The definitive guide to backing up your PC
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Күн бұрынAre you backing up your Windows PC correctly? Are you even backing up at all? In this video, I show you several different methods for backing up your computer, how to save your personal files, including free alternatives that actually work, as well as very inexpensive options that are "set it and forget it" to always keep your personal data 100% safe and secure!
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AsqMe.com/@AskYourComputer
Download links:
Clonezilla: www.clonezilla.org
Fbackup: www.fbackup.org
Product links:
1-drive external drive reader: amzn.to/42WVQfY
2-drive external drive reader: amzn.to/46khZHT
4-drive external drive reader: amzn.to/44AJVpp
500GB 2.5" SATA hard drive: amzn.to/42Tq8zX
1TB 2.5" SATA hard drive: amzn.to/4319oa9
Video references:
AOMEI Partition Assistant: • REAL-TALK review of AO...
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◼ Back up your CRITICAL data automatically with Carbonite!
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◼ Ninite (used to automatically download and install your favorite software):
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◼ Defraggler (used to defragment and organize your files):
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@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
In addition to backing up your files, always be sure to have bootable recovery discs handy in case you haven't! 2 USB boot drives EVERY PC user should make before it's too late! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/q6mbgrl1rcyqeoE.html
@targetpromotionalproducts5740 9 ай бұрын
BTW I dont think your affiliate link is working for carbonite - got a 404 error from your link
@AskYourComputerGuy 9 ай бұрын
@targetpromotionalproducts5740 I think they are doing maintenance, should be back up soon 💪
@CherokezPittman 8 ай бұрын
Thank you for your valuable input! I completely agree with you about the importance of having bootable recovery discs. It's always better to be prepared for any PC emergencies. On a different note, as an outdoor enthusiast myself, I highly recommend the Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series for all your power needs during camping trips or RV adventures. It's packed with impressive features like massive capacity, powerful output, and fast recharging. Check it out here: [insert link]Remember, it's crucial to have reliable backup power while enjoying quality family time outdoors. Stay prepared and enjoy your adventures to the fullest!
@CherokezPittman 8 ай бұрын
Thank you for sharing this valuable information! Having bootable recovery discs is definitely important for backing up our PCs. Additionally, the Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series seems like a great choice for outdoor enthusiasts and RV lovers. It offers a massive capacity, fast recharging, versatile sockets, and comprehensive protections. It could be a reliable backup power source for our camping adventures or quality family time. Thanks for the recommendation!
@CherokezPittman 8 ай бұрын
Thank you for the recommendation! It's always important to have backup options, not just for our digital files but also for our power needs. The Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series seems to be a reliable and versatile choice, especially with its massive capacity, fast recharging, and waterproof technology. I'll definitely check it out for my outdoor adventures and home backup power.
11 ай бұрын
There are two kinds of people. The first kind doesn''t backup because they simply can't be arsed. The other kind does because they've lost so valuable data that it's still eating them.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
There might be some truth there ;)
@imstillalive6106 7 ай бұрын
I haven't lost anything YET but I do backups once every two weeks. So there is third type
@gergemall 7 ай бұрын
So true. Very helpful. Thank you
@erich9779 5 ай бұрын
The Fourth type is OCD. Backup of the backup cuz of OCD
@summergirlz99 3 ай бұрын
@AskYourComputerGuy You really do a great job at explaining IT stuff. Thank you so much!
@jimfournier9065 4 ай бұрын
I work in the technology field with consumers, you have a great way of teaching people, basic things they really need to know on a day-to-day basis for their computers and data! I really enjoy listening to your videos, keep them coming!
