How to Make Sure Backups are Working

I’m often hired to set up a computer backup system, however, unfortunately I also find that once backups are set up, they frequently are not checked to make sure they are still working. There are several things that can stop previously working backups:

• Backup drive not connected or online
• Backup storage device having inadequate free space
• Backup drive assigned different (Windows) drive letter than what was set in the backup configuration
• Computer password is changed, preventing the automated backup task from running
• Backup configuration file deleted
• Scheduled task deleted or task scheduler broken (occasionally seen in Windows 7 systems)
• Computer not running at scheduled backup time (this includes being in sleep or hibernate mode)
• Verification of backup data failed

The basic job of any backup system is to create a copy of either specific files, folders, or the entire system on permanent storage other than the source storage media. Therefore, the best way to see if backups are actually being made is to look on the backup storage media for timely backups! It is also a good idea to attempt to recover one or more files from the backup storage media to confirm that when the day comes that you need to recover data, that you will know how to do it and that it will actually work!

Backups are like insurance policies: you don’t need them until you need them, and then they better pay off!