How to Backup Your Computer – SDP

Summary

How to back up your most important data by using Chrome Accounts and Google Drive for Desktop.

Your computer should be backed up BEFORE an issue occurs. The steps below are simple, proactive ways to make sure your most important data stays backed up in the event of an issue.

If your computer contains personal data, please back it up to a personal storage device or service, not to your Zendesk Google Drive.

NOTE: Time Machine (Apple's Backup Utility) is not supported by Zendesk IT, and the Migration Assistant Utility (to restore a Time Machine backup to a computer) is blocked on Zendesk computers.

You will not be able to restore data backed up with Time Machine to a Zendesk computer.

Sections in this Article

Why should I back up my files?

There are lots of reasons to back up. From safeguarding against accidental file deletion, to cautionary steps before a large software update. Sometimes the only way our IT Team can fix an issue is to erase a computer and revert it back to its original configuration. This means that any information not already stored in the cloud will need to be backed up, and applications that you installed will need to be reinstalled.

In short, we want to ensure your data is backed up correctly so you don't lose anything important.

If you're not sure if your data is backed up properly, please feel free to reach out to your local IT Team. We will be happy to check this with you.

Chrome Accounts

If you are signed into Chrome, it will automatically back up your bookmarks, tabs, extensions, history and passwords. You can sign into Chrome in the upper-right corner of the browser window:

Google Drive for Desktop

At Zendesk, everyone has unlimited online storage available through Google Drive.

We recommend backing up your files with Google Drive for Desktop. If you would prefer to manually drag-and-drop your important files to your Google Drive, you can reference this article from Google to accomplish that.

Google Drive for Desktop is an all-in-one solution that allows you to access files stored in your Google Drive and backup/sync files and folders from your computer directly to your Google Drive.

Install Google Drive for Desktop

Google Drive for Desktop is available in Self Service.

Search for "drive" in the upper-left corner, then click Install

Configure Google Drive for Desktop

Google Drive for Desktop can be configured to meet your needs. You do not need to back up all of the files on your computer, but we recommend syncing the following folders from your Home directory, which usually contain your most important items:

Desktop
Downloads
Documents

To learn more, please head over to this article on Google's Help Center. From here you can learn more about syncing files, backing up your computer, and determining which folders you can/should sync.

NOTE: We DO NOT recommend syncing photos with Google Drive.

Moving from Google Backup & Sync to Drive

If you previously used Google Backup & Sync, it's easy to migrate to Google Drive for Desktop.

To get started with Drive for desktop, you can move your accounts and settings from Backup and Sync to Google Drive for desktop. During the process, you’ll review and confirm the settings for the folders on your computer you’re backing up and syncing with the cloud through Backup and Sync.

Backup and Sync will be automatically uninstalled after you’ve moved your accounts to Drive for desktop.

Manual Bookmarks Backup

Occasionally, Chrome is unable to sync your data automatically. If it says 'Person 1' or there is an exclamation mark where your name should be shown, this means you're not backed up. If this is the case, you can manually back up your bookmark with the steps below:

Choose the Bookmarks menu, then select Bookmark Manager.

Click the 3 dots ( ⋮ ) in the upper-right, then choose Export Bookmarks

Save the bookmarks as an HTML Text file on your desktop and email it to yourself or sync it to your Google Drive for safe-keeping.