-26341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-backing-up","tag-consumerbackup","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>How Can I Backup My Computer? The Complete Guide to Computer Backup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cHow do I backup my computer?\u201d That should be an easy question to answer, but if you\u2019ve spent any time at all searching online you know that a simple\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/the-complete-guide-to-computer-backup\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Can I Backup My Computer? The Complete Guide to Computer Backup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cHow do I backup my computer?\u201d That should be an easy question to answer, but if you\u2019ve spent any time at all searching online you know that a simple\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/the-complete-guide-to-computer-backup\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Backblaze Blog | Cloud Storage &amp; Cloud Backup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/backblaze\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-03-30T17:50:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-11T22:16:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/blog-header-resource-center.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"395\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andy Klein\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@backblaze\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@backblaze\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andy Klein\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Can I Backup My Computer? 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He currently writes and rants about drive stats, Storage Pods, cloud storage, and more.","url":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/author\/andy\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/03\/blog-header-resource-center.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backblazeprod.wpenginepowered.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}