{"id":44181,"date":"2015-11-03T11:02:17","date_gmt":"2015-11-03T19:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/?p=44181"},"modified":"2021-08-09T11:50:07","modified_gmt":"2021-08-09T18:50:07","slug":"have-you-tested-your-backup-lately","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.backblaze.com\/blog\/have-you-tested-your-backup-lately\/","title":{"rendered":"Have You Tested Your Backup Lately?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Testing<\/p>\n

Everyone should be backing up, right? Sure. Backups, though, aren\u2019t important. If you want to get your data back, the thing you should be worried about is the restore. Can you restore your data? A backup you can\u2019t restore data from is worthless. Don\u2019t assume no news is good news from your backups. You test your smoke detector at least twice a year. Now\u2019s the time to test your backups on that same schedule.<\/p>\n

Why You Can\u2019t Restore Off Your Backup<\/h2>\n
    \n
  1. \n
      \n
    1. You aren\u2019t backing up the right files.<\/strong>
      \nMost backup programs and services give you a report that the backup was successful. That only tells you part of the story. You know something was probably backed up, but aren\u2019t sure what files those are. Programs sometimes store data in unusual places. Quickbooks, for example, often puts its files in the Public folder in Windows. Some backup programs will only backup the user folder. The programs can also move the data folder after an upgrade but the backup program has no way of knowing that.Backblaze backs up most folders<\/a> unless you tell it not to, so it doesn\u2019t usually suffer from the problem. You tell it what folders to exclude. Those exclusions might not be up to date. I excluded an external hard drive years ago. Then I started running out of space on my main drive and moved stuff to that external. It wasn\u2019t until I did a backup checkup that I realized I told Backblaze to exclude that drive.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

       <\/p>\n

        \n
      1. \n
          \n
        1. You can\u2019t log in to your backups.<\/strong>
          \n          Online backup services<\/a> have protections in place to prevent hackers from getting your data. Many software backup programs let you put a password on your backup. Time Machine, for example, lets you encrypt your backup data. If you forget that password, you may be out of luck. Lots of programs and services let you reset a forgotten password. If you don\u2019t have access to that old email address, you might not be able to get in. Backblaze lets you create a custom encryption key. That key is separate from your Backblaze login to provide an extra level of security to your account. If you forget that key, no member of staff can recover your backup. It\u2019s that secure.The latest form of protection for your backups is Two-Factor Authentication. It\u2019s based on something you know and something you have. That extra something is usually your mobile phone. If your mobile phone changes and you don\u2019t tell your backup provider, you could be locked out of your backups.Backups are a copy of the stuff you care about on your computer or mobile device; you don\u2019t want it to fall into the wrong hands. That\u2019s why you keep a unique password for this in a safe place.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

           <\/p>\n

            \n
          1. You don\u2019t have the software or skills to do the restore.<\/strong>
            \nWith online services, you can usually just download the software and begin the restore. Backblaze lets you download your data immediately without installing software\u2014though larger data restoration is easier with the software. With software based backups you\u2019ll need a copy of the software to do the restore. If your             hard drive<\/a> fails you\u2019ll need not just a backup of the software, but a version that is compatible with your computer. That\u2019s a particular problem when you upgrade your operating system or switch platforms like going from PC to Mac.Whichever method you use to backup your data, you need to know how to do the restore. Programs can be confusing and I think backup software<\/a> tends to be really hard. If you don\u2019t do it right you can accidentally overwrite good data. The worst time to learn how to do a restore is just after your hard drive has crashed. That\u2019s why you need to practice a restore.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Can You Fall Back on Your Backup (Or Spring Ahead With It)?<\/h2>\n

            Just like we\u2019re reminded to test our smoke alarms twice a year, that beep should remind us to check out backups. It takes a bit more time and effort than pressing a button, but not by much. Before you do a test restore, do a final backup. That way if you overwrite data during the restore accidentally, you won\u2019t lose much of anything.<\/p>\n

              \n
            1. \n
                \n
              1. Test your mission critical data file first.<\/strong>
                \nYou know which file that is. The one that you can\u2019t live without. The one you\u2019d pay a data recovery service thousands of dollars to recover. For me, that\u2019s the notes on my customers. Other people might pick a contracts folder or their financial management program. Whatever it is, you should know how to restore it properly before a disaster strikes. Each program will be different, but the goal is to be able to find that important data file on your backup. After you figure out where it is, restore the file to your desktop. I always recommend the desktop because you\u2019ll run the least risk of overwriting the data.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                 <\/p>\n

                  \n
                1. \n
                    \n
                  1. Test some pictures for restoration.<\/strong>
                    \nIn my experience, photos are the data people get the most upset about losing. Pictures capture moments and memories that will never happen again. When they are lost they can never be recreated. Even if you wore that wedding dress or tux, people will know it\u2019s not your wedding picture. I pick three random pictures from my library and restore them to the desktop. That\u2019s the best part of doing a test restore. It\u2019s a nice stroll down memory lane. Feel free to skip over the pictures of your ex though.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                     <\/p>\n

                      \n
                    1. Test a few random files.<\/strong>
                      \nHere\u2019s where you just randomly pick about three files. Whatever inspires you, it doesn\u2019t matter. I usually just scroll down the screen and pick the file at the bottom, top, and middle of the screen. Try to pick files from different folder\/directories and don\u2019t pick the same files you did in steps one or two as you might find that those files are okay, but nothing else is backed up. The only rule is don\u2019t pick the same random files each time. After all, they need to be random.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      If you do this twice a year, you\u2019ll make sure that those backups aren\u2019t just files stored somewhere. They are files that can be counted on and relied upon to be there when disaster strikes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      Everyone should be backing up, right? Sure. Backups, though, aren\u2019t important. If you want to get your data back, the thing you should be worried about is the restore. Can you restore your data? A backup you can\u2019t restore data from is worthless. Don\u2019t assume no news is good news from your backups. You test… Continue reading Have You Tested Your Backup Lately?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":44231,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[121],"tags":[469,68],"class_list":["post-44181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-backing-up","tag-consumerbackup","tag-data-recovery","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIs Your Online Backup Working? How to Test Your Backup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Backing up online is smart but is it working? In this article we walk you through the steps to test your backup to make sure you can restore your files.\" \/>\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\/have-you-tested-your-backup-lately\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Your Online Backup Working? How to Test Your Backup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Backing up online is smart but is it working? 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