How to back up a Chromebook
Chromebooks are excellent computers if your main focus is web browsing and other online applications. They have become very popular with students and people who need a computer for basic use or a second computer. Of course, when you have a computer you want your data to be secure, and Chromebooks are pretty good at it, but it’s always good to secure your Chromebook anyway.
Backing up a Chromebook isn’t the same as backing up a Windows 11 PC. The process is radically different. That’s because Chromebooks are primarily cloud-based. On the other hand, Windows has evolved to be cloud-friendly but is far from being cloud-first. How to back up a Chromebook.
How to back up data on a Chromebook
Data on a Chromebook can be broadly classified into two types. The first type is the system data, like your settings, app data, bookmarks, extensions, passwords and other data, which is usually handled directly by Google Chrome. The second type is user data, which includes files you’ve downloaded or copied to the Chromebook.
The process of backing up these two types of files is also different.
How to back up system data on Chromebooks
Follow the steps below to back up your system data on a Chromebook.
- Open Google Chrome on your Chromebook.
- Enter in the address field chrome://settings/syncSetup/advanced and press Enter.
- Choose Sync everything if you want all your system data to be backed up. Select alternative Adjust the sync to turn specific backups on or off.
If “Sync everything” is already selected, your Chromebook’s system data has been automatically backed up. This backup is done automatically and regularly.
How to back up user data on Chromebooks
When it comes to your user data, the backup process is different. This data is usually stored offline. However, Chromebooks have Google Drive integration, so you can back up that data manually.
- open that files app and go to the folder with the files you want to back up.
- Stop ctrl and click to select the files. If you want to select all files, you can do that press ctrl+A.
- Press ctrl+Cor right-click the file picker and click Copy.
- click Google Drive in the left navigation area.
- Press ctrl+E or right-click and click New folder to create a new folder if needed. If you already have a backup folder on Google Drive, navigate to it.
- Press ctrl+v or right click and click paste.
You’ll need to do this manually for any user data you want to back up from a Chromebook. In both cases, you don’t have to manually restore the data. System data is automatically restored when you sign in to a Chromebook with your account. User data is available on Google Drive and can be moved to your Chromebook’s local storage if needed.
If you want to use a local data storage option instead of Google Drive, connect one of the best USB-C flash drives to your Chromebook and follow the same procedure above to move the data to the drive.
Keep your data safe
It is recommended to keep a backup copy of your computer, Chromebook or other device. In addition, it is best to ensure that your backup is kept in a safe place. For Chromebooks, Google Drive is the most convenient option. However, you can also keep a backup copy offline to ensure your data is safe. If you have a lot of data that you need to access, creating network storage using the best NAS drives is a better option. Synology NAS products are generally great for relative beginners.
Since Chromebooks generally have less internal storage capacity than most computers, cloud storage and local NAS are great options not just for backups but for data storage in general, with the latter being a better alternative for people who prefer to use Chromebooks offline .