While cloud software membership makes your digital life easier, you do not need to pay money to keep your files and folders organized. There are many excellent options, and they are easy to use surprisingly.
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Using an external hard drive
Exterior hard drive is the easiest way to backup your digital files and folders without subscription so far. You just need to plug your HDD to your computer and transfer your content. It is a good idea to do so at least once a week, but if you are a heavy digital user, it is better to do it daily.
1TB is sufficient storage for most users, but if you want to backup photos and other large files, you should target for 2TB or higher. It is intelligent to have more than one HDD; When you can make your hard drive for a long time, they eventually die. For this reason, you should still consider backup to some form of cloud storage.
When selecting the outer hard drive, look for durability; The last thing you want is for a malfunction after leaving it. Lacie’s hard drive is a good initial point.
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Maximum part of time machine
If you have a Mac, you should use the time machine. This tool lets you backup the versions of your computer and restore them if you need. If you have problems with software updates, this is a useful program, and if your computer gets infected with malware, you will also thank yourself for the installation of the time machine.
With the time machine, you can backup all the major documents of your computer. To set the tool, you can go to the app on your Mac and start the process. While the ecosystem of Apple is well integrated, you cannot use this feature on iPhone or iPad. Sometimes, you can face problems where you cannot return your Mac with a time machine. In these cases, try to neutralize the virus-scanning and add a separate outer drive.
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Supporting small files on a USB stick
Before the days of cloud software, we supported our work on the USB stick of different -sized sizes. For example, on my desk, I have a small 32GB drive and a very large 128GB drive. These small storage drives are ideal for keeping copies of documents and similar size files.
The USB stick works similar to the large external drive. When you plug them into your computer, you can access all your files. Like large drives, however, they do not live forever. Be sure to use a secondary backup option to avoid losing key files.
When working with USB sticks, be sure to save your files frequently. You should make them useless in the same way with other external HDDs; It is easy to forget it with a large drive.
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Burning files on a disc
While quite old -fashioned, burning your files on a disc is a way to backup your digital files on physical media. Buying a disc is often cheaper than external HDD, so it can be a very cost -effective option.
Once you burn files on your disc, you can access them every time you put a disc. However, you will need a player who supports it; Many modern laptops do not have disc slots.
Mark each disk to know what is stored on it. You can use a marker or write on the matter you use instead.
Not paying for membership does not mean that you should completely disregard the cloud tool. Some apps provide a decent amount of free storage; For example, Google Drive gives you up to 15GB. For general use, you do not have to worry about crossing your allowance.
You can also adapt to stop paying for Google drive storage in many ways. For example, you should remove the old phone backup and exclude the video from your WhatsApp backup. In the worst situation, you can always create a second Google drive account if necessary.
Other free cloud solutions can work, but they often have less allowances of 2–5GB. ICloud is an example, but Venus, you can free iCloud space and keep photos without paying.
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Download a copy of your data
In addition to using cloud storage, you can download a copy of your data with several tools. Then you will often find a link to your email with your information; Google Drive does this. Once you have a link, you can access your data when you need, allowing you to clean your files and free more space.
Downloading a copy of your data can be risky. You should keep an eye on all your links and folders; Without them, you can lose your content forever. Consider creating an offline document where you can access all these.
While paid cloud storage subscriptions are an easy way to backup your digital life, you do not need to rely on them. You can use many alternative solutions, such as external hard drives and even burning your files on a disc. Many of these require more manual work, so make sure you backup your files and folders regularly.
