Here are a few backup strategies, ideas, and best practices that you might want to adopt.
A backup is a copy of selected items or volumes that you want to keep safe in case the originals are lost. Potential data loss is minimal when backups are performed regularly and automatically. So setting up an automated backup strategy is highly recommended.
The Capture Assistant will implement a variety of basic backup strategies for you. Start the Capture Assistant and answer the questions. The assistant will create a comprehensive set of actions that regularly capture your important items and perform periodic archive maintenance. Later, you can review the actions created by the assistant to see how they work or modify them as needed.
You are also free to create your own actions, tailoring QRecall to your exact needs. At a minimum, your actions should include:
Unless you have an unlimited amount of backup storage, your backup archive will eventually fill up its volume. Merge actions are used to recover space in an archive by removing older items.
The Capture Assistant will create a set of actions that limit the amount of time items are kept, the amount of disk space used by the archive, or both. Use the actions created by the assistant as examples, then modify them to your needs or develop your own.
It is a good idea to occasionally verify and compact an archive. Verifying ensures that the archive is undamaged and all of your precious data is intact. Compacting removes unused space (created when layers are merged) and optimizes it.
Add an additional layer of protection by mirroring an archive to the cloud.
Using a Stack to mirror your archive to the cloud (or a separate device, or a remote server), you are protected if you lose your documents, lose your primary backup (the archive), or lose your secondary (stack) backup. Mirroring to an off-site stack makes it nearly impossible to lose any important data, even in the case of fire or natural disaster.
Stacks are also ultra-efficient, speeding updates and minimizing storage costs.
In the event that your startup volume becomes unusable, a bootable backup drive can be a great time saver. It makes the recovery process faster, smoother, and can be used when an Internet connection isn't available.
To create a bootable recovery drive you will need a bootable external drive (USB stick, etc.).
Should your system become unusable, simply:
The bootable recovery drive can also be your archive volume; when you boot from your recovery volume, the archive is right there ready to restore.
Having a bootable recovery volume is not a requirement, it just saves time. If you don't create a bootable backup volume, there are still a variety of ways to restore your system.