@AskYourComputerGuy 4 ай бұрын
Thank you so much for the support 👍
@themegaman91965 Жыл бұрын
It's like you read my mind! Fantastic video! It is a complete pain to backup things in my monster 6 TB HDD, since despite being USB 3.1, the mechanical nature imposes the limitation of around 100 megs/sec. It still does the job, like before I factory-resetted my PC once I backed up over 700 gigs worth of folders manually, without any software, and you posted a nice host of solutions! Since I got super-fast NVME's installed in there that are a pain to get to due to the need to pry this laptop open, the free backup software there'll more than do it for me! As always, thank you for your fantastic uploads, and the help yesterday!!
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
You're welcome, glad to help :)
@capt.martin5169 24 күн бұрын
Best video I have seen on Backing up! Thank you so much for the great info and the links!!
@AskYourComputerGuy 24 күн бұрын
You're welcome! Glad it helped!
@loray2k Жыл бұрын
I've been using Carbonite for about 10 years now. Customer support is great. I actually got to speak to a human being, lol. My hard drive crashed and they were a great help. I pay for it by the year, which is about $95 for 1 computer. It costs more if you pay monthly. Thank you for the video.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Yeah, Carbonite is fantastic! Highly recommended!
@SvenHeitland Жыл бұрын
I use Syncthing as backup and synchronizing data over several devices. One Syncthing Server is used as distribution node (so this is the server where all other devices connect to) Synthing also supports versioning. And it can be set as untrusted server, that will enable enryption of the files. So you could have a VM at your friends house or where ever you can run a VM and sent a backup somewhere in the world.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
That sounds a bit complicated for a novice user, but I can definitely see the advantages for an experienced person 💪
@truthsayer9534 Жыл бұрын
You really shouldn’t leave your backup drive plugged in all the time. If you get hit with a ransomware attack, you’ll likely lose every drive that is connected to the computer. You just have to be disciplined about plugging in your backup drive and letting it run fairly often.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Excellent and accurate advice!
@Martinit0 11 ай бұрын
Kinda wondering whether there exists a "smart" hardware external drive bay that reminds you to plug in your backup drives, for example with a beep or flashing LED.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
@Martinit0 that could be a great product! I'm curious also
@truthsayer9534 11 ай бұрын
@@Martinit0 Interesting idea but you can achieve the same result with software. Just set a recurring calendar reminder or some other type of alert that pops up.
@cliffg4437 7 ай бұрын
I use a USB hub with a switch on each port, and just click the drive off when done. Re losing your backups through ransomware, I use Macrium Reflect with the protect from deletion option turned on (which it is by default). I still have a gut feel thing against storing *any* private data in the cloud, which includes password managers, backups, etc. I'm a bit old school, I admit.
@timbo1960 Жыл бұрын
I installed the last free version of Macrium Reflect (v8.0.727). I did a full backup of my windows 11 system and tested the restore and it worked perfectly.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Yeah Macrium was great when it was free. Downloading older versions are still an option, thats why I still mentioned the software because I do trust it. Creative thinkers will find older versions for themselves if they want to go that route
@JasonWestaway 6 ай бұрын
Hi Scott, just want to say I've watched your videos for a while now. I really enjoy how you do the walkthrough and you take your time in explaining how to use the program/s No names mentioned but I have seen a couple of tech KZfaqrs who don't explain anything. Having said that there is one Tech KZfaqr I follow who explains like you do too. But there are a lot that don't Just wanted to thank you. Take care.
@AskYourComputerGuy 6 ай бұрын
Hey, thanks! Much appreciated 👍
@JasonWestaway 6 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy You are so welcome!
@timcoil6224 Жыл бұрын
Love the videos and thanks for the help. Might I make a suggestion, you add/change the link you recently posted of "2 USB boot drives EVERY PC user should make before it's too late!" and at least add the video/link on "the last flash drive you will ever need" as it's more recent and more updated.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Thank you, and I will. Just hadn't got around to it yet! ;)
@animhaxx 11 ай бұрын
Thanks, man. The external drive is the way to go for me
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
👍
@gaveintothedarkness Жыл бұрын
very helpful video thank you!
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
You're welcome! Thx for watching!
