Your data is the most important thing on your computer. Be it family photos, important tax documents, pieces of art, your band’s music, sensitive research papers, or anything else, losing it is simply not an option.
Unfortunately, computers fail, and often. Having a backup plan set before anything goes wrong is one of the most important tasks you will undertake as a responsible computer user. Thankfully, backing up your data has never been easier.
To back up your files:
Open Backup and Restore by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Backup and Restore.
Do one of the following:
Notes:
We recommend that you don't back up your files to the same hard disk that Windows is installed on.
Always store media used for backups (external hard disks, DVDs, or CDs) in a secure place to prevent unauthorized people from having access to your files—we recommend a fireproof location separate from your computer. You might also consider encrypting the data on your backup.
To create a new, full backup:
After you create your first backup, Windows Backup will add new or changed information to your subsequent backups. If you're saving your backups on a hard drive or network location, Windows Backup will create a new, full backup for you automatically when needed. If you're saving your backups on CDs or DVDs and can't find an existing backup disc, or if you want to create a new backup of all of the files on your computer, you can create a full backup. Here's how to create a full backup:
Open Backup and Restore by clicking the Start button Picture of the Start button, clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Backup and Restore.
In the left pane, click Create new, full backup.
Note:
You will only see this option if your backup is being saved on CDs or DVDs.
If you need more picture driven instruction on how to properly do backups of your data, please click here to view all the steps.
SSuite Office Data Backup and File Copy Applications:
We also have free applications to do all the work for you if you don't want to use the above steps and internal Windows programs. Have a look at the following apps at your own convenience. They will all work just fine in moving your data around.