Looking for:
The Only Windows 10 Backup and Restore Features Guide You’ll Need – Was this information helpful?
Or when you are about to replace the main hard drive, or you need a quick way to transfer the installation and files without the need for reinstallation. How to use File History in Windows 10 and Figure 4: Macrium Reflect offers a well-documented collection of six different backup plans. If you are about to restore a device, do not interrupt the process as it can cause the backup to fail, making the device unbootable. Yes No. I wish this was made esp for Surfaces at least. You can even use OneDrive to do this.
Backup windows 10.How to backup your PC automatically on Windows 10
As part of your recovery plan, a full backup should be at the top of your list since it is the best strategy against hardware failure, and apps and upgrade problems, as well as malware attacks that can corrupt your files and damage your Windows 10 installation.
If you are not proactively creating full backups, you will be putting at risk documents, priceless pictures, and configurations you have spent long hours setting up. If you use Windows 10 , you have many different methods to create a backup. For example, you can use third-party solutions to backup the entire system or copy files to an external drive manually or upload them to a cloud storage service like OneDrive.
However, if you do not want to use manual methods or third-party tools, you can always create a full backup using the legacy built-in System Image Backup tool. A system image is another way to say “full backup,” as it contains a copy of everything on the computer, including the installation, settings, apps, and files. Usually, you will find this tool better suited to restore the entire system from critical hardware or software problems, such as hard drive failure or when trying to roll back to a previous version of Windows In this Windows 10 guide, we will walk you through the steps to create a full backup with all your custom settings, apps, files, and installation using the system image tool.
Quick note: The System Image Backup tool for Windows 10 is no longer a maintained feature, but you can still use it for the foreseeable future.
The instructions outlined in this guide are meant to create a temporary full backup while the feature is still available. You can also read this guide with alternative ways to back up your computer. The system image tool allows you to create a full backup to an external drive or network shared folder. However, it is best to use removable storage, which you can then disconnect and store in a different physical location.
Once you complete the steps, the tool will create an image of the entire system that includes everything on the primary hard drive and other drives you may have selected.
While the backup is in progress, you can continue working on the device since it uses the “Shadow Copy” feature to backup files even if files are open and apps are running. After the process is complete, you can disconnect and store the external drive in a safe place. If you have valuable data, you may want to consider keeping the backup in a different physical location. If you need to replace the hard drive or hardware failure occurs, you can use one of the backups to recover the device and files.
After you complete the steps, the recovery process will start on the computer. The time to finish the restoration will depend on the amount of data and hardware configuration.
If you are about to restore a device, do not interrupt the process as it can cause the backup to fail, making the device unbootable. It is always recommended to have the laptop connected to a power source and a desktop computer to an uninterruptible power supply UPS to avoid problems. Although there many other solutions to create a full backup of the entire system and files, there are still many reasons to choose the System Image Backup tool.
For instance, when you do not have another solution, and you are about to upgrade to a new version of Windows You can use the built-in tool to create a temporary full backup in case you need to rollback.
Or when you are about to replace the main hard drive, or you need a quick way to transfer the installation and files without the need for reinstallation. It is also always recommended to periodically backup your computer if the unexpected happens, and you need to recover from system or hardware failure, malware, ransomware, or hacker attacks.
One thing to keep in mind with this tool is that it is meant to recover the entire system, not files and settings individually. If you want to keep updated copies of your files, you should be using other solutions, such as OneDrive or File History. Also, you need to be proactive about creating backups because you can only recover a system since the last backup. Anything after the full backup, such as apps, settings, and files, won’t be available during recovery.
Mauro Huculak is technical writer for WindowsCentral. His primary focus is to write comprehensive how-tos to help users get the most out of Windows 10 and its many related technologies. Windows Central Windows Central. Mauro Huculak. More about windows Windows 10 version 22H2 announced, and its first build is available fo Topics Windows 10 Help. See all comments Why can we still not save our start menu setup??? This should be saved in the ms account settings backup!
Like everything else which is able to change in the settings app. Anytime I have refreshed a PC, the start menu has been lost. Because they can’t do it. I always have a screen grab of the start menu. This is the way to backup the start menu on PC and Mobile.
Its quick to rearrange tiles if you have screen grabs after you restore. Best of all, you can do a screen grab before you restore so you have the latest.
Can I use this method to migrate my entire data to a new PC? If it has the exact same hardware, then Yes. The best way to move your data to a new device is by simply making a copy of that data and restoring it on the new device. You can even use OneDrive to do this. I would prefer to put the data on an external drive than one drive.
It is possible to move windows from one machine to another even if they are slightly different hardware, but not recommended. But it was nothing to do with not doing a clean install, as a clean install did the same thing, just for some reason windows 8. The gotcha when trying to transfer a copy of Windows to another device [PC] is that the core device drivers Windows needs to boot may need to be changed.
