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How to backup data on your computer. Backup folder and files How to make a backup folder

Regularity. Creating backups should be as regular as brushing your teeth in the morning.
Examination. Check the backup you just made. It will be very disappointing if, at a particularly tense moment, your lifesaver turns out to be a dummy. Open several files from the archive and make sure they work.
Separateness. It is better to store backups not in one place, but in at least two. For example, on an external hard drive and in the cloud. After all, disks sometimes fail, and cloud storage may not be available at the right time.
Demarcation. Divide what you plan to store into several clear categories. Data of varying importance require different approaches to archiving.

System solutions

Windows

Windows has a standard backup and recovery tool that allows you to save both individual files and an entire image from which you can restore the system in the event of a failure.

Windows 7

Go to the “Control Panel” by left-clicking on the “Start” button and selecting the appropriate item. In “Control Panel” select “System and Security” → “Backup computer data” → “Set up backup”.

Next, the system will ask you to specify a location to save the archive. Please note: if you want to backup data from drive C, you will not be able to save it there. To do this, you will have to select another medium, for example a second physical disk, flash drive, DVD or folder in local network. If we recall the principles of creating a backup, the archive must be stored on a separate medium, and not on the very computer from which the copy was made.

Next, the system will prompt you to automatically or manually select folders for archiving. Click on “Give me a choice” and in the window that opens, check the boxes for the folders you want to save. Click Next → Save settings and exit.

Now the “Archive” button appears in the “Backup or restore files” window. Clicking on it will start the process of archiving your data.

Recovery follows the same principle. To do this, click on the item “Select another backup to restore files” and indicate the one into which the backup was made.

Windows 8 and above

The built-in File History tool allows for real-time archiving. For it to work, only initial setup is required.

Go to "Control Panel". To do this, click on the “Start” button with the right mouse button and context menu find the line you need.

As a storage location, select a disk other than the system one, a flash drive, or a network folder. Click Enable.

“File History” will automatically copy the following libraries: “Documents”, “Music”, “Images”, “Videos” - and standard user folders: Windows, “Desktop”, “Favorites”.

By default, backups are made every hour, but you can change this time, for example, to 10 minutes. However, this will require more disk space. The retention time for each copy can be configured in the Advanced Options menu.

macOS

Time Machine is a standard Apple solution designed for creating backup copies of applications, files and folders, documents, videos, and music.

To use Time Machine, you will need third-party storage, such as a flash drive, external hard drive, or network solution.

When connecting an external drive to Mac computer You should be prompted: should I use it as a backup storage? Select "Use as backup drive."

If the window does not appear, you must select the backup disk manually:

go to the menu and open Time Machine settings;
click on “Select backup disk”;
select the one you need and click on “Use disk”.

Backups will be automatically created once per hour, copies for the past month - every day, and backups for the entire time - every week. Don't be afraid that the capacity of your hard drive will be small. Time Machine will only save changed information, and old copies will be automatically deleted as disk space becomes full.

Android

Android Backup Service

Designed to create data backups Google accounts. With its help you can save:

data about Wi-Fi networks;
desktop wallpaper;
Gmail settings;
Google Play apps;
language and input settings;
date and time;
row settings third party applications.

To create a backup you need:

open device settings;
go to “Personal data” → “Restore and reset”;
enable "Data backup".

To restore data on another device, just log in with your account. To restore the settings of saved applications, go to “Personal data” → “Recovery and reset” → “Auto recovery”.

Synchronization

Android provides a standard synchronization tool that allows you to save user contacts, applications installed from Google Play, calendar, display settings, languages and input methods, Google data Drive and settings of some third-party applications. The tool requires a Google account.

Synchronization in Android is enabled by default. If you want to get the latest backup copy, do the following:

open your phone settings;
in the “Accounts and Synchronization” section, select Google;
Check the required boxes and click “Synchronize”.

The data will automatically be sent to Google cloud storage. To restore them on another Android device, just connect your account to it.

You can also synchronize most popular accounts: Skype, Telegram, Viber and VKontakte. To sync photos and images, Android has a built-in Google Photo solution.

iOS

iTunes

Universal Apple app to receive and play content. Allows you to locally save data from a device connected to a computer under Windows control or macOS. This is especially convenient when you do not have Internet access.

To create a copy when iTunes Help do the following:

connect the device to the computer;
go to the “Devices” tab;
click "Sync".

photos;
notes;
contact list;
calendar;
SMS/MMS messages;
Safari browser;
access point settings;
application data;
main screen view.

iCloud

Cloud service for storing user data. Like any cloud, it has two limitations: the need for Internet access and a relatively small (5 GB) amount of free allocated space.

To save data using iCloud on your device, open Settings → iCloud → Backup copy" and start the copy creation process.

Saved in iCloud:

purchase history in the App Store;
photos;
Phone settings;
application data;
main screen view;
ringtones;
voice mail.

Software

Windows

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: There is.

A simple solution for creating backups. Allows you to save both individual files (photos, music or movies) and mail files, for example from Microsoft Outlook or TheBat.

In the main program window, click “Create a new task” → “Create a backup copy”. From the directory tree, select the data you want to save. In our case, this will be the “Music” folder on the desktop.

Finally, give the task a name and click Finish. Archiving is complete.

Data recovery is performed using the same principle. Select the saved backup copy, and then select the location where you want to restore it.

The trial period for using the program is 30 days. The developers offer to purchase the full basic version for 800 rubles. There are other versions of Handy Backup - Professional and Expert. Their capabilities are much wider and tailored to professional needs; for our purposes, the Standard version is quite sufficient.

License: shareware.

Russian language support: No.