@THE-michaelmyers Жыл бұрын
I use 2 different ways to protect my data. First I have a custom-made program written for me that will backup my data to a personal cloud drive connected to my main PC. To be honest this backup is just my user name data on the OS drive. I am an Engineer and operate my own Engineering Consulting business. I have to maintain all aspects of the systems I design that are built around the world. This means troubleshooting flowcharts etc. There are almost 15 years of data in these files. Even systems I built back in 2016 I still get calls. About 5 years ago there were about 25,000 people out of power in Europe because a system went down I designed. I was called and with a few keystrokes, I was looking at the system. We were up and running in about 30 minutes. This data is on another drive in my system. I can't take the chance of having it on the same drive where I keep my OS. I make a backup of this drive every 3 weeks and store it in my safe. My next comment can't be made simple, I'm sorry. I use a NVMe drive for my OS. I also have the monitoring software for that drive. I check that drives health several times a month. I also run a Belarc report and it will return the health of both of the drives hooked up to my PC. If I see a problem developing I am proactive and I am starting the process of replacing that failing drive. A PC is a device that should give you years of service. However just as in a motor vehicle from time to time you must service it. This is the reason I made the comment I made about those USB drives in a previous video as fixing a problem you should not be having. Another thing I do about every 3 months is pull my tower and remove the lids and spray all the dust off the power supply, the processor, and case fans. Heat is the mortal enemy of a PC. Dust can cause airflow problems that can cause the processer to run hot and actually slow down. Treat your PC well, be proactive and back up back up back up!
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Wow, that is impressive!
@napoleonhardridge7014 Жыл бұрын
This is how I approach LIFE -- you got to be prepared for inevitable... Treat your body well, be active and exercise eat right and get plenty of rest... Love your PC and it will LOVE you. (Our computers is our livelihood )
@wngimageanddesign9546 Жыл бұрын
Yes, I can eat off the interior of my PCs! LOL! I periodically spray out the dusk with an air compressor. They live in a smoke-free, pet-free environment. I once had a mechanical engineering friend tell me his Dell desktop PC began acting weird and blue screen. He simply ran out to Best Buy and bought a laptop. When I was over at his apartment, I offered to look at the desktop, and when I opened the case.....the entire interior was one big hairball of dust bunnies and hair! I asked him when was the last time he cleaned it?!? He said never opened it since he bought it for college, 7 years ago! The cooling fans were barely able to spin, and the CPU fan was spinning with coated blades resembling fur. It was disgusting! I told him to take a vacuum to it. and left!
@THE-michaelmyers Жыл бұрын
@@wngimageanddesign9546 I would counsel caution with an everyday air compressor being used on a PC unless there is a special attachment. This is because an air compressor in almost every circumstance is spraying air that contains moisture. This is bad because water can become acidic. With this said understand I am not saying anything will happen. I am saying using this type of air over time increases the chance of something failing inside the PC.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Absolutely 100%
@phillipbeharall6271 Жыл бұрын
Brilliant thank you I've liked and subscribed 👏👏👏
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it and welcome to the community!
@biglad8431 3 ай бұрын
simple and concise. thanks
@AskYourComputerGuy 3 ай бұрын
You're welcome! Thx for stopping in! 👍
@scottromesburg7935 Жыл бұрын
Love the vids!
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@JoshuaTrenge 7 ай бұрын
I don’t know about better..but I use Norton 360 and I’m pretty happy with the backup built into it… can BU to the cloud or a drive.
@fredericktillman4702 3 ай бұрын
I've used SyncToy from Microsoft for the last 15 years. I've set it up for friends and family and it does a great job of simply copying any new files to the backup device.
@casterman27 3 ай бұрын
Me too. Can't believe more reviewers aren't talking about it. Simple, safe and it's quick with synchronization.
@winboogie42 3 ай бұрын
Great info very useful
@AskYourComputerGuy 3 ай бұрын
Glad it was helpful!
