Backing up my full computer


bryan123

New member
Local time
10:05 AM
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21
OS
Windows 11 Home
How would i backup my whole computer just in case of anything to external hard drive? My laptop has an SSD drive. Whats the best way to back up? First time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win-7-10-11Pro's
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 17" Nitro 7840sn/ 2x16gb 5600c40/ 4060/ stock 1tb-os/ 4tb sn850x
    CPU
    10900k & 9940x & 5930k
    Motherboard
    z490-Apex & x299-Apex & x99-Sabertooth
    Memory
    Trident-Z Royal 4000c16 2x16gb & Trident-Z 3600c16 4x8gb & 3200c14 4x8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Titan Xp & 1080ti FTW3 & evga 980ti gaming
    Sound Card
    Onboard Realtek x3
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1-AOC G2460PG 24"G-Sync 144Hz/ 2nd 1-ASUS VG248QE 24"/ 3rd LG 43" series
    Screen Resolution
    1920-1080 not sure what the t.v is besides 43" class scales from 1920-1080 perfectly
    Hard Drives
    2-WD-sn850x 4tb/ 970evo+500gb/ 980 pro 2tb.
    PSU
    1000p2 & 1200p2 & 850p2
    Case
    D450 x2 & 1 Test bench in cherry Entertainment center
    Cooling
    Custom water loops x3 with 2x mora 360mm rads only 980ti gaming air cooled
    Keyboard
    G710+x3
    Mouse
    Redragon x3
    Internet Speed
    xfinity gigabyte
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    mbam pro
There's a poll on imaging and back up software that gives a list of programs you can use. But basically you want to make an image of your drive onto an external hard drive. Then if you ever lose everything or the drive fails, you just restore the image. There are various other ways to back up regularly as well - some more sophisticated than others. A good idea to back up personal files separately as well. So for those you can just copy and paste them to an external drive (but you need a different external drive for images as that needs to be set to ntfs - the same as the drive in the computer). Whichever program you decide to use, it has the facility to make a recovery drive on a usb stick. So if you ever need to restore the image you made, you use the recovery usb to enable the image to restore.

I make an image of the computer set up from new with all the programs you want installed. That's a basic image to get you back and set up and then you can re-install all your files. Another alternative, if a drive fails and you have to replace it, is do a clean install of windows but then you need to reinstall all your programs again.

Macrium is very popular. Maybe try a couple and see which one you like using best. I'm currently using EaseUs Todo.


 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
How would i backup my whole computer just in case of anything to external hard drive? My laptop has an SSD drive. Whats the best way to back up? First time.
In being partial there are many choices out in the market that will back up your system just fine, not just Macrium.

You just need to have an understanding of what you wish to accomplish - do you need an image or data backup program? Yes, some will do both, but some will better suit to a particular task - for me, I prefer Acronis for data backups, but for disk imaging, Macrium.

Example when I reinstall my OS, I simply install Acronis and restore the data I backed up (Documents, Photos, Music, etc) back to the OS. If I'm going to be doing say some disk maintenance, I create a disk image so if something happens, I can restore the OS and all its contents back without having to reinstall the OS and all its data.

Point is there are many choices to choose from based on what your philosophy (choice) is.

Here's but one read, but like anything else not all will agree. Anyway I post not for the point of getting you to chose one of those but to pay more attention to the "What to look for in backup software" section. Again, not all inclusive, but a good basis - Best Windows backup software 2021: Free and paid options reviewed

Good Luck.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (Build 22631.3296)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    Intel i9-9900K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Aorus Z390 Xtreme
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair RGB Dominator Platinum (3600Mhz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon VII
    Sound Card
    Onboard (ESS Sabre HiFi using Realtek drivers)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    NEC PA242w (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    5 Samsung SSD drives: 2X 970 NVME (512 & 1TB), 3X EVO SATA (2X 2TB, 1X 1TB)
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova I000 G2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Cooler Master H500M
    Cooling
    Corsair H115i RGB Platinum
    Keyboard
    Logitech Craft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    500mb Download. 11mb Upload
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    System used for gaming, photography, music, school.
  • Operating System
    Win 10 Pro 22H2 (build 19045.2130)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Intel i7-7700K
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-Z270X-GAMING 8
    Memory
    32G (4x8) DDR4 Corsair Dominator Platinum (3333Mhz)
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R9 Fury
    Sound Card
    Onboard (Creative Sound Blaster certified ZxRi)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U2415 (24 inch)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    3 Samsung SSD drives: 1x 512gig 950 NVMe drive (OS drive), 1 x 512gig 850 Pro, 1x 256gig 840 Pro.
    PSU
    EVGA Super Nova 1000 P2 (1000 watt)
    Case
    Phantek Enthoo Luxe
    Cooling
    Corsair H100i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 710
    Internet Speed
    100MB
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
    Other Info
    This is my backup system.
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