Another solution for creating backups and recovering lost files. The interface is so simple and clear that even the lack of Russian language will not be an obstacle.

First of all, choose where to save your data. Let it be a removable drive E.

The next step is to specify the data to be saved. The program offers both a smart selection, where you can mark desktop files, system folders “Pictures” or “Videos”, and a directory tree at once. Go to it and save the already familiar “Music” folder.

After clicking on the checkbox, the archiving window will open. On the selected drive, the program automatically creates a Genie TineLine folder, where it places the saved files.

Save and restore functions are available in the basic version of Genie Timeline Free. The advanced paid versions of Genie Timeline Home and Genie Timeline Pro have much greater capabilities: sending notifications by email, highly secure data encryption, and setting up a schedule. But for saving home files, the Free version is quite enough.

Genie TineLine has an iOS app that allows you to check the status of your backups on your computer.

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: There is.

A powerful tool for creating backups and restoring data. You can store backups not only on physical disks, but also on Acronis’s own cloud service. However, for this you will have to subscribe for a year, and the amount of space provided will depend on the tariff plan. With a standard subscription, 50 GB are allocated, when purchasing a premium version - from 1 TB.

Immediately after installation, the program prompts you to choose what data to send to the copy: from the entire computer, from disks and partitions, or individual folders.

Select "Files and folders" and select the ones you need. Let this again be the “Music” folder on the desktop. Click "OK" and proceed to select storage.

Select flash drive E, click “OK” → “Create a copy” again. A copy of the “Music” folder has been created on a flash drive.

Acronis also has other useful features. For example, “Archive” allows you to free up disk space by packing files big size, and the Disk Cloning tool will create a complete copy of local disks, which will allow you to restore in case of failure the initial state systems.

The cost of the program is 2,700 rubles. A standard subscription for a year will cost users 2,400 rubles, an extended one - 5,100 rubles. Mobile applications work in conjunction with the desktop version and are downloaded for free.

macOS

Carbon Cope Cloner

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: No.

A utility for creating a duplicate disk. Russian language support is not provided, but understanding the interface will not be difficult.

In Source Disk, select the drive you want to copy. In Target Disk, specify the location to store the copy. Start the process with the Clone button.

The free period of using the program is 30 days. After Carbon Cope Cloner will cost 2,405.65 rubles.

Android

License: shareware.

Russian language support: There is.

A convenient solution for creating backups and synchronizing applications on Android that does not require root rights. However, for full operation you will have to install Helium on a computer running Windows, Linux or macOS.

After installing the application on your smartphone, you will immediately receive a notification about the need for the desktop version. To make installation easier and save time, the program offers to send a link to a user-friendly messenger or email. From there follow the link to the program website, download and run. Installation in the style “Next” → “Next” → “OK” does not cause any difficulties.

While the program is installing, mobile app asks to connect the phone to the computer and enable USB debugging.

After receiving a notification about successful synchronization, you can disconnect your smartphone from the computer.

Open the mobile application. From the list installed programs select the ones you need and click on the “Reservation” button. Specify where the backup will be stored and wait for the process to complete.

To restore from a backup, go to the “Restore and Synchronization” tab, specify the storage location with the copy, select required applications and click "Recovery".

The basic version of the program is free, the cost of the extended version is 149.86 rubles.

The extended version allows:

disable advertising;
set up scheduled backups;
enable synchronization between Android devices;
save data in the cloud.

Owners will not be able to install the application Motorola devices and some Sony models.

License: shareware.

Russian language support: There is.

Most popular among users Android tool for application backup. Requires root access to the device.

To create a backup copy of one or more applications, open the "Backups" tab, which presents full list installed software. Exclamation mark next to the application indicates that a copy has not yet been created for it. The phone icon means that the program is stored on internal memory devices. The SD card icon indicates applications stored on the memory card.

Select the application and click “Save” in the menu that opens.

The backup has been created. Now, if you enter the application again, you can see the “Restore” button.

Titanum Backup supports group work with applications and backups. To do this, go to “Menu” → “Batch actions”.

This function allows you to:

check backups - both recently created and entire ones - for errors;
make backup copies of all installed applications;
make backup copies of all system data;
delete old backups;
restore all backups;
restore all system data;
clear application cache;
remove system or user applications.

The functionality of Titanium Backup is much broader, but for our purposes the listed capabilities are quite sufficient.

The extended version of Titanium Backup costs 349 rubles. Its main features:

creating multiple backups for the application;
encryption of reserved data;
checking all archives;
batch freezing and unfreezing of applications;
synchronization of backups with the cloud.

iOS

iMazing

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: There is.

Compatibility: Microsoft Windows, macOS.

Actually it's file manager with provision for backup. In many ways it is similar to iTunes, but working in it is much easier and more enjoyable. You can transfer data both via cable and via Wi-Fi, and in iMazing there is no limit on the number of connected devices.

When you connect your device to your computer, iMazing automatically makes a backup of it. The function of changing data directly in a saved copy is very useful: the next time you connect, the changed data is instantly synchronized.

The free period is 30 days, after which you will have to pay $39.99 for use on one computer.

License: commercial software.

Russian language support: No.

Compatibility: iOS.

A tool for backing up devices with . Allows you to save notes, contacts, photos, messages, call history and much more.

To create a backup, just select what you want to save and click on the corresponding icon. A copy can be stored on your smartphone, computer, in the cloud, or sent by email.

To restore data, click on the Restore button in the menu on the left side of the screen.

BackupAZ costs $2.99.

iLex

License: free software.

Russian language support: There is.

Compatibility: iOS.

And this software product will require you to have a jailbreak. Free app iLex allows you to save absolutely any data from your device, and you don’t need a computer to operate it.

