Creating a Backup for anything

This seems like a very elementary question, but having looked at the net for instructions on how create a backup, I have come up with nothing that I can understand. They glibly talk about doing this and doing that but do not say how to precisely do it.

All I have is drive "C", no disks, no nothing, just that. How then do I create a backup to anything I want including the Recycle Bin, Email, whatever I like etc. and then how do I recover it. It needs a step by step description.

Sounds easy to some, but not to me.

My SpywareBlaster creates a backup for Hosts File and a system snapshot, but I have`nt a clue what that means. What is the point in creating this kind of backup when you don`t know what it is backing up ?

Question ? How do I create a backup for anything and then implement it ?

After all my experience and trolling around the net, I have`nt a single clue.

Thank you.
John Bull

 

Have you had a look at My Dropbox.

 

'Lo JB; What do you want to do exactly ? :

System images for disaster recovery on external disc or bootableCDs/DVDs ?
Partition back-up?
File by file back-up?
"cloud" storage or local storage ?

Worst case: HD borks and no files recoverable: what is at stake ?
what have you lost ??
hotos
:docs
:vids
:OS and installs
:all license keys +/- passwords...??

How would you want to recover ... need a strategy.
This is not a bad starter: lot of thought gone into this:
Securing Your PC and Data:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=252253
Possibly relevant to your Q:
...physical failure of a hard drive is only a matter of time...
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1533480&postcount=2
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1533488&postcount=7

If you can be more specific re what you want to achieve:
data salvage/safety/storage
OR
OS recovery.. to same or different HW
There are lots'a peeps here with well established and tested templates.
HTH

 

As noted above the ans thats best for you will depend on exactly what you want to do.

That being said I suspect that your best bet is a drive image which will back-up your entire PC to an external source. These (external drives) are cheap and easy to use. Buy one and plug it in, Windows will load the drivers etc and you are ready to go. Now the choice is yours. If you just want to back-up specific files you can copy them to the external drive. If you want a more comprehensive strategy I would suggest a drive image program. There are many out there, some free, some not. One solution that I recommend to beginners is the line by Paragon. They have both free and pay versions and both are quite straight forward to use (IMO).

Once you select an image program (be it Paragon or some other) if you have any questions there are many folks here who will be able, and happy, to help.

Here is a link to Paragons website.

Pay version http://www.paragon-software.com/home/brs/

Free version http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-express/

Personally I use Paragon, ShadowProtect, and RollBack Rx (not all on the same machine of course).

I hope this helps.

 

Thank you for these comments. I feel like a rabbit in a wolf pack on this, since it is obviously a very simple matter to most of you but a mountain to me.

I can just see all the eyes light up - "Look at this dumb question old John Bull is asking. No chance of any controversial rude comments on this thread eh ? The guy`s gun is only loaded with blanks."

It all started when I thought it would be nice to backup my Recycle Bin or Email files, only a simple thing really. I have about 600 items in the Bin and reckoned it would be nice to tuck a copy away for safety before I deleted them. Same with the Email - I lost a complete folder once just trying to rename it. I have not lost anything YET concerning this question.

I will look at "My Dropbox" and study all the other comments. I must confess that I do not suffer from over-confidence on this. If it gets too complicated, I will continue to live dangerously.

The only backup I have any knowledge of is that of my Rottweiler.

I thought it would all be simple, like creating a folder, copying the data into it and then restoring it. Not so eh ?

John Bull

 

Hello John;

I see you are running XP Home Edition.
By default, XP Home doesn't install the backup/restore application as found in XP Pro but it's still available (in case you don't know) as long as you have your XP Home installation CD or access to one.
This is a brief "how-to" for adding the backup function to XP Home.

http://www.theeldergeek.com/backup_for_xp_home_edition.htm

Once installed, you can use that to perform simple backups of files and folders to either somewhere on your "C" drive or to a CD.

If your needs require full partition backup (a must in my opinion), the aforementioned Paragon line as well as freebies from Macrium and Easeus have proven to be quite reliable.
You may also want to look at free versions of Acronis for Seagate and Western Digital HDDs, O&O Backup, and Redo Backup and Restore (free) among the many available.

 

ANy file in the recycle bin can be "restored" by right click>Restore.
..But.. the file will be restored to original place.

You can select any of the items in the recycle bin and move them to a folder of your choice.
Could then say be copied to flash drive for safekeeping.

Saving/backing up e-mails depends on the E-Mail app you use:
This applies to outlook & OE options and tools for a starter...
http://www.google.com/search?&q=bna... up outlook email&spell=1&fp=5673716d440c1f33

A sytem image back-up is a cornerstone for data protection and mental health.

 

And a "Clean" image will "Clean" a system better than any AV/Anti-malware will

 

John, I would say that as far as too complex is concerned you can set your mind at ease with Paragon. The reason I recommend it to newbies to backup is because it really is very easy to work with. Take a look at the attached screen shot and you will see the 4 major items you need to be aware of. Clicking on any of them will launch the walk through guide for that function.

Want to back up your drive? Click on the Smart Backup icon (top left red line) and follow the directions.

Need to create recovery (boot) media, click on the Create Recovery Media icon (bottom right red line - or the icon on the left - not highlighted) and follow the directions. This media is needed if you cannot boot into Windows for some reason. Otherwise, you can restore (or open an archived folder) from within the program (take a look at the various icons on the left in the attached, clicking on any one of them will launch the walk through wizard for that function).

Very straight forward.

The ONLY odd thing with this program is that you have to tell it to do the backup twice. Once at the end of the walk through wizard and once more to actually commit (launch) the backup process.

In fact, as programs in general go this one is one of the easiest ones I have come across (thats for all programs, not just backup programs). If you can use Explorer or a browser you can use Paragon Backup and Recovery.

AND, as noted above, if you have a question and don't want to be bothered reading the help files, ask here.

Easy as pie. ------- Really

Give Paragon a try, I promise you won't be sorry you did.

 

What an interesting reply, I like it and the screen shot looks great.

I`ll look it up and have a play with it. I have never backed up anything yet, Wilders Wonders sometime leave me cold, their expertise and advise is superb.

Thank you very much,
John

 

Glad to help,,,and as noted above,,,if you have any questions I (and I am sure many others) will be here to provide whatever assistance we can.