Windows 7 Backup & Restore Guide

Transcription

1 Windows 7 Backup & Restore Guide Quick Links Creating a Backup click here Restoring a Backup click here Introduction The most common component of a computer to fail is the hard drive. This also happens to be where all your files are stored. For that reason, making backups of your important files is essential to protecting yourself from data loss. The goal of making backups is to ensure all your important files remain in at least two places at all times. This way, if something should happen to your computer, your files are still safe. Using a flash drive or external hard drive as the only location for important files is also a bad idea. These devices fail just as often as the drives inside computers. Before we get started This guide is aimed at computers with Windows 7. The steps may differ slightly if you are using a different version of Windows. Before you will be able to make a backup, you will need something to back up to. A flash drive is not recommended unless you are using a large one (64GB or larger) or there is very little data to backup. If your files consist primarily of documents, a flash drive should be fine. If you are backing up lots of photos and videos, you will almost certainly need an external hard drive. Setting up Backup and Restore In this guide, we will be using Windows Backup and Restore. This utility is built into Windows 7 and can be set up to work automatically in the background. Let s get started! Creating a Backup 1. Click Start. 2. Click Computer. 3. Insert your external hard drive or large flash drive into the computer. 4. Find the connected drive. In the picture to the right, you can see our example external hard drive is labeled EXT HDD and is the F: drive. Technology Support Center Page 1

2 5. Click Start. 6. In the search box, type backup and press enter. 7. Click Set up backup. ***Note: If this option is missing, click Turn off schedule on the left, followed by Change settings. 8. Using the drive you identified in Step 4, click the backup drive. 9. Click Next. 10. Select Let me choose. 11. Click Next. Technology Support Center Page 2

3 12. Uncheck everything except for your libraries. 13. Uncheck Include a system image of drives. 14. Click Next. 15. By default, the backup is set to run automatically at 7:00 PM every Sunday. In this example, the schedule will be changed. Click Change schedule. 16. The schedule can be changed by setting the How often, What day, and What time options. ***Note: The schedule can be turned off by unchecking Run backup on a schedule. 17. Click OK. Technology Support Center Page 3

4 18. Click Save settings and run backup. This may take some time, but the window can be closed as you continue to work on other things. The backup will continue in the background. ***Note: If an issue occurs with the backup, such as a disconnected drive or running out of space, Windows will attempt to notify you through the Action Center (white flag in the bottom right of desktop). Click the notification bubbles to see more backup options and information. And that is it! If you chose not to run the backup on a schedule in Step 16, you can run the backup yourself by opening the program just like you did in Step 6. Since the backup is already set, use the Back up now button that you can click to run a backup. Restoring a Backup 1. Click Start. 2. In the search box, type backup and press enter. 3. Click Select another backup to restore files from. 4. Click the most recent backup if it isn t already highlighted. Doublecheck the dates before proceeding. 5. Click Next. Technology Support Center Page 4

5 6. Check Select all files from this backup. 7. Click Next. 8. Click Restore. Technology Support Center Page 5

6 9. You will receive a message about files in the location you are restoring to. If you have not saved any files on this computer prior to this restore, choose Copy and Replace. If you are concerned about losing recent data, choose Copy, but keep both files. Choose the best copy at a later time. ***Note: Consider checking Do this for all conflicts if this message appears repeatedly. 10. Click Finish after the restoration is complete. The restore may take some time, so avoid editing files until the restore is finished. ***Note: You can now check to see if your data is correctly restored. If you suspect files or Outlook s are missing from your restore, please submit a Tech Help ticket for further assistance. Technology Support Center Page 6