How To Backup Your Computer

In addition to getting ready for paying your annual (or quarterly) taxes, now is a great time to backup all the data on your computer. If you have never had to deal with a computer crash and losing all your data… consider yourself lucky. But if you have ever had that experience, then you know how important having everything on your computer backed up.

The first thing to consider is creating a backup image of your computer. A backup image is an exact backup your programs, files, settings, and other data, including a full installation of Windows 10.

If disaster strikes, the backup image can be used to restore your computer and it can be installed on a new drive. Best practice is to store the image on an external drive large enough to hold the backup. You will want to store the external hard drive offsite for safety.

Here are the 4 steps to create a backup image of your computer:

Step 1 – Plug in the external drive. Due to the size of of today’s computer hard drives, I highly suggest an USB external drive, they can be purchased for less than $100 from just about any store that carries electronics. Otherwise, have a large stack of writable DVD’s or a network location.

Step 2 – Click the bottom-left Start button to open a search bar. Start typing “Control Panel” without the quotes, A “Control Panel” icon will show above the search bar. Left-click the icon to open Control Panel.

Step 3 – Go to File History. At the bottom of the left pane, left-click “System Image Backup” should be found under “see also” section.

Step 4 – Choose where to save your system image backup, then left-click Start Backup. This will take awhile to run, depending on the amount storage on the hard drive is being used.

After the system image has been created, a prompt to create a system repair disk appears to access recovery options. Create a USB system repair disc or a DVD if your system still has one. Keep the the external drive and repair disk or USB together in a safe place, preferably offsite.

How to restore your PC from a backup image:

Plug the external drive into the computer.

If the computer can boot, hold down the “shift” key when booting . It may take a few times, but eventually an “Advanced options” screen will come up. Choose “System Image Recovery”. Windows 10 should find the image on the external drive. Follow the prompts.

If the system cannot boot to Windows, put in the USB recovery disc, or DVD and reboot with the “shift” key. This will bring up the “Advanced options” menu. Choose the recovery method (USB, or DVD) to recover. The system will reboot to the appropriate device. Choose “System Image Recovery”. Windows 10 should find the image on the external drive. Follow the prompts.

In an hour or so, your system will be recovered to the exact image you had when the image was made. Any data since that time will need to be added back. If your files are stored on Google Drive, OneDrive, or iCloud, any of those files will be re-added automatically to your files on your computer

If you’re interested in learning more, send an email to jnay@jimnay.com or call us at 615-443-4842.

All the best,

Jim Nay