Having created a backup copy, save it where it is convenient for you, and after flashing the device or in case of loss, copy the archive to your phone and restore the necessary information.

Cydia

License: free software.

Russian language support: There is.

To do this, just go to Manage Accounts, enter your account and select Installable Purchases. But this can only be done for purchased applications. Cydia does not save information about free ones.

Cloud solutions

Google Drive

License: shareware.

Russian language support: There is.

Compatibility:

Allows you to store user data on Google servers, differentiate access rights to files and folders, open access and share them with other Internet users.

Storage includes:

Google Drive - used to store files;
Gmail - stores the user's contacts and is a powerful email client;
Google Photo - automatically finds images on devices and saves them to the cloud.

15 GB is provided for free. For larger volumes you will have to pay from $2.99 to $299. Maximum volume storage is 30 TB, and file download is 5 TB.

2 GB of storage is available for free use. The cost of 1 TB will be 9.99 euros. Unlimited space can be purchased for 10 euros per month.

Yandex.Disk

License: shareware.

Russian language support: There is.

Compatibility: browsers, Microsoft Windows, macOS, Android, iOS.

Cloud service of Russian origin, former Yandex.People. Like previous solutions, it allows you to save data in the cloud and share it with other Internet users. Supports synchronization between different devices.

Users are provided with 10 GB free of charge. For an additional 10 GB, Yandex asks to pay an additional 30 rubles, for 100 GB - 80 rubles, and the cost of 1 TB will be only 200 rubles.

This article will talk about the process of setting up a backup of the files and entire folders you need (so as not to lose them forever in the event of a hard drive failure or in any other cases) using a convenient archiving tool in Windows 8 and Windows 10, called “File History”. " This will allow you to always have a backup copy of the files and folders you need on another hard drive, since they will be backed up automatically and with the regularity you set.

More information about what a backup is, what it is like and by what means it can be performed is described in a separate article -

It should be understood that saving a copy of only the necessary files and folders will not save the Windows system itself in the event of a failure. In simple words, if something happens to Windows itself and it stops starting, then using a saved backup copy of your files, you will not be able to restore the operation of Windows itself, you will only have a copy of your files! Windows will have to be restored using a special recovery copy or reinstalled from scratch.

In order for you to be able to restore Windows itself from a backup, you need to make a backup copy of the hard drive partition where it is installed with all the files necessary for its operation. For this purpose, a special Windows tool called "Archiving", which is described

The function of saving file history is available only in the latest versions of Windows: Windows 8 and Windows 10. In Windows 7, file history is saved only using recovery checkpoints, which is much less convenient. Moreover, you will not have direct access to copies of files saved in this way.

Enabling the regular backup feature and setting it up in Windows 10

First of all, before you start backing up files and folders, make sure that another separate hard drive is connected to your computer.

There is no point in creating a backup copy of data on the same hard drive (just in a different folder or on a different partition) from where you want to back up this same data. In this case, if the hard drive fails, you will lose both the originals of your files and what was saved in the copy, because it was all stored on the same drive! Always use a separate hard drive.

The file and folder backup feature in Windows 10 is called “Backup” and can be accessed through the “Start” menu > “Settings” > “Updates and Security” > “Backup”.

However, the easiest way to open this tool is through Windows Search.

Learn how to use search in different versions of Windows

Open search and type “Backup Options.” You can shorten it and enter, for example, “Reserve”. A “Backup Options” link will appear, which leads to exactly the tool you need.

You will be taken directly to the “Archiving Service” section (1). On the right, click “Add a disk” (2) and in the window that appears, select a separate hard drive (3) that has enough free space to accommodate copies of all the files you want to back up.

For example, I have a separate 500 GB hard drive. (465 GB available for recording), and important information On the computer that I constantly need to back up, there is approximately 300 GB of storage. This means a 500 GB hard drive. quite suitable.

Backup will start automatically immediately after you select the drive where your copies will be stored.

At the very top of the window you need to select:

Backup frequency (1). Here you choose how often your file backups will be created and updated. There are options, for example, every 10 minutes, every few hours, daily.

If you work a lot on the computer and during the day many of your files change and are updated a lot, you can set a period, for example, every hour. This will further reduce the risk of data loss. But even daily copying will be enough.

How long to keep your backups. Here it is better to leave the “Always” parameter set initially. This means that the storage time of your copies will be unlimited. Or you can select the “Until free space is needed” mode. In this case, old copies will be stored as long as there is enough space on your hard drive for them. Once there is not enough space, the copies will be deleted and newer versions of the files will take their place.

Below will be a list of folders that are automatically included in the backup list as standard. You can remove unnecessary folders or add some of your own. To add your own folders, the files in which you want to backup, click “Add folder”.

A Windows Explorer window will open where you will need to select the folder you want to back up.

To delete a folder, select it from the list and click “Delete”.

When the backup is complete, at the top of the options you will see information about when it was last completed, as well as the hard drive capacity to store copies and the total size of the backup copy.

You can always start the backup again manually, without waiting for automatic operation, by clicking the “Back up data now” button.

If you suddenly decide to change the disk for storing backups, then click the “Stop using disk” button below.

You can then add another drive to which your backups will continue to be stored.

Restoring files and folders from a backup

If something happens to your original files, you can always restore them using a backup copy. To do this, in the settings of the archiving service, click on the link below “Restore files from the current backup”.

A recovery window will open, where in the central window all those folders that you configured to be backed up will be visible:

To restore a file or folder, select it and click the arrow button at the bottom (1). If you want to move to the previous folder, i.e. the main folder, then click the up arrow (2) at the top left. You can navigate between different versions of your files using the forward and back buttons (3). For example, a copy was created today at 20:00 and even earlier at 16:00. You are not happy with the file changes that were saved as a result of the last backup and you want to revert the changes made after 16:00. Therefore, you need to select an earlier version and restore the desired file.

