Data disaster averted! How to back up your Android smartphone to your PC

Oh no! You dropped your phone in the street. Then it was run over. Twice. And then you were almost hit by a Subaru trying to rescue it from the middle of the crosswalk.

If this sad story sounds familiar, or at least plausible, chances are the first thought racing through your head as cars race over your phone is all of the contacts, photos, text messages, and notes stored on your phone. What's an Android aficionado to do in a case like this? Like your mother once said, "Plan ahead."

Planning ahead is the easiest way to make sure your data isn't lost to the ether, even if your phone is destroyed. Luckily, Google syncs much of your contacts, calendar appointments, docs, and even app purchases with your Web-accessible Gmail account - as long as you give Google permission to do so.

While Google will preserve a lot of your data, there are other programs that backup the same data and more - including apps and photos - wirelessly to the cloud. Read on to find out how to back up your Android phone's content to your PC.

Go with Google

Giving Google permission to back up your stuff will vary slightly from phone to phone. In general, you'll want to go to Settings > Backup and Reset > then tap "Backup my data" and "Automatic Restore." You're not done yet. While in Settings go to Accounts and click on the Google Account you want to sync your to data to. Tap the sync icons next to Email, Contacts, Calendar, Books, and any other service you want to virtually back up. That's it.

But that's not the only backup trick Google has up its sleeve. If you use Google's Music service, all of your tunes will be preserved on Google's servers, even if both your phone and your computer die at the same time. If you have a large music collection like we do, the initial upload process will take a long time - we're talking days. But once the first upload is done, subsequent albums will upload as they are added to your collection. Your music can then be streamed to up to ten Android devices or to other computers.

Photos, videos, and music from your Android phone may also be transferred straight to your PC or Mac by plugging your phone into your computer and manually copying the files over to your hard drive. It's not a perfectly synced solution, but it's quick and easy, especially on a PC where Windows will mount it as an external drive. For Macs, download Android FileTransfer, install it, and run it once when you first connect your phone. It'll start up automatically after that.

MyBackup Pro

We're fairly certain that if Google gave Android innate backup abilities, it would work just like MyBackup Pro. Available in the Google Play Store for $5, this app backs up everything that's possible to back up without having your phone rooted - photos, app data, browser bookmarks, contacts, system settings, home screen shortcuts, alarms, calendars, MMS messages, SMS messages, music playlists and more. The app allows you to schedule backups at convenient times, like when you're sleeping, and saves the backup files either to the microSD card in your phone or to the cloud, making your data instantly accessible at the MyBackup Pro site. If your phone dies or if you move to a new phone, use MyBackup Pro's software to restore all of your settings, data, and apps in one session.

Samsung Kies

If you have a Samsung Android phone, you're in luck - Samsung's got its own proprietary software for keeping your device backed up. There's an app called Kies Air that comes pre-installed on most devices, as well as software for your PC or Mac called Kies.

The Kies Air app allows you to connect to a computer running on the same Wi-Fi network. From your computer's browser you're able to explore, view, copy, and transfer the data currently on your phone. The app will give you an IP address to enter into your browser and then a PIN code. After this short setup, you're good to go.

On desktop side, the Kies program is specifically designed to backup your data. Start by connecting your Samsung phone via USB to your computer and opening the Kies software. When Kies detects that your phone is connected, it'll display an icon for your phone along with information about how much free space you have left. Along the top, you'll see a row of tabs. Simply click "Backup/Restore" and check the box at the top for all items. That's it. Now grab some coffee while the phone backs up for the first time. If you don't want to preserve everything on your phone, Kies also gives you the option of selecting certain things, such as contacts or music to back up.

SMS Backup

Want to preserve every last drunken text message for posterity? SMS Backup is a free app that integrates with your Gmail account to back up your SMS messages to a label in your email account. Not only will your old messages remain, they will also be searchable thanks to the fact that they're in Gmail.

Back that phone up!

As G.I. Joe would saying, "Knowing is half the battle." The other half of the battle is backing up your data in case your phone accidentally meets the wheels of a truck. Google is definitely an ally in the backup battle, but you'll want to enlist the assistance of the apps above to ensure all of your photos, notes, and messages are protected.

What are you waiting for? Go. It's time to start backing up your phone!