How to backup windows 10 please?

badmonk

badmonk

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hey guys

Sorry for the stupid question but as I just got my first PC in years, (been using mac) I would like to know how to make a back up copy of my windows 10 PC please.
Kinda like time machine on mac where I could install exact same copy onto another computer identical to the one I have or restore if something happened to my computer.
I looked at I think it's called file history but doesn't seem to be large enough files to have backed up my whole system.
Any help would be great thanks and sorry for the basic question.
 
"create a system image" in the "back-up and Restore section", I'm pretty sure.

The ones I've made seem crazy small too, but they all worked!
 
Thank you, so create system image is better than file history? Or best to back up with both please?
By reading into it, sounds like I should use system image to copy everything, and maybe only do this once in a while and file history on a regular basis as this makes backups of my most current files, this sound about right please?
 
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also my fan has just started going crazy!!! not done anything different. when I first turn it on, its like a 0 out of 10, very quiet then even when playing games like doom or watch dogs 2 on max settings, it might goto about 2/10 still no problems.
Friday for no reason, (well obviously there is a hidden reason lol) its spin speed went to like 20 out of 10 (I know that's not possible but that's what it sounds like)
it doesn't sound broken, just like its spinning 10,000 miles an hour and I cant use the PC at night as its that loud and cant even hear the audio from my monitor.
gonna call HP tomorrow but wondered if its just a simple case of shutting somethings down that's running in the background or as I am new to windows 10, any diagnostic program I can run please?
 
badmonk said:
also my fan has just started going crazy!!! not done anything different. when I first turn it on, its like a 0 out of 10, very quiet then even when playing games like doom or watch dogs 2 on max settings, it might goto about 2/10 still no problems.
Friday for no reason, (well obviously there is a hidden reason lol) its spin speed went to like 20 out of 10 (I know that's not possible but that's what it sounds like)
it doesn't sound broken, just like its spinning 10,000 miles an hour and I cant use the PC at night as its that loud and cant even hear the audio from my monitor.
gonna call HP tomorrow but wondered if its just a simple case of shutting somethings down that's running in the background or as I am new to windows 10, any diagnostic program I can run please?
Click to expand...
pretty gutted as only had it a couple week :(
 
i don't thinks its anything major, just played about 3 hours overwatch and although its noisy, the PC aint hot and everything seems to be running fine.
its almost like something is telling the CPU fan its overheating and must run fast when its not.....
oh well hope its nothing serious, will call up HP tomorrow, got 3 years guarantee with it so that's good.
 
You don't back up a copy of Windows 10. Depending on how you got the copy of the license it may not even successfully transfer to different hardware. You can use a drive image, but that only works well if you have identical hardware.

You don't back up programs, you back up your data. Your game saves, bookmarks, documents, etc. That's all you need. Put all that on an external drive or even a big flash drive. Use a cloud service too and it is even easier.

All that stuff is almost always located under your user profile. I've seen so many people spending hours and hours trying to copy back programs into place and it takes way longer to do that than to just install them. The only things you need to back up are your actual data.
 
Kerosene31 said:
You don't back up a copy of Windows 10. Depending on how you got the copy of the license it may not even successfully transfer to different hardware. You can use a drive image, but that only works well if you have identical hardware.

You don't back up programs, you back up your data. Your game saves, bookmarks, documents, etc. That's all you need. Put all that on an external drive or even a big flash drive. Use a cloud service too and it is even easier.

All that stuff is almost always located under your user profile. I've seen so many people spending hours and hours trying to copy back programs into place and it takes way longer to do that than to just install them. The only things you need to back up are your actual data.
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so just use file history? not system image?
 
ok got off the phone with HP and they said windows update must have crashed hence corrupting some files so need to do a fresh install :(
so do I need to back up via system image or file history or both please? or just drag everything over to a external HDD please?
Sorry on my mac I just use time machine
 
badmonk said:
ok got off the phone with HP and they said windows update must have crashed hence corrupting some files so need to do a fresh install :(
so do I need to back up via system image or file history or both please? or just drag everything over to a external HDD please?
Sorry on my mac I just use time machine
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I'm not sure why Windows doesn't have something as easy as Time Machine? It saved me numerous times.
 
badmonk said:
re my games, could I just drag them across to an external HDD and then drag them back over when I resintall windows?
rather than having to download all over again??
Click to expand...
Prior to Windows 10, that wasn't possible. I'm sure some games you can do it with, but not the bigger ones. I could be mistaken as it's been a long time since I had to install a new drive in a Windows machine.
 