However, what to do if you no longer have access to Windows 10 with its backup options... I.e. you will not be able to recover files using the tool described above. Then there is another option - simply copying the necessary files from the disk where you store backups. Go to required disk and you will see the “FileHistory” folder there.

It will already have a folder with the name of the drive(s) from which you made the backup. Select the desired drive and then you will see all the folders that you backed up and the files in them. All that remains is to open the desired folder and copy from it the desired file, the backup copy of which you are looking for. date and time last change file will be indicated in brackets:

Features of backup in Windows 8

In this operating system, the functionality of automatic regular backup of files and folders lags behind what is in Windows 10; I would say it is not finalized.

The main difference is that in Windows 8 you cannot select any folders for backup, since you can only make copies of the following folders and files in them: “Documents”, “Music”, “Pictures”, “Videos”, “Desktop” . Those. If you store something on some other partition of your hard drive or, for example, directly in the root folder of drive C, then these files will not be backed up because they are not included in the above list of backed up folders. Based on this, in order to use backup in Windows 8 and not lose important data, store them in the above folders and this will be enough. That is, for example, all the photos are in the “Images” folder, the videos are in the “Video” folder, and all sorts of other files are in “Documents”.

The functionality for creating backups on this system can be accessed by going to Control Panel > System and Security > File History.

However, it’s easier to open Windows search, type the query “History” (1) and a link to the desired “File History” tool (2) will appear.

In the window that opens, click “Change Disk”.

From the list of available hard drives(1) select the one you want to back up files to and click OK (2).

The backup function will automatically start and the backup process will begin.

You can configure the frequency of backups, as well as the duration of their storage, by going to the “Advanced settings” section.

Working with file recovery was discussed above, using Windows 10 as an example. See

Conclusion

Backup in the form of file history in Windows 10 is implemented very conveniently, so I recommend that all users of this system use it! In Windows 8, everything is very similar, but with one drawback - you cannot add any folders for backup, i.e. only those specified by the system. In principle, this is not so bad, you can easily adapt to storing all your files in the necessary folders (videos, images, documents, music, desktop), at the same time there will be order :)
Always back up your data on a regular basis, otherwise you risk losing everything in one moment and not being able to recover it!

Have a nice day and good mood! ;)

This may be required both when reinstalling Windows on an old computer, and to transfer files and settings from an old computer to a new one. After this, we will consider in detail all the nuances of installation, and.

1. What files need to be copied

If you are reinstalling Windows on an old computer, then you need to make a backup copy of all the files you need located on the “C” drive. The easiest way is to copy them to another disk partition (for example, to drive “D”). You can also copy them to an external drive, flash drive, DVDs, another computer or cloud storage on the Internet.

Don't forget to copy files from the desktop and from standard user folders such as "My Documents", "My Pictures", etc., as they are usually located on the "C" drive, which will be cleared in the process Windows installations. Go through other folders on drive “C”, in case there is something you need there that you forgot about.

2. Copying files to another disk partition

First, determine how much space there is on the disk partition where you plan to copy files (for example, on drive “D”). To do this, right-click on the selected drive and select “Properties”.

Look at the volume indicated in the “Free” column.

Then select the folders and files that you want to copy with the mouse, right-click on any of the selected elements, select “Properties”.

Make sure they will fit on the selected disk partition.

If your files fit on the selected disk, click on any of the selected elements and select “Copy”.

Then go to the disk partition where you wanted to copy your files (I made the “Backup” folder on drive “D”), right-click and select “Paste.”

Wait until copying finishes. You can copy other folders and files in the same way. If your disk does not have a second partition or there is not enough space on it, then use other copying methods listed below.

3. Copying files to a flash drive

Copying files to a flash drive is done in the same way as copying to another partition of the hard drive.
Transcend JetFlash 790 8Gb

Also remember to make sure that there is enough space on the flash drive.

There is a more convenient way to copy to a flash drive. Select with your mouse the folders and files that you want to copy, right-click on any of them, select “Send” - “Removable disk (F.” The files will immediately begin to be copied to the flash drive, this is very convenient!

Instead of “Removable disk (F”), the name of the flash drive manufacturer or another label specified by the user may be displayed; the drive letter may also differ, for example, “Transcend (G”).

4. Using the Total Commander program

Using the Total Commander program, copying files is much more convenient. You can download the program itself below in the “” section. After installation, open "Total Commander" using the desktop shortcut. Click the mouse on the number indicated on the screen (1, 2 or 3).

In one panel, select the folder into which you want to copy the files, and in the other panel, select the files and folders you want to copy and press “F5”.

This is very convenient because you don't have to switch between multiple windows to copy files. File selection can be done using the mouse in combination with the “Ctrl” or “Shift” buttons, or using the “Insert” button and the arrows on the keyboard.

5. Copy files to DVD

If you do not have an additional partition on the disk or a flash drive, then you can copy your files to DVDs. I recommend using DVD-R discs 16x. One such disk can hold 4.38 GB of data. Buy disks based on at least 1 spare disk for every 5 disks.

Windows XP has a built-in disc burning tool, but, unfortunately, it is not suitable for us, since it does not have the function of checking the disc after burning. If you have a disc burning program (such as Nero), you can use it. We will use a simple free program"Astroburn", which you can download below in the "" section. There is nothing complicated in installing the program, just run the downloaded file and click “Next” several times.

