Don’t Be a Statistic (Premium)

Most people don’t get the backup religion until they’ve lost something important because of a PC hardware failure or some other mistake. But this is a great example of when being proactive can really pay off. In other words, don’t be a statistic. Instead, organize your workflow in such a way that you will never lose anything important.

I’ve been meaning to write this article for months: in December, I started a blank document, poorly named “The Proper Way to Use a PC,” that was partially inspired by the then-new major update to OneDrive for Windows 11 that, among other things, added more folder backup options. Interestingly, I don’t actually use OneDrive to back up my Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, or Videos folders, but that’s only because I have my own system. What I have been doing, for years, is integrating OneDrive deeply into my workflow.

Anyway, what prompted me to finally write this article---and give it a much better name---was a Zac Bowden tweet I saw this morning.

“I went ahead and wiped a PC without checking what was on it and only just realized there was a super important file on there that I'm never getting back LOL RIP,” he wrote.

We’ve all been there. And I realize my comment to that tweet, “I don't want to be that guy. But OneDrive” isn’t news to Zac nor is it particularly helpful after the fact. But that’s why I’m finally writing this now. So this kind of loss happen won’t happen to you in the future.

To be clear, I don’t care what cloud storage service you use. I assume Box, Dropbox, iCloud, Google Drive, and other services all work similarly, meaning that they integrate with the Windows file system and automatically sync their contents with the cloud, ensuring that your files are always available everywhere you want them and always up-to-date. I chose OneDrive, however, and I have good reasons: it comes with my Microsoft 365 subscription, provides ample amounts of storage, includes a Files on Demand sync feature that I find critical, and is super-reliable and performant.

I also don’t care if you use the built-in “Sync and Backup” feature in OneDrive for Windows 11, though that’s certainly one way to do it. (And, I know, the simplest and most obvious way for mainstream users.) Had Zac used OneDrive to back up his Desktop, Documents, Music, Pictures, or Videos folders on that PC he wiped, I have no doubt he would never have lost a thing, since it all would have been backed up to the cloud. I happen to use my own system, which I will describe below. It doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that you never store or work with files in any location that isn’t protected by OneDrive. (Or whatever service you use. I will just describe this as OneDrive now.) If you’re just backing up all your important folders to OneDrive, this comes pretty naturally: even those that use their Desktop as a sort of scratch space will have everything backed up all the time.
...