How to Back Up Your Computer Automatically on Windows 10

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How to Set Up Automatic Full Backups on Windows 10

On Windows 10, you don’t need additional software to create automatic backups that protect your system settings and files. You can simply use the Backup and Restore feature.

1. Open Control Panel .
2. Click System and Security .
3. Click Backup and Restore (Windows 7) .
4. Click the Set up backup link in the top-right corner.

5. Select the external drive you want to use to store the backup.
6. Click Next .

7. Under “What do you want to back up?” you can choose Let Windows choose , but to make sure everything gets backed up, select the Let me choose option.
8. Click Next.

9. Check all the items you want to protect. Because we’re creating a full backup, you should select every item under “Data Files” and “Computer“. (If you have multiple drives, they will be listed under “Computer”).
10. Check the Include a system image of drives: System Reserved, (C:) option
11. Click Next .

12. Under “Schedule”, click the Change schedule link.

13. Use the available drop-down menus to select how often, on what day and at what time you want the backup to run. (It’s best to choose a time when you know you won’t be actively using your device.)
14. Click OK .
 

Review your settings, then click the Save settings and run backup button.
Once you complete the steps, the backup will start. At this point, you won’t be able to change any settings, but you can click the View Details button to see exactly what is being backed up, and you’ll also see the option to stop the process if needed.
After the process completes, under “Backup“, you’ll be able to see the drive being used to store the files and the current size of your backup.
Other useful pieces of information include the date and time of the next and last backups, the contents included, and schedule information.

Managing Space

Using the Windows 10 backup system can cause an external drive to run out of space quickly, but there are a few options you can use to optimize space.

1. In the “Backup and Restore (Windows 7)” settings, under “Backup”, click the Manage space link.
2. Under “Data file backup”, click the View backups button.
3. In this section, you’ll see a list of all the file backups. If you need to free up storage space, select the oldest backup and click the Delete button.
4. Click Close .
5. Under “System image”, click the Change settings button.
6. By default, Windows will manage the space for storing system images, but you can always select the Keep only the latest system image and minimize space used by backup option to save space.
7. Click OK .
8. Click Close .

Changing the Schedule

If you need to run the backup at a different time and day, you can always modify the schedule.

1. In the “Backup and Restore(Windows 7)” settings, under “Schedule“, click the Change settings link.
2. Click the Next button on each page until you reach the Review your backup settings page.
3. Under “Schedule”, click the Change schedule link.
4. Use the available drop-down menus to select how often, on what day and at what time you want the backup to run. (It’s best to choose a time when you know you won’t be actively using your device.)
5. Click OK .
6. Review your settings, then click the Save settings and exit button.

If you need to create a backup immediately, you don’t need to change the schedule. Just click the Back up now button in the top-right corner.
Quick tip: If for any reason you need to stop backups from running, you can always click the Turn off schedule link from the left pane. Then, when you’re ready, click the Turn on schedule link under “Schedule”.

Creating a Repair Disc

Although you need to create a repair disc to boot your computer into recovery mode to restore your system backup, most devices these days don’t have a disc drive. If this is your case, you can use the Microsoft Media Creation Tool to create bootable USB media with the installation files, which you can use to access recovery mode.
If you have a disc drive, click the Create a system repair disc link from the left pane in Control Panel, and follow the on-screen instructions to create the disc.

How to Restore Files or the Entire System on Windows 10

One of the benefits of using this backup method is that you can always restore individual files as well as the entire system.

How to Restore Individual Files From a Backup

Using the Windows 10 backup feature, you can quickly restore one file or a set of files in seconds.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Click System and Security .
3. Click Backup and Restore (Windows 7) .
4. Under “Restore”, click the Restore my files button.
5. Click the Browse for files button.
6. Browse the backup and select the files you want to restore.
7. Click the Add files button.
8. Click the Browse for folders button.
9. Browse the backup and select the folders you want to restore.
10. Click the Add folders button.
11. Click Next .
12. You can restore the files and folders to their original location, but it’s always recommended to restore them a different way, such as by selecting the In the following location option.
13. Set the restore location.
14. Click Restore .
15. Click Finish .

Once you complete the steps, you can access the restored files from the location you configured during the process.

How to Restore Your Computer From a Backup

When your computer won’t boot, you want to start over from a previous backup, or you’re replacing the main hard drive on your device, you can restore the entire system using the most recently created backup.

1. Insert the disc with the system repair files (or a bootable USB drive with the Windows 10 installation files) into your device.
2. Restart your computer.
   • Quick tip: If your device doesn’t boot into the Windows Setup wizard, you need to change the system’s BIOS settings to make sure it can boot from a USB drive or DVD. Usually, you can access the BIOS by starting the device and pressing one of the function keys or the ESC key, but check your manufacturer’s support website for more information.
3. On the “Windows Setup” page, click the Next button.
4. Click the Repair your computer link in the bottom-left corner.
5. Click the Troubleshoot option.
   • Quick tip: If you can access the desktop on your Windows 10 device, you can always go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery and, under the “Advanced startup” section, click the Restart now button to access the Troubleshoot option.
6. Click the System Image Recovery option.
7. Select the operating system. In this case, it’s Windows 10.
8. On the “Re-image your computer” page, select the Use the latest available system image option.
9. Click Next .
10. If you’re restoring the full backup to a new drive, you can also select the Format and repartition disks option. (Use this option carefully, as it will delete any existing partitions and disks on your computer.)
11. Click Next .
12. Click Finish .
13. Click Yes to confirm that the backup will replace the data on the drive.

After you complete the steps, the restore process will begin, and how long it takes to finish will depend on the amount of data and the hardware configuration.
Just remember that files and system changes made after the backup was created won’t be included in the restore.
If you work with files that change quite frequently, you should also combine this backup system with another type of file backup, such as using OneDrive , which lets you keep off-site copies of your documents, music and pictures.

Conclusion

If you’re still wondering, both a system image backup and a backup created using the instructions outlined in this guide include everything stored on your computer, but there are some differences.
Perhaps the best benefit of running scheduled backups is that you can configure a backup once, and then the tool will automatically keep making copies regularly without you having to lift a finger.
It’s also a more manageable solution. You can specify exactly what to back up, configure the schedule, manage space, and you can quickly restore one or more files, or restore your entire system.
The only downside is that you have to keep the backup drive connected to your computer at all times, which could be considered a security risk, as malware that sneaks into your device could infect not only your files but also the files stored in the backup.
On the other hand, a system image backup also makes a copy of your entire system, but it’s a manual process aimed more at creating archive copies or temporary backups. Unlike scheduled backups, you can safely disconnect the backup drive and store it in a secure location, protecting your files from disasters as well as from malware.
The drawback of this approach is that you can only restore the device to the last backup, which means that if you don’t proactively create backups manually, you could lose some files and system configuration. Also, a system image is meant to restore your entire device, not individual files.
Although we focused this guide on Windows 10 users, Backup and Restore has been available for several versions, which means you can refer to these steps to create a backup of your Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 device]]>