After that, insert a blank disc into the DVD drive and close the AutoPlay window if it appears. Find the "Astroburn Lite" shortcut on your desktop or Start menu and launch the program. After launch it is automatically created new project. To add folders and files to a project, simply drag them into the program window.

You can also use the toolbar along the right border of the program window to add and remove files from the project.

If the volume of files added to the project does not fit on the disk, then delete files or folders from the project that exceed the size.

After you eliminate the excess volume, make sure the “Check” checkbox is checked. I recommend setting the recording speed to 8x. Click "Start Recording".

Wait for the recording to finish and a message that everything was successful. If an error or freeze occurs while burning a disc, try burning the files again to a new disc. If the error occurs again, your DVD drive may be malfunctioning. Don't forget to write to the next disk the files that you removed from the project due to excess space.

6. Copy files to another computer

If you have a second computer or laptop, you can copy the files to it. This can be done using a flash drive in several steps. Or you can transfer files over a local network. We will not consider how to set up a local network in this article; you can look for this information on the Internet or ask a knowledgeable friend to help set it up. Let's assume that your network is already configured. Let's create a folder on the second computer and open access to it over the network.

6.1. Sharing a folder in Windows XP

First of all, make sure that there is enough space on the computer drive where you want to copy your files (for example, on the “D” drive). To do this, right-click on the selected drive and select “Properties”.

Now create a new folder where you want to copy your files. For example, “Backup”, which means backup. Right-click on this folder and select “Sharing and Security.”

If the message “If you understand...” appears, as in the screenshot below, left-click on it.

If the message “Enable public access to files" as in the screenshot below, select "Just enable file sharing" and click "OK".

Now check the boxes “Share this folder”, “Allow editing files over the network” and click “OK”.

A hand should appear under the folder, as in the screenshot below. This means that it is publicly accessible.

6.2. Sharing a folder in Windows 7

Right-click on the folder you want to share and select “Sharing\Specific Users...”.

Enter "Everyone" and click the "Add" button.

Click on the line that appears, select “Read and Write” and click the “Sharing” button.

The folder is open for public access and you can already copy files to it over the network.

6.3. Copying files over a network

Copying files over a network is no different from copying files from one folder to another. Select the folders and files that you want to copy with the mouse, right-click on any of the selected elements, select “Properties” and make sure that they will fit on the disk of the second computer on which you created the folder with network access.

Click on any of the selected elements and select “Copy”.

Now open File Explorer using the My Computer icon or any folder. In the left pane, find “Network Neighborhood” and find in it your second computer with the network folder you created. I already had a "Backup" folder where my backups are located.

Right-click either on the folder itself or in any empty space and select “Paste.” The files will be copied over the network as if they were in a regular folder. Wait for the copying to finish; if there is a large volume of files and a slow network, it may take a long time.

7. Copy files to the cloud

If your disk does not have a second partition (for example, drive “D”), a large flash drive, a DVD drive and a second computer, or there is not enough free space, but there is fast Internet, then you can back up your files to cloud storage on the Internet.

There are many paid and free services, which provide their disk space for storing user files. Here we will consider only the simplest and free means. These are Google Drive, Yandex Drive and Cloud Mail.ru. “Google Drive” provides 15 GB for free, “Yandex Disk” – 10 GB, “Mail.ru Cloud” – 100 GB. Additional space can be purchased for a small monthly fee. But no one bothers you to register several accounts (accounts) in these services, which is not so convenient, but it is free.

Let's consider Cloud Mail.ru, since this service provides the largest amount of free file storage. In order to use this service you need to register on the website “mail.ru”. If you already have a mailbox at mail.ru, then you do not need to register. Go to the “” website and, if necessary, enter your username (mailbox) and password. In order to copy your files to cloud storage, click on the “Download” button and select the required files. Or simply drag and drop your files and folders into the browser window using your mouse. Click on the picture to enlarge.

To download the files back, click the “Download” button. In this case, all or previously selected files will be downloaded in one ZIP archive, which can be unpacked after downloading. By right-clicking on a specific file, you can download it separately.

Mail.ru cloud has a limitation maximum size file is 2 GB and uploading to it is slower than to Google Drive () or Yandex Drive (). Otherwise, these services work similarly, so we will not consider them.

8. Backup browser bookmarks

Make a backup of your bookmarks in the browser you use. These bookmarks can be restored to any browser after Windows reinstallation. If several people use the computer and each has their own account, then this needs to be done for each user.

8.1. Internet Explorer browser

Go to the “File\Import and Export...” menu.

Select Export Favorites.

Click the "Browse..." button, indicate where you want to save the file and its name. I recommend saving it in a folder with all other backups, for example, “Backup”.

8.2. Browser Mozilla Firefox

Use the “Show all bookmarks” command or the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+B”.

Then “Import and backups\Export bookmarks to HTML file.”

8.3. Google Chrome browser

Open the “Bookmark Manager” through the “Bookmarks” menu or using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+O”.

Use the "Manage\Export bookmarks to HTML file" function.

Select a location, file name and click Save.

8.4. Opera browser (up to v.12)

If you are using the Opera browser on an old engine (up to v.12 inclusive), go to the menu “Opera\Bookmarks\Manage Bookmarks...” or use the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+B”.

From the File menu, select "Export as HTML...".

Select a location, file name and click Save.

8.5. Opera browser (v.15 and higher)

If you use the Opera browser on the Chromium engine (v.15 and higher), then, unfortunately, it does not have a function for exporting bookmarks. Instead, use the “Opera\Sync...” function.

Click "Create an account!"

Enter your address Email(e-mail), a new password for the Opera bookmark synchronization service, a verification code and click “Create an account”.

