Windows 10 backups

Heedtheadvice

I have now got up and running with a new PC running win10 and would appreciate any advice regarding backups for disaster recovery and data/programming loss.

Before Windows updated from that supplied I made a repair dvd. The hard drive has a recovery partition (should that ever be required)

I have now been updated re windows, installed (my preferred security option) Zone Alarm extreme security, Firefox and all my add-in/sync info. Just doing another baseline backup (win 10 system tool but the win 7 method )of the c drive partitions (system, windows, recovery images....) to external drive.

Two queries occur to me. I like to keep all my data under one separate folder of the root for ease of management. Esul suggested considering as a new partition but have read that this will slow things down a bit but I also see you can opt for windows default locations to a different logical drive....but not apparently a separate folder ('data'). So, would the former be best?

Exactly what does the windows system backup include? Is that just OS or does it include additional loaded progs. If the former is there an easy way to include the latter?

I have used and like Macrium Reflect but wonder if there is any advantage now as I have not bought the version that does incremental backups.
(Oh dear that is more than a couple of queries now!!:rotfl:)

esuhl

Heedtheadvice wrote: »

I have now got up and running with a new PC running win10 and would appreciate any advice regarding backups for disaster recovery and data/programming loss.

Before Windows updated from that supplied I made a repair dvd. The hard drive has a recovery partition (should that ever be required)

I have now been updated re windows, installed (my preferred security option) Zone Alarm extreme security, Firefox and all my add-in/sync info. Just doing another baseline backup (win 10 system tool but the win 7 method )of the c drive partitions (system, windows, recovery images....) to external drive.

Two queries occur to me. I like to keep all my data under one separate folder of the root for ease of management. Esul suggested considering as a new partition but have read that this will slow things down a bit..

It shouldn't slow things down at all. The only issue would be if you were low on disk space, as one partition can't use the free space on any other partition. But drives are big enough now for that to not (generally) be a problem.

I prefer using multiple partitions, but if using a sub-folder on the Windows partition works for you, then it doesn't make much difference. What's important is that your data are separate from the OS, and you can easily backup the data by themselves.

Heedtheadvice wrote: »

... but I also see you can opt for windows default locations to a different logical drive....but not apparently a separate folder ('data'). So, would the former be best?

Erm... I don't use Windows 10, but that can't be right. Anyway, a "logical drive" is just another name for a partition.

But you can change the default locations of "special" folders, like Windows and My Documents, etc. They can be on any compatible partition.

This page shows how to change the default folders. Read down to the bottom, as it explains a better way to do it (i.e. the old pre-Win10 way).

http://winsupersite.com/windows-10/how-change-your-default-save-locations-windows-10

Heedtheadvice wrote: »

I have used and like Macrium Reflect but wonder if there is any advantage now as I have not bought the version that does incremental backups.
(Oh dear that is more than a couple of queries now!!:rotfl:)

Incremental backups simply reduce the time taken for subsequent backups.

Oh, and the only way to backup all your installed programs would be to take a complete image of the OS periodically. I wouldn't bother, as this will mean backups take longer and require more disk space, and it should be relatively easy to reinstall Windows and applications.

Jivesinger

Heedtheadvice wrote: »

I have used and like Macrium Reflect but wonder if there is any advantage now as I have not bought the version that does incremental backups.

The free version of Reflect does however do Differential backups, which backups up only what has changed since the last Full backup. This means the file size of each differential backup file grows over time, but also means that a restore only uses 2 files and is therefore slightly more reliable.

Mr_Toad

I've never been a fan of over complicated backup regimes.

Partitions or folders make little difference if they are on the same physical drive. If you delete a file you shouldn't you're OK, however, If that drive dies you are in trouble.

I would advise going with the Windows default locations and using an external drive with decent backup software. The first, complete, backup will take a while but the subsequent incremental backups will not take long.

Some people don't like the Windows default file locations. They prefer their own file system, fine if you know what you're doing when setting the backups up but most backup software is set up for the defaults out of the box, it can be changed but losing files is not the time to find out you got the settings wrong. Another reason is that applications are usually set for the defaults, forget to change that and.....

A common problem with using a home brew file system is that the important files that go missing are the ones that weren't filed in the right place and therefore weren't backed up because the user hadn't got round to putting it where it should be.

If the external drive is USB then you have to remember to connect it, especially if you are using a laptop, or your backups become rapidly useless.

For this reason I would always use NAS drives, as soon as you power on they are there and backups can run in the background automatically. These days a NAS capable drive is cheap and they usually come with backup software of some sort.

There are many solutions, some simple some complicated and what works for some may not work for others. The important thing is that it works!

Food for thought.

S0litaire

Windows inbuilt Backup should be OK.
It has 2 modes:

A standard Shadow Image backup (for your full Bare metal system recovery).
&
A "File revision-ing" for your files and folders. (every time you create or change a file in your home folder a copy is saved in the backup directory).

I agree with a NAS or other physically separate internal drive for storing backups. And probably a "cloud based " option (i.e. off site storage) for your more important documents.

You can get quite cheap bulk Cloud storage from Google / Amazon / Microsoft.

Since my Windows 10 box is mainly for games (via steam or own installer) I don't bother with backups. And having new version installed every week through the insiders program it's not worth the hassle of setting up backups...