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Operating Systems Backup Features

It is important to think about potential disaster before it comes. That is why backup software business is always going strong and will be for foreseeable future. In this article we will describe free backup solutions embedded within the operating systems. Even though functionality of them may be limited and won’t cover all necessary scenarios it still works for majority of home users and significant number of business users.

Windows File History and System Restore

Windows File History is a powerful Windows 10 feature which allows backing up all changes to specific files or folders. It copies selected files or folders to a local drive or a network location based on a frequency selected by user. When it is necessary to restore a file or a folder user either can find a file to restore using File History tool or just click a right mouse button on a file or a folder to restore and select History. This will show all copies of the file stored in the backup. Select the one that is needed and click "Restore" to restore to a current file or “Restore to…” to restore to a new location.

You can also create a full Window machine restore image. To do this you should go to “Control Panel”->”Backup and Restore” and select “Create a system image” option. After that Windows will ask you to select a destination drive and backup will start.

To restore an operating system from disk image click on the Settings->Update & Security->Recovery. In the “Advanced Startup” section select “Restart Now”. In “Advanced options” dialog which will appear next select “System Image Recovery”. Follow the prompts on the system boot to select a system image to recover from.

MacOS Time Machine and Disk Utility

In order to start using Time Machine functionality you should connect one of the following devices to your Mac OS machine:

• AirPort Time Capsule
• Mac computer shared on the network as a Time Machine backup target
• External drive
• External drive connected to an Airport Time Capsule or Airport Extreme Base Station
• NAS storage supporting Time Machine

If Mac OS recognizes your device it will prompt you if it can use it as a backup location for your Mac. If you answer yes then this device will be used by Mac OS for automatic backup of all of your files.

When you want to restore files from the backup, connect backup drive to the Mac OS machine and launch Time Machine app from the Launcher. You will see a prompt asking you to select a file or folder you want to restore. Navigate to a desirable file or folder using Time Machine interface (very similar to Finder), select a version to restore and click “Restore” to start restoration process.