Win10 is Much better at accomplishing this on its own than earlier versions. Alternatively a Windows repair install may cause the same thing to happen. Do note that after successfully migrating a copy of Windows to different hardware, old drivers are still there, and can continue to haunt you, e.
I’ve seen components revert to the old, now incompatible drivers after a driver update etc. Booted Windows 10, a few minutes of ‘getting devices ready’ and it was up and running, worked first time and has had no issues since. Activation was a different story but we got that sorted too. I wasn’t expecting it to work without any problems but it did.
On top of that, transfering a copy of Windows to another computer violates the license, which explicitly states it can only be used on the machine it was purchased on, or originally installed on if it is an OEM copy that is why W10 “fingerprints” your machine and stores that info with the license in MS’s cloud, and why they no longer provide OS media with new PCs. You CAN replace the motherboard, etc. You CANNOT run the same copy of Windows on two machines at once legally and it will not activate if the other machine is still running.
The one exception to this is a Windows 7 Family Pack, which entitles users to simultaneously have the OS running on three different PCs, but that does not extend to W10 upgrades. Only Windows Enterprise supports using the same product key to activate multiple times, and Enterprise licenses are only sold to companies under the MS Premier or other support agreements. I would advise cloning the SSD for that eg Samsung but also other parties have software for that.
Clonezilla is my favourite, especially if you have multiple partitions, or if the windows backup utility gives you grief. First is bootable media You do need to be able to boot to a USB stick or another internal or external drive if disaster hits. Note 1: creating a Windows To Go drive is a viable option. Note 2: backups created after booting to a 2nd OS, whether on removable media or if you dual boot etc.
One potential problem with external hard drives is heat — without active cooling they can exceed the drive’s max temp, possibly compromising data or the drive itself. Storing those archives in more than one place is insurance against media failure. The free version of Macrium Reflect is far superior to the Windows backup tool.
When I moved my Windows drive to a new ssd, Windows backup failed to restore but the image I created with Macrium worked first time. I’d 2nd that FWIW. The only downside I’ve found is that Macrium is more expensive than alternatives if you want more advanced features. If you get a Samsung SSD, their free migration tool is surprisingly quick and easy too.
Whole process was easy and took less than an hour. It’s like a totally different machine now. Yeah Macrium Reflect is a good one. I believe this feature is deprecated and will be removed in a future version of Windows Maybe the fall update?
Anyone have an idea why this might happen? I have seen it on multiple different laptops I have tried to backup to my home server. I have used Macrium to clone a new hard drive and replace and it has always worked very well, even on Surface Pro’s that seem to be a bit quirky.
Doesn’t work on SSD’s. Getting a non NTFS error. Oh well. Windows backup hasn’t worked for a couple of years on my machine. I use Aomei backupper instead. WD drive owners can get a copy of Acronis True Image for free. You only need to own one WD drive it checks on boot , even an external one, and you qualify to use it on all your drives even non-WD ones.
I use it for scheduled backups and it seems to do the job well. It is free and easy to use. It never fails for months and it is been updated by their team all the time.
Choose a backup solution in Windows 10
Its quick to rearrange tiles if you have screen grabs after you restore. Best of all, you can do a screen grab before you restore so you have the latest.
Can I use this method to migrate my entire data to a new PC? If it has the exact same hardware, then Yes. The best way to move your data to a new device is by simply making a copy of that data and restoring it on the new device. You can even use OneDrive to do this.
I would prefer to put the data on an external drive than one drive. It is possible to move windows from one machine to another even if they are slightly different hardware, but not recommended. But it was nothing to do with not doing a clean install, as a clean install did the same thing, just for some reason windows 8. The gotcha when trying to transfer a copy of Windows to another device [PC] is that the core device drivers Windows needs to boot may need to be changed.
Win10 is Much better at accomplishing this on its own than earlier versions. Alternatively a Windows repair install may cause the same thing to happen. Do note that after successfully migrating a copy of Windows to different hardware, old drivers are still there, and can continue to haunt you, e. I’ve seen components revert to the old, now incompatible drivers after a driver update etc.
Booted Windows 10, a few minutes of ‘getting devices ready’ and it was up and running, worked first time and has had no issues since. Activation was a different story but we got that sorted too.
I wasn’t expecting it to work without any problems but it did. On top of that, transfering a copy of Windows to another computer violates the license, which explicitly states it can only be used on the machine it was purchased on, or originally installed on if it is an OEM copy that is why W10 “fingerprints” your machine and stores that info with the license in MS’s cloud, and why they no longer provide OS media with new PCs.
