Simple Guide to Backup And Restore in Windows

It is important to backup your data regularly so you do not lose it. In this lesson we look at the Backup & Restore tool included with Windows. This tool is very powerful but we will look at the most basic features.
To begin a backup open the Start menu. Begin typing ‘Backup’ and you should see the Backup and Restore tool appear:





Click ‘Backup and Restore’.
You will see the Backup window.



We want to set up a backup, so click ‘Set up backup’.
The tool will ask you where to store your backup. It will show you a list of your drives and recommend one to choose save it on. If you have an external drive attached (for example via a USB cable) then this is a very good choice: this way your data is in a separate physical location from your computer.

Choose which drive to save your files on.

Now Windows will ask you what you want to back up. If you want to do this easily you can select “Let Windows Choose”: in this case it will save all your document data automatically. If you choose this then you are done!

If you want to choose for yourself you can select that option. It will then present you with a list of data you might want to save, for example:



Select the folders you want to backup and press ‘Next’.

Finally Windows will ask you to confirm you are satisfied with your backup settings. Check you selected the right drive and the right data to backup and then press ‘Save settings and run backup’.



Now if you wish you can set the backup to run automatically at certain times. Choose the appropriate times and press ‘OK’.



While the backup is running it’s important you don’t switch off your computer, to make sure that the backup completes successfully.

Restoring a backup
To Restore your files first open the Backup and Restore tool as before.

Click ‘Restore my files’ and choose the folders of data you wish to restore.

Next you select the location to restore the files to.

Finally press ‘Restore’ and the files will be returned. Simple!