After this, your bookmarks will be synchronized with the Opera server. Write down your username and password in a text file in which your other passwords are stored or in a paper notepad. They will be useful for restoring bookmarks after reinstalling the system.

9. Accounts and passwords

Rewrite account passwords (Skype, mail, social networks, etc.). If you haven't done this yet, now is the time. I recommend creating a text file in Notepad and writing everything down in it. If you write in a notebook, then write in detail and legibly, otherwise you won’t understand what’s what later. I do not recommend using separate leaves for this, they tend to get lost.

10. Internet settings

Internet connection parameters, if they exist, should have been provided by the provider when concluding the contract. They can be written down in the contract itself, an appendix to it, or simply on a separate sheet. If the computer is connected via a router, then most likely there are no additional settings not required. If you have a laptop or computer connected via Wi-Fi, then you only need a password to the Wi-Fi network.

In any case, it doesn't hurt to check the network card settings.

10.1. Internet settings in Windows XP

Go to “Control Panel\Network Connections”. Right-click on “Local Area Connection” and select “Properties”.

Highlight Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and click Properties.

If you set the parameters to be received automatically, as in the screenshot below, then there is no need to write anything down.

If the parameters are indicated as in the screenshot below, then write them down or take a photo.

These numbers will need to be put back in place after reinstalling Windows. If in network connections If you have others, then just in case, look at their parameters.

10.2. Internet settings in Windows 7

Go to the "START\Control Panel" menu.

Right-click on “Local Area Connection” and select “Properties”.

Highlight Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click Properties.

If you set the parameters to be received automatically, then there is no need to write anything down. If the parameters are indicated, write them down or take a photo.

These numbers will need to be put back in place after installing Windows. If you have others in your network connections, then look at their parameters, just in case.

11. Program and game saving settings

Look at what programs you have installed and think about what files and settings you may still need and where they are located. Determine where the saves are for games that you have not completed and want to continue. They can be in the “My Documents” folder, in one of the user profile folders on the “C” drive. In Windows XP this is “C:\Documents and Settings\ Username", in Windows 7 - "C:\Users\ Username" Sometimes the settings are saved directly in the folder with the program or game in the folder “C:\Program Files\ The name of the program" If you don't find it, enter Google search or Yandex "settings" the name of the program" or "save name of the game».

There is a very convenient program “Migration Wizard” (“Transfer Wizard”), with which you can transfer program settings and game saves from Windows XP, 7 to Windows 7, 8. When restored, they will automatically go to the desired folders.

To make sure you don't miss anything, turn on showing hidden files and folders.

11.1. Enabling showing hidden files in Windows XP

Open File Explorer using the My Computer icon or any folder. Go to the “Tools\Folder Options...” menu.

Switch to the “View” tab, select with the mouse the lowest option “Show hidden files and folders" and click "OK".

11.2. Enabling showing hidden files in Windows 7

Open File Explorer using the My Computer icon or any folder. Go to the "Organize\Folder and Search Options" menu.

Switch to the View tab, scroll to the bottom of the window, select Show hidden files, folders and drives and click OK.

12. Using the Migration Wizard program

Next, we will look at how you can back up your files in the Migration Wizard program. You can download it below in the “” section. There are versions for 32 and 64 bit Windows. Windows XP on the vast majority of computers is 32-bit.

There is nothing complicated in installing the program, just download the file from the “” section, run it and click “Extract”. Find the Migration Wizard shortcut on your desktop, launch the program and click Next.

Select " External drive or USB device..."

Select "This is my source computer."

Wait while the program scans and displays the file sizes in user profiles.

Pay attention to the folders in which program and game settings are stored.

Windows XP

"C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data"

"C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Local Settings\Application Data"

Windows 7

"C:\Users\Username\AppData"

In my case, these folders only contain browser settings (Google, Mozilla and Opera), and since I already backed up my bookmarks, I don't need anything else here. But I found a save for the game “Borderlands 2” in the “My Documents\My Games” folder, which I did not complete. Also in the “My Documents” folder were projects from the video editor “Pinnacle Studio”. To save this data, I checked the appropriate folders.

Note that I didn't highlight the Favorites folder because we already saved bookmarks from Internet Explorer. I also did not check the boxes for the personal files folders “Downloads”, “History”, “Books”, “My Pictures”, “My Music”, “Miscellaneous”, since we should have already copied these folders to a safe place. And since they can take up a significant amount of space, there is no point in putting them in the parameter transfer file.

We do the same for the “Administrator” user. Uncheck all the boxes and click “Advanced”.

In this user's "Application Data" folder I found the "uTorrent" settings.

This means that the user uploaded files using this program. I decided to save the settings for it and checked the “uTorrent” folder. In the “Local Settings\Application Data” folder I found folders for several more programs. “QIP” – stores settings and message history of a popular exchange program text messages. “Skype” – stores settings and photos and other files received from users. “Wargaming.net” – we save the settings of the popular game “World of Tanks”, since we will reinstall this game on this computer In addition, saves for two more games were found in the “Documents - Administrator\My Games” folder.

We do the same for the “Common elements” item. Uncheck all the boxes and click “Advanced”.

Sometimes the necessary files may appear here.

In this case, in the “Program Files” folder I found the “ABBY Fine Reader” folder, in which I once saved the scanner settings file “Untitled.fbt”. I also found a folder on my HTC phone, which contained several dozen photos. If I had not done this, this data would have been irretrievably lost. But that's not all. On the “C” drive, the “Music” and “Photo” folders were ticked, which take up a large amount of space and which I had already copied to a safe place. Also, several folders on the “D” drive turned out to be selected, which there is no need to copy anywhere at all. Naturally, I unchecked all these boxes, otherwise I would have sat there until the morning and I still don’t know if there would be enough space on the flash drive...

