File History replacement
I need to switch to a more reliable form of backup as I find File History sporadic at best. Although it’s set to save daily, it can go many days – or even a week – without saving anything. I’m backing up to my network drive, so any alternative would need to support that. PHILIP CROSS
Rob Mead-Green replies: File History should be more reliable than that, but it can be good not to trust Windows to keep your data backed up. Any alternative has to offer the same features – versioning (so you can roll back to an earlier version of a file), real-time backup of changes and full support for network drives.
One of our favourite free tools is EaseUS ToDo Backup Free – to avoid providing your email address in return for the download link, get it from www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/easeus_
to do_ backup_ free_ edition. html. You will also need to avoid various ‘offers’ after confirming your default backup location (you can change this later) before the program’s installed.
Once you’ve jumped through those hurdles, though, you’ll have a backup tool that does all you need of it. Click the small arrow button next to the shopping cart and choose Settings to change the default backup path, enabling you to connect to your NAS or a network drive folder. Choose the Smart Backup option to protect key folders with regular (half-hourly) backups and the ability to roll back to earlier versions.