Backing up your entire Windows 10 computer is an important step to prevent data loss. A full backup allows you to restore your entire system in case of hardware failure, theft, ransomware attack or other catastrophic events. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk through all the steps and options for backing up your Windows 10 PC.
Why is a Full Backup Necessary?
There are a few key reasons why a full backup is recommended for Windows 10 systems:
- Protect against hardware failure – If your hard drive crashes or your laptop is damaged, a full backup allows you to restore the entire contents of your computer.
- Recovery from ransomware or malware – Ransomware and other malware can encrypt or corrupt system files and data. A full backup gives you an unaffected copy to restore from.
- Migration to a new PC – When purchasing a new Windows computer, a full backup lets you transfer over all your applications, settings and files.
- Ability to revert to a previous state – If a software update causes issues or a new app negatively impacts performance, you can revert back to an earlier backup.
Without a full backup, recovering individual files and folders from a catastrophe is difficult and time consuming. A backup provides insurance against data loss scenarios.
Backup Options for Windows 10
There are a few main options available for backing up your Windows 10 PC:
- File backup – This backs up specific files and folders you select, but not usually system or program files.
- System image – Creates an exact copy of the entire contents of your drives, including operating system and installed programs.
- Clone backup – Makes an identical copy of your full drive that can be restored or swapped out.
- Cloud backup – Backs up files by uploading them to an online cloud storage provider.
For a full backup of your entire Windows 10 system, a system image or clone backup is recommended. Let’s look at how to create system image and clone backups in more detail.
Using Windows 10 File History
Windows 10 has a built-in file backup utility called File History. This allows you to backup your personal files like documents, photos, videos and desktop files. While File History is useful for protecting your own files, it does not back up the full system or programs.
Here is how to setup and use Windows 10 File History:
- Connect an external hard drive or USB drive to your computer. This is where your file backup will be saved.
- Go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup in Windows 10.
- Under “Backup Settings” select “Add a drive” and choose your external drive.
- Toggle “Automatically back up my files” to On.
- Under “More options” you can customize the backup frequency and what folders to include.
- File History will now automatically backup your files periodically to the external drive.
The advantage of File History is that it is simple and automatic. It serves as a good complement to a full system backup for protecting your personal files.
Creating a System Image Backup
A system image backup in Windows 10 will create an exact snapshot of your entire system – including the operating system, installed apps, settings and files. This can be used to fully restore your PC or move the image to new hardware.
Follow these steps to create a system image in Windows 10:
- Attach an external hard drive with enough storage for a full system image. A 500GB or 1TB drive is recommended.
- Type “Create a System Image” in the Windows 10 search bar and select it.
- Choose the external drive under “On a hard disk”.
- Check the drives (C:, D: etc) that you want to image.
- Windows will create a system image of your selected drives and save it to the external hard drive.
- The image creation process can take over an hour depending on your system size and external drive speed.
It is recommended to create a new system image every few months or when you make major system changes. Store the external drive in a safe location away from your computer.
Restoring from a System Image
If your system fails or needs to be restored, you can recover from a system image backup using the following steps:
- Boot into the Windows 10 Recovery Environment. This can be done by booting from the Windows install media and choosing “Repair your computer”.
- Select “Troubleshoot” > “Advanced options” > “System Image Recovery”.
- Choose your system image location and the backup to restore from. This will typically be an external drive.
- Select additional restore options like drives to format and restore. Choose “Just remove my files” to do a factory reset.
- Initiate the system image recovery process. Your PC configuration will be restored to the state captured in the image.
- Once completed, you can reboot back into Windows and your system should be recovered.
Cloning Your Windows 10 Drive
Creating a clone backup in Windows 10 will directly copy your entire storage drive to another drive or partition. This produces an exact duplicate that can be swapped out in case of failure or migrated to new hardware.
Here are some ways to clone a drive in Windows 10:
- Use the built-in imaging tools from hard drive manufacturers like Acronis True Image or Samsung Data Migration Software.
- Employ third party cloning software like Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Backupper or EaseUS Todo Backup.
- Attach your current hard drive externally using a USB dock or enclosure. Then use imaging software to clone the drive to a new one.
When cloning, you need enough free space on the destination drive to copy the full contents of your source drive. Any data on the destination will also be overwritten.
Cloning advantages include simplerrestore, direct swap capability and easier drive upgrades. It provides fast whole-system recovery but does require more upfront work than system images.
Restore from a Clone Backup
Restoring from a clone backup involves physically swapping out the failed source drive with the backup clone drive. This is a simple swap operation if cloning was done properly. The steps include:
- Power down the system and open the computer case.
- Disconnect the cabling from the source drive and remove it from the PC.
- Insert the cloned backup drive into the same bay and reconnect the power/data cables.
- You may need to change the boot order in BIOS so the clone drive boots first.
- Power system back on. The clone drive should boot directly to your working Windows environment.
With a cloned drive, you avoid having to reinstall Windows, apps, drivers, etc and can quickly get back to a working state.
Backing up to the Cloud
For offsite protection and backup portability, you can additionally backup your Windows 10 system to the cloud. This involves uploading critical files to cloud storage providers like OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud.
Benefits of cloud backup include:
- Access your backup from anywhere with an internet connection.
- Prevents data loss from local disasters like fires, floods or theft.
- Many cloud services provide versioning to recover previous file states.
- Sync capabilities keep cloud copies up to date automatically.
However, there are some downsides to cloud backups:
- Initial backup upload can be very slow over the internet.
- Ongoing sync can consume bandwidth and impact performance.
- Most consumer services have storage limits from 5GB to 2TB.
- Privacy and security concerns with storing data externally.
Here are some best practices for cloud backup:
- Focus on backing up important documents, media files and other data.
- Use broadband internet for faster uploading.
- Enable file versioning in your cloud service settings.
- Encrypt sensitive files before backing them up to the cloud.
- Check that your cloud provider has strong security protections.
Cloud backup works best as a supplement to local onsite options like system images and file clones for full disaster recovery.
Automating Your Backups
Manually running backups can be time consuming and easy to forget. Luckily there are options to automate backup tasks in Windows 10.
For file backups, enabling the “Automatically back up my files” option in File History will run periodic backups per your settings without intervention.
System images and drive clones can be scheduled a few ways:
- In built-in Windows 10 backup tools, choose “Schedule” when creating a system image to set a recurrences like monthly.
- Use the Windows Task Scheduler to activate third party imaging utilities on a schedule.
- Specialized backup software like Macrium Reflect has scheduling capabilities built-in.
When backing up to the cloud, cloud storage services run continuous sync processes to upload changed files in real time. This acts as constant automated protection of your cloud-based backup.
Automating your different backup solutions provides “set it and forget it” protection without having to remember to manually run jobs.
Conclusion
Performing a full backup of your Windows 10 system is critical to protect against data loss events. We covered the key options including file backup with File History, system image creation, drive cloning and cloud-based backup.
A holistic approach would be to use local system images or drive clones for full system protection, File History for convenient file backup, and cloud storage for supplemental offsite protection and remote access.
Automating and scheduling your backup jobs removes human error and ensures your systems are continuously protected. Follow these Windows 10 backup best practices and you can greatly mitigate the risks of hardware failure, ransomware, file corruption and other problems.