Do you back up your computer regularly?

3 November 2021

You know you should back up your computer regularly (unless you already store everything in the cloud). But do you actually do it?

I was really happy on Friday that I had a firm, automatic back up routine in place when my computer (a 2018 MacBook Pro) stopped working. While I was using it, it turned itself off and refused to come back on. I called AppleCare (thankfully, it’s still under warranty) then went to the Genius Bar at the Apple Store where they spent two fruitless hours trying to revive it. So I sent it off to the Apple repair shop.

My husband has an iPad Pro that he’s letting me use. It has a keyboard case and I can also connect my Bluetooth mouse to it. I’m grateful for that, but the iPad has limitations. The whole thing is a giant hassle. But it’s nothing like the panic I would be experiencing if I did not have an automatic backup routine in place.

Since I back up to the cloud via BackBlaze, I can cherry pick files to download to the iPad. So I’m able to use key spreadsheets and documents to keep my business going. Everything’s just taking a little longer and is a little more difficult. (That’s why there’s no photo accompanying this post.) And I may be just a little grumpy.

The huge silver lining is that my backup routine has turned a potential calamity into a mere inconvenience. If you’re not backing up regularly, I hope this cautionary tale is enough to get you to start!

Edited to add: I received my computer back from Apple on Thursday (a day after I originally wrote this post). The logic board was replaced and an updated operating system installed, which meant that I had to restore all files from my back up. My Time Machine back up on my external hard drive made that so easy. I was able to initiate the transfer of those files with one click and they were installed overnight. The back up had been updated during the hour that my computer was plugged into the hard drive before it crashed, so I had an up-to-date backup to restore. My takeaway: Having both the Time Machine back up on an external hard drive and a cloud backup on BackBlaze allowed me to weather this situation without too much trauma or inconvenience.

Tagged with: computer, technology