After all the necessary folders are checked and unnecessary ones are unchecked, check how much data is left for archiving and click “Next”.

The amount of data should not be too large, since we transfer the bulk of files manually, and we use the “Transfer Wizard” only for program and game parameters. In my case it turned out to be 448.5 MB. If you copy this file to a flash drive, it is not advisable that it exceed 4 GB.

In the next step, you can set a password for the transfer file so that no one can access confidential information. Usually this is not required, but if for some reason you decide to do this, then do not forget the password; without it, you will not be able to recover the data.

You will see the following window indicating the file name and where it is saved. Check this information so you don’t have to look for it later and click “Next”.

In the next window, click “Close” and the program will completely exit.

The Migration Wizard program has several features. It cannot be used to transfer settings from Windows XP to Windows XP, but only to an older one Windows version 7 or 8. The transfer may not work from 64-bit Windows to 32-bit, but usually this is not required. It is desirable that the language of the operating systems be the same, but in most cases this is the case.

If you need to reinstall Windows XP, try one of the following:

“START\All Programs\Accessories\System Tools\Data Backup”
“START\All Programs\Accessories\System Tools\File and Settings Transfer Wizard”

13. Links

Hard Transcend disk StoreJet 25H3 2TB
Hard drive Transcend StoreJet 25M3 1 TB
Hard drive Transcend StoreJet 25M TS500GSJ25M 500 GB

The Windows 7 operating system has built-in archiving tools that allow you to back up your operating system. Windows systems and user data. Archiving will allow you to create a backup image of the system and other user data, with which you can restore the system after serious problems.

This article will provide an overview of using Windows 7's built-in backup tools. Built-in backup tools operating system, in terms of their capabilities, can satisfy most computer users.

How to make a backup? There are quite a lot of backup programs, among them such popular programs as, Nero BackItUp, Norton Ghost, Paragon Drive Backup Professional,. You can also back up your system without any help. third party programs using Windows archiving and backup tools.

Why is it advisable to make backups? Because, if you reinstall the Windows operating system for some reason, all data on your computer will be lost that is on the system drive. You will have to reinstall all programs and make other operating system settings.

Suddenly, due to hard drive failure or viruses, you may lose all your data, and lost data may not always be recovered by recovery specialists.

The way out of this situation is to create a backup copy of the system and other files you need. After a sudden system or equipment failure, you can restore all data from a backup copy. The operating system, drivers, programs and other files that you archived will be restored to your computer.

Now you can move on to an overview of how archiving works in Windows 7.

To start a system backup, go to the Start menu => All Programs => Maintenance => Backup and Restore. You can also launch the built-in Windows archiving and backup tools from the “Start” menu => “Control Panel” => “Backup and Restore Files”.

It may happen that in case of serious problems with the operating system, you will not be able to boot the operating system in normal or in safe mode. Then you will have to use a Windows 7 installation disk, or a bootable USB flash drive with an operating system image recorded on it, to restore the system.

Boot Windows flash drive can be created using specialized programs, reviews of which you can read on my website in the “Programs” section.

In your absence installation disk with Windows 7 operating system, you should create a system repair disc. The recovery disk, which contains the recovery environment, can be used to boot the computer.

This system recovery disc contains recovery tools for the Windows operating system, using which you can restore the operating system after a serious error, or restore the system from a created system image.

Creating a system repair disc

For those users who have pre-installed operating systems on their computer, create boot disk System recovery is simply necessary. Computer manufacturers now often do not include a Windows installation disc with them. In this case, an emergency system recovery disk will help boot the computer to restore it if it is not possible to boot in any other way.

In the “Backup and Restore” window, you must click on the “Create system repair disk” item to create an emergency system recovery disk. In this case, you will have an emergency CD for system recovery in case of serious problems with the operating system.

After clicking on the “Create a system repair disk” item, the “Create a recovery disk” window opens. To create a system recovery disc, you need to insert a blank CD or DVD into your optical disc reader, and then click the “Create Disc” button.

Next comes the process of creating a system recovery disk. After completing the creation of the emergency recovery disk, you need to click on the “OK” button. Rescue disk Windows recovery 7 takes up about 150 MB.

You will now be able to access system recovery options using a bootable recovery disc if you are unable to boot your computer using other methods.

To boot your computer from a rescue or installation disk, you will need to select in the BIOS the boot priority from a CD/DVD reader, and in the case of using a bootable flash drive, from the USB drive to which such a bootable flash drive is connected.

If, when creating a recovery disk, you are prompted to insert an installation disk with the Windows 7 operating system, this means that necessary files to create a system recovery disc were not found. In this case, you will need to insert the installation kit into the computer's optical drive. DVD disc with Windows 7 operating system.

Using the installation Windows disk 7 or a rescue system recovery disk, you will be able to boot into your computer and have access to all operating system recovery options.

Creating a system image

If you select “Create a system image” in the “Backup and Restore” window, then a system image will be created for its recovery, which includes copies of the disks necessary for the operation of the Windows operating system. You can include in the system image additional disks and use it for recovery in case of problems. However, you cannot use individual elements for recovery.

In the "Create a system image" window, you will need to select a location to store the backup.

In the “Create a system image” window, you will need to select the disks that you want to include in the backup. In this case, it will not be possible to add the disk on which the backup copy will be saved. Then click on the “Next” button.

In the new "Create a system image" window, you will need to confirm the archiving parameters and backup location. After that, click on the “Archive” button.

Backup in Windows 7

Now let's move on to the archiving and backup settings. In the “Backup and Restore Files” window, click on the “Set up backup” item.