@IbrahimAli-sx5lq 8 ай бұрын
Great video. One thing that you forgot to mention is that when you do a system image backup, you should make sure to run your anti-virus/anti-malware programs first. When it comes to manual backup, Windows Explorer is terrible. It's better to use a dual-pane file manager like Free Commander and have more control.
@AskYourComputerGuy 7 ай бұрын
👍
@gergemall 7 ай бұрын
👍, Im going to get a drive like this. Mac too ?
@340dave Жыл бұрын
I use FreeFileSync for file backups to new-changed-deleted files only so the backups only take a few min on a weekly basis. They also have a real-time version.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
I'll have to check that out. Thanks!
@kriisak 10 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy Hi! I concur with the previous commenter. FreeFileSync and its RealTimeSync option is great for copying everything important from certain folders to a main storage computer. I use this in tandem with backblaze on the main one so that everything is first backed up locally on one computer and that one is then backed up on the cloud servers of backblaze. The sync program is free to use but backblaze is about $7 per month, going to be $9 soon with some added features.. Highly recommend!
@thelitepredator 10 ай бұрын
Hello friend I'm new to your channel I love everything you post. Thank you so much .
@AskYourComputerGuy 10 ай бұрын
Thank you so much 🤗
@paultreneary 9 ай бұрын
For file backup, I still use the older version of Comodo (v1.0.4.337) to backup to a 2TB external drive. It still works for me - I have 10 categorized partitions, across 2 SSDs and 4 HDDs - and of them, 4 partitions have stuff to backup (Music, My Docs, Programming & Midi, and the 'config'/user stuff on my C:\) - the rest are for gaming so are backed up in Steam etc. and 1 is another backup partition that doesn't need backing up in the same manner. I'd be the first to admit that it's not a standard setup by a longshot, but I have 4 backup sets, that I run fortnightly (nb. not automatically) - they're very customizable, and I can exclude subfolders within those sets if needed. BTW that external drive is disconnected and moved to a different part of my property - I read some time ago (I can't remember where, but it's stuck with me.) that somebody made the statement that a backups ought to be at least the width of a 747 apart (this was pre 9/11), and also that 'data doesn't exist unless it exists in 3 separate locations' ( Update: this might be a misremembered version of 'Schofield's Second Law of Computing').
@veritas4us Жыл бұрын
Great video, thank you so much
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it :)
@chrisc2252 Жыл бұрын
Great content, im going to use a system image to clone my drive to another ssd next week. Usually use partition wizard but iv started just using windows build in programs now for most tasks for learning purposes 😁
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Good deal!
@chrisc2252 Жыл бұрын
Just wondering is there a way to clone my windows OS with files to another SSD that already has data on but has a partition with nothing on. Every time i try to clone the OS or use a system image it says it will delete everything off the drive. Basically i have a 2tb ssd with my games on but no OS and now want my OS on the 2tb ssd as a seperate partition without deleting the games. I cant find anything online showing this? I am thinking maybe dismount or hide the partition and hope that windows wont delete it? Just not sure if that will work lol
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Yes, but it's tricky. When you go to clone the drive, don't choose "disk to disk", choose "disk to partition". You should be able to select the empty partition on the target drive with no data loss :)
@chrisc2252 Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy what software are you using for this as mine only says disk to disk 😭
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Just about every software out there should have that option...AOMEI, Clonezilla, Macrium, Acronis True Image, etc. Worst care scenario, you can always back up that data partition to another drive and then copy it back after the clone. It's an option at least if you can't get the disk to partition to work
@BrilliantDesignOnline 11 ай бұрын
Great info, and presented in a very easy to understand format for noobs (not me 🙂)
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Thank you! 💪
@MrNomadBrad Жыл бұрын
Thanks!
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for the Super! I appreciate it ;)
@RedcarMikeUK 6 ай бұрын
I always use AOMI Backupper all the time, It's NEVER let me down in years and it's totally FREE.
