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Test your backup: does it actually restore?
A backup you have never restored from is a hope, not a backup. This 20-minute test tells you for certain whether your files will come back when it counts.
Almost everyone has “some kind of backup.” Only a fraction have ever checked whether they can actually get their files back out of it. That is the moment a backup proves its worth – and after a theft, a dead drive or a ransomware attack, it is too late to find out.
The short version
- Untested backups fail – usually on encryption, a forgotten password, or missing folders.
- Sync is not backup. It copies deletions and encryption along with everything else.
- One copy has to be offline, or ransomware encrypts it too.
- Testing means restoring, not “the app shows a green check mark.”
- Twenty minutes, twice a year is enough.
The test, in four steps
Actually verify the restore
- 1. Pick a file you last changed more than a month ago.
- 2. Restore it from the backup – not from the trash, and not from cloud sync.
- 3. Open it and check: does it actually open? Is the content complete?
- 4. Widen the sample: test one photo, one document and one file from a subfolder.
If you fail this test, you do not have a backup. You have a folder that looks like one.
The five most common mistakes
| Mistake | How it shows up | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Forgotten password for an encrypted backup | Restore is impossible | Store the password in your password manager , with emergency access |
| Important folders not included | The file is missing during the test | Check the selection: Desktop, Downloads, app data, photos |
| Backup has not run in months | The “last backup” date is old | Check the schedule, set a reminder |
| Backup drive permanently plugged in | Ransomware encrypts it too | Disconnect it after each backup |
| Sync only, no version history | Anything deleted is gone everywhere | Use a service that keeps versions |
What belongs in a backup
The things people forget are reliably the ones that cannot be replaced:
- Photos and videos – including the ones on your phone, not just the computer.
- Documents from Desktop, Downloads and cloud folders.
- Your password manager’s export or its emergency access kit.
- Two-factor recovery codes – see two-factor authentication .
- Crypto wallets and seed phrases, kept separately and offline.
- License keys and receipts, tax records, contracts.
The only proof that counts
A backup counts as working once you have restored at least one file from it and opened it. Everything else – green check marks, success notifications, storage bars – is an assumption.If the test fails
A tested backup makes you immune to extortion in a ransomware case. You do not pay, you restore. That is exactly why the test sits so high in our 15-minute security check .
More free self-checks are in the self-checks overview .
Frequently asked questions
How often should I test a restore?
Twice a year is plenty for personal files. What matters far more than the frequency is doing it once at all – most backup problems show up on the very first test.
Is cloud sync good enough as a backup?
No. Sync copies changes to every device immediately – including deletions, and including files encrypted by ransomware. It only becomes a backup when it keeps older versions that current malware cannot reach.
What is the 3-2-1 rule?
Three copies of your data, on two different kinds of media, one of them off-site. In practice that means the files on your device, an external drive at home and an encrypted cloud backup.