| Author | Message | ||
     Kevinfromwebb |
Hey, I was wanting to back up the files on my computer with an external hard drive... Can someone give me a brief explaination... Do I need to just back up all the files or do I need a mirror image of the o/s and files??? I didn't even know if you could do a mirror image and if you needed just the included software with the external drives or extra software... I was just wanting to backup all my files and pictures incase my internal drive quits... I didn't know if I had the o/s and files on an external and my internal quit would I be able to start again with a new internal... Hope I got my question across as I'm not real computer literate... Any certain brands or models you would recommend??? Thanks for the help... Kevin | ||
| Froggy |
If possible, do the drive image. That backs up everything, and if something happens you could restore back to the way it was when you created the image. Otherwise what you could do is just copy your documents and junk onto the external drive and use it that way, but if you ever needed to restore you would have to manually reinstall the OS and your programs and then copy the files back. | ||
| Indy_bueller |
What kind of computer do you have and how old is it? You should have a set of recovery CDs/DVDs or a recovery partition that will restore your computer to the state it was when it was new. That's assuming you have a Dell/HP/IBM or other major brand computer. For an external drive you should go with Western Digital or Seagate. Once you have that, all you need to do is copy the files you want to keep over to it and you are good to go. Try to determine the total size of the files you want to back up before you buy your external drive so you make sure you get one that is big enough. | ||
| Kevinfromwebb |
Thanks Guys... I've got a about 5 year old dell... Didn't get the windows cd with it I guess it's got that 'recovery partition'... I figure I'll replace it the next year or so but didn't want to lose any files or programs before I did if the drive crashed... Thanks for the help and I'll look for those brands... Kevin |
