Please Keep Backups: Windows PC Backup Plan

How to: Windows PC Backup Plan

Our best advice is to backup your files to a local backup to an external drive (but don’t leave backup drives permanently connected to the computer) AND a remote backup to the internet/cloud. This is a guide to back up your files to a local hard drive or USB stick.

In this guide we assuming you keep all your data in your user area (such as in My Documents, My Pictures, Desktop etc.) which is the usual place to keep your files. It’s good practice keep all your data in these areas. To check you keep everything in that area, you can an:

Enable a desktop icon for your personal user area on your desktop (which is inconveniently hidden by default in Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8/8.1 and Windows 10):

1. To show your user area in Windows 10:
2. Right-click on the desktop
3. Left-click on ‘Personalise’
4. Left-click on ‘Themes’
5. Look to the right and scroll down to find and left-click on ‘Desktop icon settings’
6. Left-click on the tick box new to ‘User’s Files’. While you’re there might as well tick next to ‘Computer’ and ‘Control Panel’ (and ‘Network if you have a networked PC)
7. Left-click on ‘OK’ button.

To show your user area in Windows 7 or Windows Vista

1. Right-click on the desktop
2. Left-click on ‘Personalise’
3. Left-click on ‘Desktop icon settings’ on the left side of the window
4. Left-click on the tick box new to ‘User’s Files’. While you’re there might as well tick next to ‘Computer’ and ‘Control Panel’ (and ‘Network if you have a networked PC)
5. Left-click on ‘OK’ button.

Check your files:

Now that’s done, double click on the user area icon on your desktop, which will show ‘Documents’, ‘Pictures’, ‘Music’ etc. ‘Desktop’ will also be there which contains any files you have saved to the desktop. Enter each folder and check all your files are there.

Backup your files to a local drive:

To do manual backup to a USB stick or USB hard drive, you need to copy all the folders in your user area (Documents, Photo, Music, Desktop etc.) to a USB drive:

1. Open your user area and press select all (CTRL + A) and then copy (CTRL + C)
2. Plug in your USB stick or hard drive and if it pops up with a window you can open the drive directly, or if not go to My Computer / This PC and open the drive (May be D: for E: or some other letter).
3. When you are viewing the drive, make a new folder (right-click on some white space and go to New > Folder and give it a name, e.g. Backup October 2018). Enter the folder by double clicking on it.
4. Now paste the files you previously copied (CTRL + V). All the files will now copy across which will take varying times depending on how much data there is and the speed of the drive you are copying to. When done the file transfer box will disappear.
5. Now check that all the data you copied is on the USB device.

Advanced Info: It can also be a good idea to backup some other folders as some user/program data is also stored in some hidden folders in the user area and elsewhere on the computer – read this guide to find out how to view and backup hidden AppData and ProgramData folder.