Don’t back up a shortcut

I've mentioned this before many times, but it bears repeating often especially since I saw it at least three times this week. First, I want to commend the computer users out there for backing up and thinking of backing up! However, it is imperative to know what you are backing up. 

A shortcut is indicated by a little arrow in the lower left hand corner of a folder or file. If your backup media has any of these types of icons on it, your backup is worthless. A shortcut is simply a "pointer" to where the actual data is saved. Backing up shortcuts is extremely fast because there is not data in a shortcut. I too often see computer users dragging a program icon (shortcut) or a shortcut to My Documents or My Pictures to their CD drives, external hard drives, or flash drives then wonder why they have no backup should they need it.

Take a look at your backups and if you see any icons with the little arrow, go back to the drawing board and do a real backup. To get your real data, double-click on that shortcut icon, then backup what is found at the other end of the shortcut. We have many backup tips here on the site. Just use the search box and type "backup" for a multitude of tips. And for further clarification, call us any Saturday!