How do I back up to an external drive?

loulou41

Laptop is freezing all the time and it is less than 1 yr old. Support told me to restore it to factory settings. I have bought a WD external drive and want to know whether I can back up the whole c drive in one go, is it just a matter of paste and copy? Or do I need to do file by file, also I forget how do I open two windows side by side to do the copying? Thanks

scheming_gypsy

you won't be able to backup programmes, just all your data.

Some people use Windows backup / export, some people use third party software but i'm old school and just create a new admin account and copy my profile across. In XP / Visa it's documents and settings\username and in Windows 7 it's users\username. I just copy my user name across to the external drive... Although you need to delete cookies and temporary internet files or you'll end up copying them.. Do the same for any other users as well; and make sure you haven't stored anything somewhere else and not in your profile.

John_Gray

It depends on what you are wanting to back up! Their suggestion would effectively mean you wiping out all your data files, and also all the software you may have installed since you bought the laptop, plus any that was installed originally. You would end up with a fresh but old copy of Windows, plus whatever else they put in the factory build originally.

So, yes, you need to copy your Stuff across to an external hard disk using drag and drop in My Computer or Windows Explorer (for example). You also need to make sure you have the install disks and the product keys/serial numbers for all the software you have installed yourself, because you'll be needing all this when you come to reinstall them again.

That's why people are very reluctant to reinstall Windows, or restore to factory settings...

spongmonkey

hi, it depends on your version of Windows. If it's Windows 7 Premium or Ultimate you can make a system image. this is an exact copy of your machine including all programs etc but only available with Premium and Ultimate. If it's Vista I think the same versions include it.

To find out, click start and type backup. You'll find somethigng called backup and restore. If there's the option to create a system image then you're away!

If you don't have this option but do have Vista or Windows 7, you can Windows Easy Transfer to copy your files and settings to an external disk but this WILL NOT copy programs and licence keys, only files that are stored within your My Documents and settings for common Microsoft applications (though again, not the apps themselves).

It's a bit of a complex business, but if you let me know what version of Windows you have I might be able to be more specific.

If you don't know what version of Windows you have, do the following:-

Hold the windows key down on the keyboard (next to the ALT key and looks like a flag) then tap the PAUSE BREAK key usually in the top right corner of the keyboard, it should open the System Properties window and tell you your Windows version.

John_Gray

Having made the system image, what is the OP actually going to do with it? Restore it back over the disk which has just been restored back to factory settings?

spongmonkey

once you have the system image you rebuild your machine from the factory supplied disks, and then go back into the Backup and Restore centre and restore from the system image you created. There are other ways to do it such as use the .WIM created to build your own streamlined installation disk and replace the .wim on the disk with your own, but let's no go there

scheming_gypsy

spongmonkey wrote: »

once you have the system image you rebuild your machine from the factory supplied disks, and then go back into the Backup and Restore centre and restore from the system image you created. There are other ways to do it such as use the .WIM created to build your own streamlined installation disk and replace the .wim on the disk with your own, but let's no go there

which defeats the object of rebuilding your PC.
If the OP is rebuilding their PC because it's running slow; at which point is putting it back to its original state, going to help?

andy2004

I really hate windows explorer when it comes to viewing folders, no help i know, there is a free alternative and its portable, see link
http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/Q-Dir uses windows copy but at least its easier to use than windows explorer.
copy all your files from your boot drive to the external, everything you downloaded, mp3's, pictures from your camera etc, from your My documents folder and wherever else you put them.
as for serials to installed programs which u installed, save the emails aswell. alternatively, another program which tells you about your system and installed programs, can tell you in a simple html/txt output file. http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html freeware,
will give the serial / for every program installed.

some people will say this is adware infected but i say its clean, never had any problems when i used it, and 2nd your formatting after moving your data, so one use and delete.
just open the html file with internet explorer after the reinstall. make sure to copy the file to the external first.

before you do this reinstore, i would be querying whats causing the freezing.
have you downloaded and installed malwarebytes, updated and run a scan ? freeware http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free
could the hdd have a mechanical problem. being its a laptop 2.5 drives do seem to break down quicker than there 3.5in counterparts. not scare mongering. just saying.
could one the programs you have installed be causing the problem, after all you dont want to reinstall and then end up in the same problem as your in now due to installing the same program.

macman

WD external USB drives usually have some sort of basic backup software installed on them already. Suggest you RTFM.
For a Factory Restore, all you need to back up are your data files. Everything else will come back except your after-market software, which must be reinstalled.
And don't forget to run Windows Updates manually until all the updates have been installed.
And of course your AV software.

spongmonkey

scheming_gypsy wrote: »

which defeats the object of rebuilding your PC.
If the OP is rebuilding their PC because it's running slow; at which point is putting it back to its original state, going to help?

you're quite right, if the problem is software related they'll end up restoring back to exactly where they started. I'd missed the bit about the freezing and only saw the "how do I backup the whole C: drive bit"

The method works well for a machine working normally

It's also a good method if you want to prove that it's software. i.e. restore from factory restore disks, if the machine is still not right you know it's not the stuff you installed on it and can restore from your image. You then at least have tracked it down to some hardware issue and can continue from there.

scheming_gypsy

spongmonkey wrote: »

you're quite right, if the problem is software related they'll end up restoring back to exactly where they started. I'd missed the bit about the freezing and only saw the "how do I backup the whole C: drive bit"

The method works well for a machine working normally

and it's a good idea to do it as soon as you've rebuild and re-installed... So if it happens again they can follow your original advice

Although rather than a full rebuild to start with, i'd just create a new user account and see how that works. If it's still slow - rebuild the PC, if it works properly - it's just a 'crap' profile.