Back up your computer to Backup Plus Desktop

What is a backup?

There are two types of backup:

• System backup: A system backup copies everything on your computer onto an external storage device including the operating system, applications and data. If the computer’s hard drive fails, the computer can be restored to its former state with the backed up system data.
• File backup: A file backup copies select data files onto an external storage device. If the computer’s hard drive fails, the files are safe on the external storage drive but the operating system and applications must be reinstalled.

Backup options

The following table shows how you can back up data from your computer to your Backup Plus Desktop.

Click the links below for further information regarding each backup solution:

Seagate Dashboard

Windows System Image Backup

Windows 7 and 10 Backup and Restore

Windows 8 and 10 File History

Mac Time Machine

When initiating a backup task, make certain that your Backup Plus Desktop has sufficient capacity to hold the data you want to back up.

All of the options in the table can be automated except for copy and paste. Copying and pasting is a manual task that requires your attention with each change to a file on your computer. If you forget to manually copy files, you risk losing important data should your computer’s hard drive experience problems. Automated solutions, once created, only require that you connect your Backup Plus Desktop to your computer. Therefore, Seagate recommends an automated backup solution.