You CAN replace the motherboard, etc. You CANNOT run the same copy of Windows on two machines at once legally and it will not activate if the other machine is still running. The one exception to this is a Windows 7 Family Pack, which entitles users to simultaneously have the OS running on three different PCs, but that does not extend to W10 upgrades. Only Windows Enterprise supports using the same product key to activate multiple times, and Enterprise licenses are only sold to companies under the MS Premier or other support agreements.
I would advise cloning the SSD for that eg Samsung but also other parties have software for that. Clonezilla is my favourite, especially if you have multiple partitions, or if the windows backup utility gives you grief. First is bootable media You do need to be able to boot to a USB stick or another internal or external drive if disaster hits.
If you’ve used Backup and Restore in Windows 7, consider moving your content to a cloud-based backup.
To learn more about recovery, see Recovery options in Windows Windows 10 More Need more help? Join the discussion. Was this information helpful? Yes No. To save the restored file in a new place, select In the following location and then specify the desired location. Windows will now restore the selected folders and files to the specified location. You can navigate to this location and access the restored data.
You may need to restore Windows in different situations, for instance when your system files become corrupt. Therefore, we recommend that you search for the relevant information on the PC manufacturer website first.
The recovery will start now. How much time it will take depends mainly on two things: the amount of data that needs to be restored and your PC’s hardware configuration. Mind, any sort of interruption may disrupt the recovery process and make the computer unbootable. So make sure there are no disruptions while the recovery process is going on.
Also, ensure your laptop is connected to a power outlet. If you use a desktop PC, connect it to a battery backup before initiating recovery if possible. File History, by default, will backup all the folders in your user account folder, such as your desktop, download folder, documents, music, pictures, etc. It also makes a backup of the folders in your OneDrive. Unlike the Backup and Restore utility, this Windows 10 backup utility saves only user data, not system files.
Also while the former retains only the latest version of a file, File History can save multiple versions. Thanks to this feature, you can restore an older version of a file in a jiffy.
File History, just like its counterpart, allows you to backup data to different destinations, namely a USB flash drive, a network location, or an external hard drive.
You can enable this Windows backup software in no time at all. Here are the steps to follow. Select your external drive in the list that appears on the screen. Now this application will automatically make file backups whenever you connect the external hard drive to the system.
You can go with the default settings of this Windows 10 backup utility or tweak its settings as per your needs. Repeat this step for all folders that you want this Windows 10 backup tool to preserve.
On the other hand, if you want to stop File History from making backups, switch off Automatically backup my files in the Settings screen. You can restore files either through File History or File Explorer. You can use the PC settings to restore files backed up by File History, a free Windows 10 backup software. Finally, click Restore the green button. You may see a message asking you to confirm if you would like to overwrite the current version of the folder or file.
Click Yes to save the restored file in the original location. If you want to save the file to an alternate location, right-click Restore the green button and click the Restore to option and choose the new location.
Want to restore files using File Explorer instead of the aforementioned, inbuilt Windows backup utility? In fact, most Windows gurus recommend using something else because of occasional but credible reports of problems when restoring images made using the Backup and Restore Windows 7 tool.
Fortunately, there are better options available. There are at least three workable, respectable, and highly regarded free Windows backup tools that work with both Windows 10 and Windows All three tools make compact, speedy, and reliable image backups of Windows 10 and Windows 11 PCs. I have been a devoted user of Macrium Reflect Free for a decade now, and present its use on Windows 11 in the following screenshots as an illustration of how such programs work.
Your mileage may vary, depending on which tool you choose. Upon clicking the entry, a map of the Windows C: drive appears with two of the four partitions checked, as shown in Figure 3. I recommend checking all four partitions before proceeding. I recommend checking all four. The Destination folder shows where backups will reside. The best target for backups, in fact, is an external drive usually USB ; if a system goes really south, you can use the external drive to restore things to a different PC more easily.
Figure 4: Macrium Reflect offers a well-documented collection of six different backup plans. Andrey is a software engineer expert with extensive expertise in data recovery, computer forensics, and data litigation. Andrey brings over 12 years of experience in software development, database administration, and hardware repair to the team.
Press ESC to close. Table of Contents. Windows 10 actually includes some useful options in terms of backing up your data. You can pick and choose what files and folders you want to backup, as well as when you want the backup to run. The drawback of a system image is that you cannot choose individual items to restore like the previous methods. Using your drive for anything after your data has been deleted may result in it being overwritten.
This includes the installation of a data recovery tool. Therefore, try to use a portable version of the recovery tool or make a byte-to-byte image backup of your drive and recover from that.
It allows you to create byte-to-byte image backups of your drive. These images can be used to recover data from or serve as a complete backup of all your data on that drive. Windows File Recovery requires a separate physical partition you can recover to. Does Windows 10 have Backup and Restore? Open the first result.