@AskYourComputerGuy 6 ай бұрын
Agreed
@SparxNet 11 ай бұрын
If you enable the Item check boxes setting in Folder Options or under the View tab in Windows Explorer, you can just choose which files and folders you'd like to select by checking on the little box on the left. Handy, if you're not a pro user or get confused between functionality of holding CTRL vs SHIFT while selecting files.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Good tip :)
@scottspa74 11 ай бұрын
True. But you do have to be a little cautious with that. All too often, when selecting a folder, the first file inside gets checked and I don't realize it, and then I go to select something else to copy or move or zip, and realize I actually had 2 things selected.
@SparxNet 11 ай бұрын
@@scottspa74 I see. On Win 10 Pro, I'm unable to replicate this behaviour you mention. Whether with the item checkbox option on or off. Regardless, this is just a QoL option especially for new users. Cheers.
@scottspa74 11 ай бұрын
@@SparxNet interesting. Maybe it's just me, and I'm not double-clicking fast enough, or something. Also, the 2 computers I use the most are win 11, so maybe that has something to do with it (my win 10 computer is my favorite, so I baby it and barely use it).
@armagedon515 8 ай бұрын
Thanks, very informative. One note : Macrium Reflect still has a free version for imaging (v8) (no registration necessary either) and is still maintain but individual files/folders backup in not free (was it ever?). It is not advertise on their website I think but can be obtain from various software sites. It does make very compressed images and the files inside them can be extract individually.
@AskYourComputerGuy 8 ай бұрын
Yep! Macrium 8.41, as shown here: How to clone a hard drive - EASY step by step walk-thru! kzfaq.info/get/bejne/Y55peMaFz-DQZIE.html
@gergemall 7 ай бұрын
Thank you
@AskYourComputerGuy 7 ай бұрын
You're welcome! 👍
@eyesuckle Жыл бұрын
As usual, you've created a clear, practical and incredibly helpful video. I have a question: When using Fbackup, you suggest leaving your USB stick or drive plugged in at all times so that when the time for your automatically scheduled backup rolls around, you never have to worry about being there to plug in the drive. But suppose you want to do a restore because you've had to wipe your hard drive due to a virus or malware infection (I've been there). If you leave your backup media installed at all times, is there not a danger that it will be infected, too? And that when you restore your files, you will also restore the infection? For that reason, I don't usually leave my backup medium (whatever it might be) attached to my computer unless I'm actually doing the backup. Is that an unnecessary precaution? I also thought that if your computer is damaged due to a power surge (I know, not terribly likely) would a plugged-in USB stick or drive not also be at risk? Thanks again for your great videos! You're saving a lot of people a lot of anguish. People are *really* attached to their computers.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Technically yes, I suppose it could happen leaving it plugged in. Excellent point. I think my point was more "make sure the drive is plugged in when the backup kicks off". That probably is more accurate. Thx for the clarification
@wngimageanddesign9546 Жыл бұрын
To get around this, if you have more than one computer, say a laptop and a desktop, the external storage can be attached to the USB of the 2nd system, which can be set up to wake itself via BIOS or via OS at a specific time of day. The 2nd system will be attached to the same network as your primary system. You can map a network drive to the 2nd system's USB drive as a shared drive on the 2nd system. Now your backup software can be scheduled to do a daily backup (incremental or differential) image coinciding with the start of the 2nd system. The backup process usually doesn't take longer than 30 min. depending on the system drive and or data drive(s). Once after completion....the 2nd system can be set to either hibernate or shut down after a set amount of time. Thus the backup drive is no longer accessible in case in the 24 hrs, you happen to be attacked/infected. You will become aware by that time, and you will know that this network attached storage was isolated and safe. BTW, I use Macrium Reflect Free Version for my backups. I believe it's still free until the end of 2023. Then you will have to purchase it if you require future support for Win11 revisions and bug fixes. If you're backing up Win10 systems, it should be good to go since Win 10 stopped at 22H2.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Nice 💪
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
You don't have to leave it plugged in, but it's only going to be an issue in the event of a storm. In which case your external drive shouldn't be the priority, instead the pc being on is. Unless you have UPS battery backup
@archangelhorus 11 ай бұрын
Synology Active Backup. Super easy, accessible from anywhere without cloud storage, multiple PC, deduplication, compression, security, multiple backup schemes, support of many OS, bare metal and individual file restore, the works. You get the bonus of having to invest into a NAS, always something good in my view.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
💪
@bme7491 18 күн бұрын
I've been using Paragon's HDD manager software with three external drives (three redundant image backups), for years. I've had external drive failures but not lost data yet. I typically do a full image backup of the OS drive once every 3 months and incremental data drive backups once per month.