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Plainview said:
Prior to Windows 10, that wasn't possible. I'm sure some games you can do it with, but not the bigger ones. I could be mistaken as it's been a long time since I had to install a new drive in a Windows machine.
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thanks for the reply. oh no means I gotta re download stuff :(
I thought I could drag and drop but that might mess stuff up eh?
 
badmonk said:
so just use file history? not system image?
Click to expand...

None. I manually copy the files myself. I use robocopy (which isn't really designed for end users).

What you use to back up your data isn't important. The most important thing is to go through your data and understand what you need. What you'll find in my experience is that you need a lot less than you think. You'll save time only worrying about what is important.

With Windows, pretty much everything is under your user profile, which is c:\users\your_username\* Even most of that is just junk that isn't needed.

Think of what is actually important on your system. What is irreplaceable? Digital photos. Game saves (say you have 200+ hours in a Skyrim or a Fallout 4 or something... you want to hang on to that save). Documents. Bookmarks (if you use Chrome even that gets saved to the cloud). You can write a simple batch file to copy all those files every day if you want. You can get a little more sophisticated and find something that will only copy files that change (so you aren't constantly overwriting needlessly). There's no easy button that will do this for you, but a little bit of planning and you'll have it sorted out in no time.

In my experience, you think you have way more data than you actually do. There are other things that are nice to back up but aren't essential like program settings and such. Even those kinds of things - what is the time needed to back up everything vs just re-setting things up? My bet is under most circumstances the latter is quicker.
 
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Sometimes if I thought my PC needed a tune up or cleanup,. I'd copy my personal files myself with the file manager and do a complete factory reset. Then reinstall or download programs and copy back things like my Music, pictures, or documents.
 
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Kerosene31 said:
None. I manually copy the files myself. I use robocopy (which isn't really designed for end users).

What you use to back up your data isn't important. The most important thing is to go through your data and understand what you need. What you'll find in my experience is that you need a lot less than you think. You'll save time only worrying about what is important.

With Windows, pretty much everything is under your user profile, which is c:\users\your_username\* Even most of that is just junk that isn't needed.

Think of what is actually important on your system. What is irreplaceable? Digital photos. Game saves (say you have 200+ hours in a Skyrim or a Fallout 4 or something... you want to hang on to that save). Documents. Bookmarks (if you use Chrome even that gets saved to the cloud). You can write a simple batch file to copy all those files every day if you want. You can get a little more sophisticated and find something that will only copy files that change (so you aren't constantly overwriting needlessly). There's no easy button that will do this for you, but a little bit of planning and you'll have it sorted out in no time.

In my experience, you think you have way more data than you actually do. There are other things that are nice to back up but aren't essential like program settings and such. Even those kinds of things - what is the time needed to back up everything vs just re-setting things up? My bet is under most circumstances the latter is quicker.
Click to expand...
I'll add music playlists to your list.
 
For anyone interested, here's the command line robocopy (very powerful but not very user friendly).

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145(v=ws.11).aspx

I'm sure there are GUI based replacements out there but I don't know any offhand to recommend.

The nice thing about Robocopy is you can set it to only copy files that have changed, so say you have 10,000 digital pictures. You only need to back up the handful of new ones since the last time it was run. Robocopy does that and does it fast. Works great for things like mp3 directories and such where you don't want to manually copy files every time as they never change, only new ones get added.
 
In Windows 10 you have these options

File History (user data) + System Restore (changes to OS and Programs) + System Reset (complete re-install to factory setup)

File History is like time machine for your data. You will need to add a drive and setup the backup in
Update & security > Backup
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17143/windows-10-back-up-your-files

System Restore is like time machine for OS and Programs. You will need to turn this on first in Control Panel, search for Recovery, and then select Recovery > Configure System Restore > Configure and Turn on system protection
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options
 
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TheGeneral said:
In Windows 10 you have these options

File History (user data) + System Restore (changes to OS and Programs) + System Reset (complete re-install to factory setup)

File History is like time machine for your data. You will need to add a drive and setup the backup in
Update & security > Backup
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17143/windows-10-back-up-your-files

System Restore is like time machine for OS and Programs. You will need to turn this on first in Control Panel, search for Recovery, and then select Recovery > Configure System Restore > Configure and Turn on system protection
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/12415/windows-10-recovery-options
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Thanks so much. So if I use system restore and file history then I am good? Any use in using system image as well please?
 
Also re system protection, I know it's best with the main drive that has windows 10 installed on it, but is it ok to turn on for all my drives please? And how much space do you recommend I set aside please?
Sorry for all questions but haven't used a windows system in years.....
 
badmonk said:
Thanks so much. So if I use system restore and file history then I am good? Any use in using system image as well please?
Click to expand...

