The Titanic Backup

It is always best to be prepared for the worst, and the worst scenario any computer user will face is loss of data. Now, use Titan Backup for complete peace of mind.

By DEEPTI KRISHNAN

If you have never thought about backing up your data and files, well, we have thought about it for you. Remember, it is better late than never, in case you ever find yourself in a nightmarish situation where your PC won’t boot and the only option you have is to reload Windows again.

The makers of Titan Backup have teamed up with CHIP to give you readers a full and complete version of their application. We’ll take your through the steps necessary to start backing up your drive and put in on a periodic schedule, and tell you what you should do to restore your damaged contents.

Step 1: Task Name

From the Welcome page click on the Backup icon, this will open up a wizard for backup creation process. The first step of the wizard is entering the Task Name and Archive or Folder Name in the General Tab. Input a recognizable phrase, for instance, ‘HomeDocs’ for the task and ‘DocBackup’ for folder.

Step 2: Set the Source

Click 'Next' and move to the Source tab and choose the content of your backup session from four main categories—Files & Folders, Registry Keys, Email and Users Settings. Go to 'Files & Folders | Select File Types to Search For | Productivity Files'. Presets include masks for common documents file types, and more. Make your selection and press ‘OK’.

Step 3: Target Location

The Destination tab is where you set the target location of your backup file, which can be a folder on the local hard drive or network, an external storage device such as a floppy, USB stick, memory card, CD, DVD or even a remote location using FTP. We’ll save the backup on a USB stick, so select the removable drive and press ‘OK’.

Step 4: Compress and Encrypt

The backup file can be compressed and encrypted by Titan Backup before it is written to the CD. Switch to choose the ‘Use Zip compression‘ option under compression settings and the ‘Zip password protection’ option under encryption settings. Make sure that the compression quality is set to ‘High’ and enter and re-confirm the password to the compressed file. We recommend users choose the Backup Type to be ‘Differential backup’ since it saves on storage space, which is helpful if the available space on your USB stick is limited.

Step 5: Automate the task

In the Scheduler tab, choose the option ‘Day of week’, for instance, every ‘Sunday’ at system shutdown.

Step 6: Restore from a Backup

Click on the Restore icon from the Welcome page which presents two options—restore an entire backup or individual files and folders. Choose one and press ‘OK’ to proceed. Then, select a backup file from the My Tasks list, and press the ‘Restore’ button to restore the file to the original or custom location.