1. Backups
    Brandon University automatically makes a backup of data you save on the network drives such as N: or T:. This data is accessible as you move from one computer to another. However this does not include any data you save directly to a USB or even the C: drive on a computer. Nor does it currently include the desktop folder you see when using a computer (that is part of C:). Therefore any data saved on C: or external hard drives has the potential for being lost.(Students are restricted from being able to save to the C:)
    To save your work you could save on external media such as a USB stick or CD (not recommended), but it is recommended to save to your BU OneDrive account (portal.brandonu.ca). Each staff member and student is given space on the server to save their personal work. The advantage of this system is that the saved work moves with you as you move to different computers, and is backed up regularly. If you saved to the “C drive”, your work would stay on that one computer only. To choose where to save do File and Save As… command, and choose a different location. So if you want to change the location of your saved work, keep it somewhere where it is backed up!

    But yes, if you like to backup without the cloud then here are some other options:
    • USB drives or network storage drives especially if used in tandem with a services like the Win10 File History which will keep redundant copies of files from you automatically onto external drives if you set it up that way.
  2. Lab Computers
    When you are signed into a lab computer and go to save an MS Office document, usually you are given the first choice as being to save to your "Onedrive" account. That is the recommended location. As mentioned above, you can choose "Browse" or "This PC" and choose a different folder.
  3. Phasing out N and T drives
    We are currently in the process of replacing N: drive storage with OneDrive, and replacing T: drive storage with Microsoft Teams. To get started on this now, you could visit our guide on Moving to OneDrive
  4. OneDrivecan be setup to automatically sync/backup your 3 other Windows folders in addition to the normal OneDrive folder itself.  The 3 folders are your "Documents" your "Pictures" and your "Desktop" folder which is the main screen you see with all your icons on it. 
  5. Teams
    Like OneDrive, files saved to Teams are automatically saved to the cloud. This is basically a system unto itself so we won't get into all the details here, but there are a few choices
    • You can access those folders directly through the Teams app,
    • You can access them through Office365 web browser
    • You can choose to "Sync" them to your Windows file explorer similar to OneDrive
  6. Windows10 "File History" (This is more useful on a personal home computer)
    Windows "File History" is just an application which you can enable to copy your files to another storage location such as a second hard drive, an external hard drive, or a network storage location.
    • To enable windows10 file history, you need to go to settings.
    • then Update and Security
    • then Backup
    • Choose to enable automatic backup then choose the frequency of how often it runs.
    • setup the "More Options" which lets you choose which folders to include. Or folders to exclude.