Thanks for the advice. Keeping in mind that we don't all have the setup you do, what would you recommend for backup/recovery?
If you are at home, and you have multiple machines, network access between them is KEY. Pick one that is to be 'Always On' And use that to serve the other machines... One of the things to serve, is as a place that is always there that all the other machines back up to.
I actually have two 'Always On' machines - One that is my file and backup server, and one that is my Media server. Since they are BOTH always on, one doing business stuff, and the other doing media stuff - they back up between themselves too - So I have a native backup, twice replicated onsite.
Something similar, but on a smaller scale would be an always on NAS or USB storage space - Both basically the same thing, one being a direct network appliance (probably faster and more bandwidth), and the one I will touch on here briefly, which is a standard USB external hard drive. Most modern routers have a USB port on them, and that is what it is for... To receive an exernal hard drive that will always be on, and will always be accessible from the local network.
With that in mind, with either a machine, or an appliance that is always on, any machine attached to your local LAN can have an automated means of backup, because when the backup program runs, the target location is sure to be there. You get the idea.
I am not a fan of imaging software for backup uses... It seems efficient, but the problem is, the entire backup is in a single file, and if that file is damaged, all of the backup is effected. If it is a raw copy software, every file in the backup routine is simply copied to the target location... If you get damage, you may lose some files,but not the whole thing. The native Windows backup solution is like an image - it is rather, a container file more like zip, but the same problem applies. Don't get me wrong, it is better than nothing, sure, but a raw file copier would serve you better.
I am still using
Cobian even though it is not in development and has been sold... Cobian 'Gravity' the last version of the original program is still available and I really can find nothing better. And it is free, btw.
Another thing to consider for critical data - Now critical being a small subset, small enough to comfortably fit in what I am talking about - is the use of Microsoft's native cloud system... It is complicated if one desires not to log your machine onto microsoft every time and retain a local user (which is what you want), but if you have a Microsoft mail account, your machines can use something kinda like a roaming profile from Microsoft's cloud. I use this to keep my main desktop and my main laptop synchronized. That is everything in the profile - many Windows settings, desktop background, and three primary file locations : Desktop, Documents, and Pictures are kept sync'd between them always using Microsofts OneDrive...
This would be recommended for you, if you have lightweight critical data on the road - Because every time you log in to internet somewhere, those files are pumped up into the internet, and if your desktop at home is online all the time, automatically sync'd to your home from wherever you are. It is not worth it, at least to me, for backing my whole backup, but if you can manage with the free stuff you get with a Microsoft email account, Or better yet, if you are using an Office 365 subscription already (which gives you way more space to work with) This is hard to beat.
Also, both at home and on the road, I will return to a USB external drive - The same backup software can back up on demand too - Which means you can plug in a drive and manually run a backup job, and then unplug the drive when it is done... Nice to have a backup that is offline in case of some electrical failure or fire or whatnot... Grab the family Bible and the external drive and get the hell out... Especially on the road, where a daily backup to an external is an immediate and local-to-you backup regardless of cloud tricks and the vagaries of access to it.
And depending on your weight, don't forget thumb drives. If you have USB3 on your laptop, a USB3 thumb is a sufficient and highly portable solution. And they are getting huge and cheap. A 128g thumb is what, maybe fifty bucks? If you can live in that, it is way cheaper than an external drive of average size.
I will stop there and call it good. If any of it sounds like something you want to play with, I am always around to help out... or even write something up that is a little more grandular, if there is a demand.