Yes you are covered with system restore and file history.

System Restore will enable you to recover from Windows errors such as a bad programs, corrupt registry or drivers. This will help you to revert Windows back to a "usable" state by restoring from a previous good restore point. Snapshots are taken automatically such as when installing Windows updates and programs or you can also take them manually.

File history will take snapshots of all your data such as documents, pictures, music etc. You can then restore or view versions of your file. Always use a separate drive as your backup drive. This could be an external or internal drive. File history is configured per-user basis. So if you share your computer with the rest of the family members and they need their data protected, each individual user must turn on file history after logging on with their user profile. You can all share the same drive though.

System Image backup is if you want to take a complete backup of the entire system. For example if your system's Windows hard drive has crashed and you need to recover the system without having to re-install Windows and all programs. Or if you want to move your Windows installation and programs to new hardware.

Personally, I never had a need for a System Image backup + restore. Its legacy anyway since Windows 10 has the Reset feature if you want to wipe everything to factory settings and start again. Besides, re-installing Windows 10 is quick these days. For moving to new hardware I always re-install Windows + programs from scratch. The only time you may want to take a System Image is if you have built your own PC and didn't create the recovery partition. In which case, after installing Windows + all updates take a System Image backup. This will help you to revert back to "your factory" settings if needed.
 
badmonk said:
Also re system protection, I know it's best with the main drive that has windows 10 installed on it, but is it ok to turn on for all my drives please? And how much space do you recommend I set aside please?
Sorry for all questions but haven't used a windows system in years.....
Click to expand...

Yes you can turn it on for other drives provided they are not external removable drives. If you turn it on for external drives and for some reason disconnect it, Windows will remove all restore points for that drive. Also, there is no benefit in turning it on your Data drive if you have File History. Personally, I would just turn it for the OS drive only. As for space, Windows allocates the optimum space based on the size of the drive. Its normally between 5-15%. You can adjust this using the slider.
 
TheGeneral said:
Yes you are covered with system restore and file history.

System Restore will enable you to recover from Windows errors such as a bad programs, corrupt registry or drivers. This will help you to revert Windows back to a "usable" state by restoring from a previous good restore point. Snapshots are taken automatically such as when installing Windows updates and programs or you can also take them manually.

File history will take snapshots of all your data such as documents, pictures, music etc. You can then restore or view versions of your file. Always use a separate drive as your backup drive. This could be an external or internal drive. File history is configured per-user basis. So if you share your computer with the rest of the family members and they need their data protected, each individual user must turn on file history after logging on with their user profile. You can all share the same drive though.

System Image backup is if you want to take a complete backup of the entire system. For example if your system's Windows hard drive has crashed and you need to recover the system without having to re-install Windows and all programs. Or if you want to move your Windows installation and programs to new hardware.

Personally, I never had a need for a System Image backup + restore. Its legacy anyway since Windows 10 has the Reset feature if you want to wipe everything to factory settings and start again. Besides, re-installing Windows 10 is quick these days. For moving to new hardware I always re-install Windows + programs from scratch. The only time you may want to take a System Image is if you have built your own PC and didn't create the recovery partition. In which case, after installing Windows + all updates take a System Image backup. This will help you to revert back to "your factory" settings if needed.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the great answer. This helps me a lot. So re file history, I use an external drive for this and system restore will be on the internal drive, is this correct please?
Also no need to use system image, but say for e.g. I get a windows laptop, and I want an exact copy of my desktop to move over, programs, data and all, this would be the best way?
 
badmonk said:
Thanks so much for the great answer. This helps me a lot. So re file history, I use an external drive for this and system restore will be on the internal drive, is this correct please?
Also no need to use system image, but say for e.g. I get a windows laptop, and I want an exact copy of my desktop to move over, programs, data and all, this would be the best way?
Click to expand...

Yes, for File History use an external drive. For System Restore points enable protection for internal drive.

Using a system image backups between vastly different hardware such as your desktop and laptop is asking for trouble. Besides Windows licensing will kick up a fuss.
 
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TheGeneral said:
Yes, for File History use an external drive. For System Restore points enable protection for internal drive.

Using a system image backups between vastly different hardware such as your desktop and laptop is asking for trouble. Besides Windows licensing will kick up a fuss.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much General, you've been a great help!
 
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If you have a bunch of games in Steam and don't want to redownload I think you can move those to a backup drive and then bring them back once you're set up again. You'd have to find the direct path but I believe it's under commonapps or something with the Steam folder. Games installed outside of Steam is probably a different story though.
 
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