Test a backup by restoring a disposable file

A completed backup message is useful, but practicing a restore shows whether you know how to retrieve a file when needed.

1. Create a disposable text document with a distinctive filename and a sentence you can recognize. Save it inside a folder included in your backup plan.
2. Run the normal backup and wait for completion. Use the backup tool to confirm that the test file appears in a backup made after you created it.
3. Remove only the disposable original, keeping its expected sentence noted elsewhere. Start the backup tool's documented file-restore procedure and select that exact test file.
4. Restore it, checking the destination before accepting any replacement prompt. Open the restored document and compare its contents with your note.

Record the backup date, result and recovery steps. If the file cannot be restored, investigate before relying on that backup for important work.