Next, the “Archiving Settings” window opens. You will have to wait some time while data archiving starts. You will see the message “Starting data archiving” in the window, but the archiving itself is not yet happening.

Then the “Archive Settings” window opens. In this window, you must select a location to store the backup archive.

The best option for storing the system backup being created would be external hard disk. Because if you back up your copies on another partition of your computer's hard drive, then if the hard drive fails, then the operating system, your data, and the backups created for recovery will be lost forever. The data, in this case, is physically located on one hard drive, they are only located on different logical drives.

This image shows that the system itself suggested a storage location for me - an external hard drive, with enough space to create a backup copy.

In the Archive Settings window, you will need to select what to archive.

If you choose Windows, the operating system will archive files saved in standard folders, in libraries, on the Desktop, and will also create a system image that will allow you to restore your computer in case of problems. All your data and settings will be archived, and you can restore your system from a backup if necessary.

In this case, you can select specific drives and select individual folders located on the selected drive. Be sure to check the box next to “Include disk system image: (C:)” so that you have the opportunity, if necessary, to restore the system from the created backup copy.

The data you select will be archived according to a schedule unless you start archiving manually. After completing the selection of objects for archiving, click on the “Next” button.

In the archiving settings window, you need to check the archiving settings again, and then click on the “Save settings and start archiving” button.

Before starting the backup, you can click on the "Change schedule" link to select your schedule or perform backups on demand.

If you do not perform archiving according to a schedule, but manually when you need it, then you will need to uncheck the box next to “Run archiving on a schedule (recommended)” and then click on the “OK” button.

Next, you will need to start archiving. The time it takes to create a backup will depend on the size of the disks and files that will be backed up, as well as the power of your computer. Repeated backups will be faster because only files that have changed since the previous backup will be overwritten.

Please remember that if you set up a scheduled backup, the external hard drive must be connected to your computer at the time. If you do backups without a specific schedule, then the best option Archiving will take place approximately once a month. In this case, you will retain the system settings that you made relatively recently.

Important data that you change frequently will need to be backed up more than once a month to always have an up-to-date backup version for recovery.

How to disable archiving in Windows 7

Sometimes, it may be necessary to disable archiving if you have set up scheduled backups, and the disk where you save the backups runs out of data. free place. In this case, you will need to disable scheduled backups.

To do this, you will need to go to the “Start” menu => “Control Panel” => “Administration” => “Services”. In the "Services" window, you need to find the item "Block-level backup engine service (WBENGINE service is used to perform backup and restore operations)."

To disable automatic archiving, you must change the service startup type from “Automatic” to “Manual”. To do this, you need to right-click on the “Automatic” item and select “Properties” in the context menu.

In the “Properties: Block-level archiving module service” window that opens, in the “General” tab, in the “Startup type” item, select “Manual” and click on the “OK” button. Next you will need to restart your computer. Now you can run the backup manually at your discretion.

If you are annoyed by messages that appear from time to time about the need to configure archiving from the Notification Panel (tray), then such messages can be disabled. To do this, go to the Start menu => Control Panel => Action Center. In the “Support Center” window, in the “Maintenance” field, in the “Archiving settings” item, you must click on the link “Do not receive any more messages on the topic: “about Windows archiving.”

Conclusions of the article

Using the built-in operating system tool - Windows 7 Backup, you can backup Windows, the entire contents of your hard drive, or make copies of individual disks, files and folders.

In the event of a serious failure of your computer, you can restore the system and all your data from a backup copy. Archiving allows you to make backups not only manually, but also according to a schedule you choose.

Backup in Windows 7 (video)

Hi all!

The need to archive data is determined by the fact that in situations where the hard drive (HD) fails or your PC becomes infected, you risk losing all your photos, important documentation and work projects.

And if you can deal with viruses with the help of antiviruses, then failure of the hard drive is only a matter of time, since as practice shows, most hard drives do not live up to their sixth anniversary.

In this article, I will tell you how to backup the data contained on your PC so that you can easily restore lost information.

You can archive the data contained on your computer either using the archiving tool built into Windows OS or using special programs, which I already wrote about in the article “”.

Today we’ll talk about standard backup tools provided by the Windows OS.

They are extremely easy to use. Go to Start, select Control Panel, System and Security, Data Archiving, section “Recovery or Backup”. The menu is in the left column - “Create an image” and “Create a disk”.

Creating a system image

Determine the location where the future archive will be located: select a disk partition, optical disk or external HDD. In addition, you can save backup copies on the server. It is not wise to store copies on optical media, since the backup will require a lot of space, so it is better to use an external HDD to store them.

Once the storage location for the copy has been determined, click on “Archive”. The entire system partition will be backed up. This procedure can be carried out according to the schedule ( Windows system will independently update the created system image without creating a new one, this saves a lot of time).

Create a system repair disk

If the operating system stops loading or displays an error message that you cannot fix, then you need to restore the OS. To do this, you will need a rescue disk. To create one, select the option called “Create a recovery disk” from the menu on the left and select the storage media.

It should be noted that only laser media are suitable, so owners of laptops that are not equipped with an optical drive are left in the dust. This is only suitable for those who have a personal computer.

The standard Windows OS tool has certain disadvantages. In particular, it does not have such a function as compression, and creating an archive requires a lot of time. Therefore, most users prefer to use special programs to backup files (read about them in the article "").

Reservation is not a simple matter, but it is extremely necessary. After all, it is better to save all important files in advance than to regret losing them later.

Tell your friends on social networks about this unique reservation opportunity. Be vigilant and treat your data responsibly, and then you will not be afraid of any failures in the operation of the operating system or even a breakdown of the hard drive!

Sincerely! Abdullin Ruslan

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