You can't be in 2 places at the same time but your files can

[PuppyLove]

Stop and think... if your computer was stolen right now, what would you lose?
When was your last backup?
Do you save all of your files on a USB stick or external hard drive? They can go away too.

My preferred setup for a home computer is:

C: drive - Solid State Drive (fast, doesn't have to be too big)
D: drive - Data files (this is the big drive, not SSD)

Windows boots off the fast C: drive - nice and fast.
Use an online cloud service like OneDrive, DropBox or whatever and move the folder to D: drive.
Now create folders in this location for your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos, Favorites.
Go to your Users folder on C: drive and use Change Location, to move these folders to your cloud folder.

Now create a backup folder on D: drive.
Install a backup program like Macrium Reflect Free, and configure it to do weekly backups to the backup folder.
This backup is an Image backup of your C: drive so you can quickly recover your setup and basic configuration.

Now get an external drive big enough for the entire D: drive (ideally at least twice the size).
Use the backup program to backup the entire D: drive to this external drive.
Unplug this drive and put it in your fireproof safe - just a little one, nothing too fancy.
Create a reminder in Outlook to back up your D: drive once a month.

Make sure your smart phones are configured to backup regularly by Cloud or USB and check them regularly.

Now, nothing of consequence is on your C: drive, but it boots up fast and is backed up to D:.
Your files are all sitting in the cloud, so they can be accessed and restored easily.
Your external backup is in the safe, so in a worst case scenario, you still have this offline backup.

You are protected against hard drive failure, viruses, cryptolockers, theft and any other disaster.

And you can get back up and running in a few hours if not minutes from a disaster.

You can't be in two places at the same time, but your files can be and should be...

If you're still reading this, stop now and look at your files. It's not a matter of IF, but WHEN you will have a problem.

[Merry]

Problem is, some of us old dinosaurs don't like the idea of storing our personal stuff up in "the cloud". Just the idea of entrusting our confidential files to strangers gives us the creeps.

[kgcayenne]

Redundancy must not be underestimated.

[OREZ]

Redundancy is great as long as all duplicate files are updated as needed when there are changes. Holding onto copies of non-current revisions of files is not too helpful and can even be a huge pain when time goes by and you're forced to go on a scavenger hunt to see which copy is the most current one.

[TylerM4]

Good backups are:
- Current
- Offline
- Offsite

Doesn't really matter how you achieve it, so long as you accomplish the 3 above you have a great strategy.

My approach is simple:
- All data goes to a single folder (In my case - network attached storage that's available to all devices in the household)
- Once a month I copy to an inexpensive external Hard Drive (memory stick would work).
- I take the drive with me to work and throw it in my desk drawer.
- I take the drive that's already in my desk drawer (last month's backup) and bring it home.

I used to burn to DVD and bring the DVD's to work but I found it time consuming and harder to keep organized.