@AskYourComputerGuy 18 күн бұрын
Nice!
@jaycahow4667 Жыл бұрын
I appreciate what you are trying to do and any backups are better than none. That being said you should do a more advance video going into the idea of drive partitions and how to install and configure Windows so their personal data is separated from their operating system and application programs on a separate drive (physical or partitioned) . This allows much more flexibility in backing up their system as they can backup just the former or the later or both combined. Having built hundreds of computers for myself and others I find it is much more common to have issues with Windows itself like not booting at all, systems slowing down over age, or having issues after something updated than I see with personal data needing to be recovered. By separating personal data you can recover or reinstall Windows and applications at any time and not have to deal with your personal data at all (documents, pictures, downloads, desktop, favorites, music, videos, onedrive, etc...) unless needed. Why anyone would want their entire system on a single drive partition (default) is beyond me and is a terrible system architecture. Separating things into different appropriate sized partitions just make system maintenance much easier from many perspectives including backups. Personally I place Windows on the C: drive, Any applications I can control installation destination on the D: drive, and all personal data on the E: drive. This allows restoring or reinstalling the C: and D: at any time without touching my personal data on other drives. The CDE drives are on one physical SSD and then I use a second physical SSD (internal or external) to hold all my backups. I normally install Macrium Reflect Free and setup a weekly compressed image of the entire system to another drive on a separate physical device (drive or NAS) and then setup another backup as well for personal data in case I want to do that more frequently. These backups can be run as any time (not just when scheduled) and along with a Macrium Recovery CD or Flash drive can be accessed at any time even if the system will not start. Drives in Macrium backups can be accessed and loaded virtually so files from prior dates can be accessed at any time if something needs to recovered. Macrium is dropping support for Reflect Free going forward in awhile but it will probably run for years and the official home version is not that expensive and is always half price around their year end sale. I highly recommend the product.................
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
The separate partitions video is one I've been working on already. Although not the best solution, it's better than what.ost people do. At worst, easy Windows reload and no data loss. Can't release the video just yet, got some other stuff I'm going to tie into it. But it's in production. And absolutely on Macrium! You can find an older free version that still works, too
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Ironically, that's another video I've got coming up. Keep a second partition move the libraries. Not ideal, you could still lose everything with a drive failure..but certainly makes reloading Windows a snap!
@jaycahow4667 Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy Have you ever found an utility that allows changing the location of your 11 official User Folders without having to manually change the location on each separately? Microsoft used have a Toy utility where you could change all the locations at once. They did away with it when Windows 10 came out and I have never seen any of their or third party utilities that do this function for Windows 10 or 11............
@jaycahow4667 Жыл бұрын
@@Kolavskaya Yes who wants to live in a giant barn with no rooms............
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Ironically, no. I'm working on a video on how to do it manually but it sure would be easier and faster with a program. I'll take a look and see what I can find and LYK :)
@marcelobrito2716 9 ай бұрын
Hi Scott. What would be your suggestion for a monthly backup routine that after it is run in the first month, in the next months it would only update the file that had been changed in the interval between backups; or other added content to the original folders?
