Best Way to Backup QNAP/Synology NAS to PC
About the NAS you’re using
NAS, or Network-Attached Storage, is a file-level storage server connected to a computer network, providing data access to multiple clients. It is a specialized device that serves files either through its hardware, software, or configuration, and is designed to be a networked appliance with one or more storage drives.
There are many NAS manufacturers worldwide, with products like Synology DS1515+ NAS, QNAP TS-251+-2G-US NAS, and Netgear RN31400-100 NAS. Most people use NAS to backup files for extra data security.
Why backup NAS to PC
You can create a personal cloud using a NAS device to store and access music, movies, documents, and data from one central location on your home network, allowing you to share files, stream media, and access your content anywhere.
However, NAS devices can fail due to various reasons, such as using regular RAID, which can lead to failure. To protect data, users can consider backing up their QNAP NAS to another NAS device or to a computer. This ensures that their data is safe and can be easily recovered in case of a failure.
Free software to backup NAS to local drive on PC
To backup NAS, you need professional software that can actually backup NAS data, not just clone files to a PC. Some software may claim NAS backup support, but they often only create a backup image that takes up less space than the original, wasting your disk space. This is not a true backup, but rather a clone, and it's essential to find software that can properly backup NAS data without wasting space.
Qiling Disk Master Standard is a free backup software that allows users to easily backup files and folders from their Synology NAS to their PC, including individual files and folders, and schedule backups in various intervals.
In addition to backing up your NAS to a local PC, you can also backup your NAS to an external hard drive. This software allows you to compress and encrypt backup images if your data is sensitive and personal, providing an extra layer of security. Incremental and scheduled backups are also supported, making it easy to stay on top of your data protection needs. The user-friendly interface ensures that you can perform backups with confidence, without worrying about accidentally losing your data.
How to backup NAS to PC step by step in Windows
To protect your NAS files, you need to download and install the free Qiling Disk Master Standard first. Knowing the IP address or path of your NAS device is crucial, as you'll need it later. There are two methods to protect your NAS files, which will be detailed next.
Backup NAS files to local hard drive
1. Start Qiling Disk Master and click on the "File Backup" option under the "Backup" tab.
2. To access files on your NAS, click on "Files" or "Folders" and follow the wizard, which may require your account and password to access the data.
3. To store the NAS backup image, click on the "Select another place" option from the local disk. This will allow you to choose a different location on your computer to save the backup image.
4. To compress and encrypt the backup image or set a schedule for backups, click on "Options" and check the "Schedule Backup" box if desired, then click "Proceed".
Sync NAS files to PC with freeware
The key difference between file synchronization and file backup lies in the fact that you don't need to restore backup images to access them, saving time and effort. File sync is ideal for accessing frequently used files, but it requires more disk space on your PC, so ensure you have sufficient storage for files on your NAS.
1. Open Qiling Disk Master, go to the Backup tab, then select the page and click on File Sync.
2. Click Share/NAS to select folders on your NAS device.
3. Choose a folder on local PC as the destination path.
4. As covered, you can do some customized settings if you want to. Then click Proceed to sync files on NAS to PC for the first time.
Tips: If you check the "Schedule" box, you have two options: "Add the schedule and Proceed now" or "Only add the schedule" which will run the sync task at the next scheduled time.
Conclusion
With Qiling Disk Master Standard, you can easily backup your NAS to your PC in various ways, and it's compatible with Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP, giving you peace of mind. You can also use it to backup your PC to your NAS, making it a versatile tool for your backup needs.
This software has various useful features that can assist in solving real-world problems, including cloning a hard drive with damaged sectors, creating bootable media, backing up a hard drive without booting Windows, and backing up systems, disks, or partitions, as well as cloning systems.
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