Need a good computer backup system that’s FREE? Try Windows backup

The one we are looking at is Windows backup it’s part of your operating system and is a great little utility offering a host of useful features. 

To begin using, you can launch windows backup by going to the Start Menu , All Programs , Accessories , System Tools , Backup.

Alternatively select Run from the Start Menu and type NTbackup.exe.



Once you have the program open you will be given the Welcome / wizard screen . Untick the Start in Wizard mode option. Now close the program and re-open again.

Now you will be in the advanced mode each time you launch the application.

computer-adviser.com computer backup system article
Select the Backup tab, now you’ll need to select anything you wish to backup, you can select multiple directories and sub directories which should cover just about anything you wish to backup.

Once your happy with your selections , choose

computer-adviser.com computer backup system article

“ Save Selections As “

From the Job menu at the top, this is the not the actual files we are saving , but a template for your future backups , so you can kick them off in seconds.

Choose a name and then a location for your backup template. Now you will need to select a name and backup location at the bottom of the screen.

If you have an external drive or secondary hard drive , this makes it very easy.

If you don’t you still have a few other choices. Do you have a CD or DVD Writer ? , you can always save the files to your C drive and then copy the backed up file to a CD/DVD later.

Note if your backup is over 700mb the CD drive is not really an option unless your CD burning software supports disk spanning, where it can break the file down into smaller files using more than one CD.

If you have no backup devices have a read of our hardware backup solutions where we help you to decide the right backup device for you.

computer-adviser.com computer backup system

The next time you need to perform a backup launch Windows backup and once your in the main backup screen choose Load Selections from the Job Menu, now choose the template file we created earlier and it will then select everything that you choose earlier.

If you need to restore data at any time , from the main Windows Backup Program menu you will see a tab called Restore and Manage Media , from here you will see all of your backups ,

Choose the one you wish to restore and then decide where you wish to restore to. Note if you decide to restore to the original location it will overwrite any files of the same name. 

If you would like to create Scheduled backups , choose the Scheduled Jobs Option Tab. Double click on the date you would like to choose for a backup and now follow the prompts through.

Unfortunately you will not be able to use your backup template here so you will need to choose the files for each backup. 

I would recommend that you use the manual method with the template though. This way you will not make any mistakes in selections, each backup will be the same and by the time you schedule jobs you probably could have almost finished a backup using your template. computer backup system article

Apart from that, no matter what time you schedule a backup for you will probably be using your computer at the time, unless you choose to run them at an hour when you know you will not be using your computer; of course the computer will have to be left on for the backup to run.

computer-adviser.com need a good computer backup system , windows backup, backup encryption , use window backup , the best backup solution

Find out more about setting up a computer backup system

Backup data storage for your needs - what types are available –
Not sure what to backup or where to start your backup data storage? checkout our main backup page, where we cover all aspects of backing up your system and ...
www.computer-adviser.com/backup-data-storage.html

Operating system not found errors what causes this and how to fix it
The operating system not found error is not a pretty thing to see, but did you know much of the time a few simple fixes can get your computer back up and ...
www.computer-adviser.com/operating-system-not-found.html

Restoring computer to factory settings - how to what are your options?
Unlike a system rebuild a restoring to factory settings will build the computer ... Computer Backup Solutions, Find out how to backup your computer quickly ...
www.computer-adviser.com/computer-to-factory-settings.html

computer adviser computer backup system article