Windows 8 Bible

Wrap-Up

Any way you slice it, having two or more copies of important files is better than having only one copy. The reason is simple and obvious: If you have two or more copies, you can afford to lose one copy. This chapter has been about different ways to make backup copies of important files. Here’s a summary:

• To make simple backups of files on the fly, copy them to external disks as convenient.
• To restore an accidentally deleted file, first try to restore it from the Recycle Bin.
• To back up files in the Libraries, Desktop, Contacts, and Favorites folders, use File History.
• To recover deleted files, use the Restore Personal Files link on the File History window.
• Use System Protection to make automatic daily backups of important system files and documents. These won’t protect you from a hard drive disaster because they’re on the same disk as the system files and documents. But they provide a relatively easy means of recovering from minor mishaps without messing with external disks.
• To use System Restore properly, create a restore point just before installing new hardware or software. If the new product creates a problem, uninstall it. Then return to your restore point to ensure all traces of the installation are wiped away.
• For data confidentiality on portable computers, Windows 8 offers BitLocker drive encryption.