@AskYourComputerGuy 9 ай бұрын
For that scenario, I would go with Carbonite. It's about $5/month annually and it updates your files in real time. Hands-free, just set it and forget it. My affiliate link is partners.carbonite.com/AskYourComputerGuy You can use Microsoft Onedrive as well. Just depends on your level of privacy desire. Carbonite has a strict "no look" policy that I appreciate 👍
@Martinit0 11 ай бұрын
About 5 years ago in 2017 I had my data hard drive with all my personal photos on them die on me. I paid $700 to have them professionally recovered (that included a new hard drive as delivery medium) and that was with the slow "economy" service. They could recover all by a handful of files, but they did ask me which directories were important to recover (so you'll have to remember their names!) and it took 2-4 weeks to get back the data.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Ouch!
@rotcorpnala 10 ай бұрын
Thanks
@AskYourComputerGuy 10 ай бұрын
Thank you, I really appreciate the support! 💪👍❤️
@ErvigHenry 8 ай бұрын
User Comment: This video is great! Backup power is so important, especially when you're out camping and need to charge your devices. I'm always looking for reliable power solutions. Thanks for sharing!Your Response: I completely agree! Having a reliable backup power source is crucial for outdoor adventures. I highly recommend the Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series. It has a massive capacity, fast recharging, and a waterproof design. Check it out if you're in need of a reliable power solution!
@aceofdatabase 5 ай бұрын
You are now my computer guy :D
@AskYourComputerGuy 5 ай бұрын
Awesome! That's my goal 👍💪
@jpteknoman 11 ай бұрын
i use a dual external disk backup style. i have a big disk and on it i have both a folder with all files backup and a system image so i can use either depending on my needs.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Perfect! 💪
@kennybranton3303 11 ай бұрын
I usually try the copy and paste method when copying the files for backups. I run into a problem where the path is too long and the files are not copied. Over time I have lost some files this way. I have edited the registery to allow longer file paths. Is there an easier way besides to edit the registery while using the copy and paste function.?
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Windows file structure limit is 255 characters. No way around that. What I do is make sir my folder paths are less than the 255 characters, and I never have a problem 👍
@CalatoriePrinScriptura 11 ай бұрын
What about "File History" option in Windows? Do you recommend it? Will it be good to put it on a another volume or another Disk?
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
That is absolutely a good option of you have the storage space for it. Cloning your drive is the most ideal solution...working on that video as we speak :)
@doncoyote2 Жыл бұрын
Very informative, thanks. I would like to clone my c drive. I have an external hard drive in a fixed enclosure. Can I clone to it, and then re-clone back to an internal HDD if necessary? Thanks again.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Absolutely
@jimperrin1288 6 ай бұрын
Thanks for an informative video. Really helpful. If I do a system backup and say, a week later, my computer dies. completely, can I just plug the backed up HD into the replacement computer and will it recognize the HD and just carry on?
@AskYourComputerGuy 6 ай бұрын
You'll need to boot to an image recovery disc that you need to create, or you can boot to Windows troubleshooting and restore it from there, pointing to the image file on the drive
@scottspa74 11 ай бұрын
I thought you might have also mentioned enabling file history (for creating restore points). It's under advanced system settings, IIRC.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
It will be addressed in a follow-up video 👍
@CallsItLikeISeizeIts 7 күн бұрын
Can I use that drive readwr to hook up old Internal HDs to get fikles off of them from various DT and LT computers I have had?
@AskYourComputerGuy 7 күн бұрын
Absolutely. That's what it's designed to do 👍
@teegees 8 ай бұрын
@TCG So I have a question for you: When backing up to an image, if say your source Drive is 512gb in capacity, but there is only 50gb of content on it. Will the resulting backup image be 512gb or 50gb? I would hope the latter, so that it can be restored to a smaller capacity drive... I do like the idea of backing up to an image file as it’s much cleaner.
