Computer/program help

[Gasman]

A lot of you know Im not the smartest when it comes to computers. I do manage to get by but in general i know enough to get myself in trouble at times, so I could use a little help with a few different things.

To start this thread off and my first question...

I used to have a local friend. We were pretty tight. He retired from HP as a the top programmer. He used to tell me that when Visa or Mastercard went down he was one of the guys who got them back up and running as companies like those loose millions in seconds. Unfortunately he is one of a lot of people who had a fight with Covid and lost. So I no longer have him to take care a my computer issues. He used to tell me that fixing my computer issues were like going back to grade school for him. Plus he always got a great meal and a few beers for his troubles.

So I need to buy a new computer now. I will get into that in another post. But for now... My buddy made me a backup program. He used to just make his own programs when he wanted something. Lol.
When my computer crashed the program was lost. It would scan my computer files that he setup to scan for anything new. Then it would copy or backup only what was new and add it to my old copied files and save it all. It did this every evening.

I dont understand enough to know what Im looking for when it comes to buying a program that does this. I also dont want to have to pay a monthly or yearly fee to use such a program. I dont want to send my info to the sky/cloud for backup as i have a ssd hard drive that is separate from my computer to store all my files, music, movies, pictures, etc...

So can anyone recommend a program? Can anyone of you make such a thing like my buddy did? Or maybe explain more about what Im looking for. Help me to understand what i need in this first issue for now please.

I know my friend was very smart as he started in computers when it all began and retired a very wealthy person. Too bad for his family that the Covid took him too soon. He was a good friend and I miss him in more ways than one.

Thanks

BTW, if someone who has great computer powers want to talk to me via PM so that they dont get bombarded by lots of computer questions, Im all for that and understand.

[STF]

Have a look at this Jerry.

Genie Timeline (free) will make a complete backups and then incremental backups of anything new

https://genie-timeline.en.softonic.com/?ex=DINS-635.0

[Gasman]

Incremental backups? Ok. Maybe that is what im looking for. Thanks steve. I will look

[MikeB52]

looks like it’ll do what you need Jerry. At least the bulk of it.
Most office programs auto back up your work as you go as well so letters and docs don’t get lost.
Good luck.

[Gasman]

Office programs. Those things cost big bucks. I dont have such things, Mike. But I will look into this thing Steve found tomorrow night.

Id love to get microsoft word but i just cant put out money like that when its not going it be used much.

[STF]

Office programs. Those things cost big bucks. I dont have such things, Mike. But I will look into this thing Steve found tomorrow night.

Id love to get microsoft word but i just cant put out money like that when its not going it be used much.

Office?

Here's a free alternative to MS Office that's compatible with office files.

Free Office

https://www.freeoffice.com/en/

[Gasman]

Rhanks steve. I will check it out. Im using a free program for most stuff. Its a bit rough at times figuring out how to use them but...

My first computer is the one Im about to replace. I got it the day w10 came out. Im a little behind the times

[PaulFLUS]

Steve's your guy Jerry. He knows his stuff and won't give you a bum steer.

I'm going to check that out also Steve. It just kill me what they charge for MS office

[Aggelos]

My IT mentor used to tell me "having backups is mandatory, but you have to be sure they are usable".
At the time, he would go around his house with a stool and a portable hard drive (a "rack" at the time for the ones in the know) and would milk all the computers in the house on a weekly basis.
Well, just like testing that the GFCI in your bathroom works on a regular basis, you should check that restoring your backups works too

What you might want in terms of hardware is a "NAS", some kind of independent online hard drive for your house. But that's a point for another time.

Incremental backups mean that you backup "anything new" on your PC since the last time you used it, unlike DIY software, they have become quite user friendly, so there is no need to fret

General tip
if you are looking for free and open source alternatives to a soft, there is a great site : Alternative To
For each kind of software you know by brand, you will have vetted alternatives and their community checked origin. It's not an absolute safety warranty, but it's good enough.

Granted, free and open source software is often seen as "inferior" to commercial alternatives.
That is not always the case, there is awesome stuff being made. Some of them are even market references (eg Blender).
Some of them need to change your habits a bit and are not as user friendly as commercial solutions (eg Libre Office vs MS Office) but do the work as well in almost every case.
In general, what free and open source software often lack of is a bit of ergonomy.

You need to thing every piece of software as tools.
Would you buy a high end professional portable drill for your weekend home improvement projects which costs 5 times the price of a basic one ? Probably not
Are you a construction worker ? Then probably yes

If you have an army of accountants and salesmen, Libre Office is sadly not a choice because they will moan and bitch every 5 minutes if they don't have Excel.
But as far as personal or "basic" usage is concerned, I for one never use it. (but then again I'm a linux guy)

[Gasman]

I was usi g Libre Office.

BTW, Imanaged to get my old computer running again. Everything on it was lost but with the backups i had the important stuff was saved.

Forgive me if Im not using the lroper computer terms but...

Im now looking into a new computer. I was using just over half of a TB for my stuff. And the last computer had 2TB so I felt plenty safe for room. Now Im think I should try for the same about of storage if not more. But also want an i7 12 gen so it can run plenty of things at the same time.
Im also wanting SSD and not HDD. Im not a gaming person so graphics are not top of my list. But I am an Audiophile so clean clear sound is Important. Keeping the cost at or below 1200 bucks Ive found a few Dells but they dont seem to have everything.
If you have any help along this line of finding a computer for me Im all ears.

BTW, Id put together my own computer but Im afraid of buying parts and finding things are not compatible with each other. Plus I know nothing of motherboards or the fine details about computer parts.

Also the fact that when you put electronic parts together and they dont work, doesnt the warranty go iut the window. So no returns? That would piss me off