Really sound advice @qbteachmt !

So while there is no real "secret" per say, there are pieces that are imparative in this process, so here is some information not only about backing up your data but also the Lacerte file structure.  If you aren't backing up the required files it will be next to impossible to ever restore what you're backing up.

File structure: https://accountants-community.intuit.com/articles/1609322-lacerte-data-file-structure-and-extensions

Backing up Data: https://accountants-community.intuit.com/articles/1606617-backing-up-client-files-in-the-lacerte-tax...

Thanks, Ashley.  I have my backup configured to capture everything in the data path.  Could there by hidden or locked files the backup skipped?  I haven't seen any similar issues in 2017 restored client data.

So to qb's response below, i think that's the most accurate reply to this.  The backup functionality would pull any "hidden" files that may not be captured  otherwise (I personally am not familiar w/ Mozy to speak to how it functions) :+1:

Speaking from 25+ years of experience with Lacerte, I have never had an issue with what qbteachmt calls 'mirroring.'  You can pick up the entire data path with a Windows 'cut,' and paste it somewhere else.  Lacerte will keep right on trucking after you point it to the new path in Setup.  The key, as Ashley stated, is that you have to grab all of it.  
I have used non-Lacerte backup methods from tape to external drive (e.g., Seagate) to the cloud, and never had an issue before now.  My 2016 and 2017 files came back uncorrupted, which causes me to suspect something changed to make the 2018 data less robust.  Please note that Ashley's second linked article ('last modified six months ago') says, "you may also perform your normal system backup procedures (tape backup, etc.) to protect against system crashes."  Maybe that is no longer true?
My only issue with the Lacerte backup is that it is manual.  I know myself well enough to know that I will be the unreliable element if a manual solution is the only option.  I don't expect Intuit to endorse a third-party solution, and that's OK.   That's why I came to the user community to ask what solutions others have found trustworthy.

I have a database and programming background. There is always a difference between Backup and "backup copy" for safekeeping. Any program having its own Backup routine, means it write its own Compressed data file and in the case of a program with linked data, the associated files are part of the program's utilities, but not necessarily part of Mirror-Copy routines. And even though copying an entire folder structure might seem safekeeping, if a program has its own utility, using that utility is what the programmers offered as the provision for safekeeping. That is why I teach it like this.

The thing is, Lacerte backup doesn't compress anything.  It just makes a copy.  At least it always worked that way in prior years.  You can (or could) perform a Lacerte backup and compare the 'backed up' files to the originals, and see it duplicated the folder structure and contents.  Which explains why Ashley's linked article sanctioned 'normal system backup procedures (tape backup, etc.).'

And that is why we read this differently. You use the Program's Backup/Restore for data management needs. You use your own "normal system backup procedure" to protect the entire system, any data files and folders you want to Preserve and protect, including the Lacerte or other program's own Backup files, because you made them using that Program's own backup routine, to keep those data files safe in a manner that the program relies on to function properly. It's moot now; you have corrupt and useless files. There's no way to know if this would have helped you, because it was not used.