@AskYourComputerGuy 8 ай бұрын
The image file is like any other file. As long as you have the space available, you're good
@teegees 8 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy Not sure I understand. Will the resulting image file be only as large as the contents being copied over or will be have a whole bunch of empty space?
@dhaufjebzjchseis3828 10 ай бұрын
If i do a complete system backup and I have for example mongodb installed with some data in my databases , would I be able to restore that data as well or just the application
@AskYourComputerGuy 10 ай бұрын
If you clone the drive, it will restore everything exactly as it was 👍
@LionRoars918 11 ай бұрын
The best advice you gave, do a system image. I do one daily as not everyone is stupid. One mouse click.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Agreed. Got several videos in production about cloning and why it's the best solution for backup
@kyle5555 4 ай бұрын
Does the system backup work properly if you you have bitlocker turned on? Also, will that mess up any of my saved passkeys in my TPM?
@AskYourComputerGuy 4 ай бұрын
Yes it will work fine. And no it won't be affected by passkeys 👍
@Frank-Thoresen Жыл бұрын
What is your preferred one time backup software when you backup data from a client's computer before you reinstall Windows or do a major job in Windows?
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Fbackup. Free and easy and fast
@jonahbert111 8 ай бұрын
About 6 years ago, I was given a Seagate external drive. Told, it was all set up, all I have to do is plug it in, and it will back up my computer. Just recently, I looked on the drive, nothing there, even though I would plug it in, and in a few seconds it would say my computer is all backed up. As a beginner still, anything other than a slow and step by step, with a show me where it is and how to retrieve it will do. And does it back up my control settings, my email folders, my pinned aps and how I have the book marks set on my windows page, and all the book marks. All that kind of stuff that is impossible to find if you don't know how to look. I have used computers all my life, I am a very intelligent retired engineer, 75 yrs old. It is ludicrous that this knowledge is so hidden.
@waynegrauel1031 5 ай бұрын
If I clone my new pc ( m2 2tb "c" drive)... Does the "clone - backup" need to be the same size? Id think if i used a 1tb drive as my clone/backup, if i had to restore from the clone/backup back to a 2tb internal drive, id end up with 1 tb of drive space thats unallocated or in an empty oartition. So... Do both drives need to be the sane size?
@AskYourComputerGuy 5 ай бұрын
Preferably same size or larger, but it's not an absolute requirement
@scottromesburg7935 Жыл бұрын
Question: can you make the same backup copy to a SSD instead of a disk drive?
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Absolutely!
@YOUSOUFKHADAROO 7 ай бұрын
is windows recovery point procedure for system backup not adequate enough .in which way carbonite, f backup etc better.thanks for your comments and advic
@AskYourComputerGuy 7 ай бұрын
Are you referring to system restore points? If so, they don't back up anything besides your Windows settings
@jayferret007 11 ай бұрын
I use Hasleo Backup Suite and this is completely Free, tried and test
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Haven't heard of it. I'll check it out 👍
@beverlycleaveland9994 Жыл бұрын
A question: Can I use the cloned drive in a new computer I just built? Nothing is the same: motherboard, cpu, ram etc. I really don't want to have to reinstall programs, especially the QuickBooks 2019 I have. That would be a PITA since they are trying to force us to use only online now for a monthly price. Great Video! Oh! I have the AOMEI and tried cloning it through there but it would not boot in my new computer. I'm sure I'm selecting something wrong (I thought I selected it to be bootable)
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Yes, you can use the cloned drive in the new machine....BUT! Because none of the hardware is the same, either a) Windows essentially will boot into what looks like safe mode while it installs the new drivers or b) it will blue screen immediately because of the drivers. You can try booting into safe mode with networking and maybe get around it, but just be aware ;)
@beverlycleaveland9994 Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy Thanks for the quick response. I'll give it one more try
@joeglennaz Жыл бұрын
Thank you for the video one thing that’s very confusing to me is when you talk about creating an image I’ve seen this another videos and no one ever explains the difference in the back up in an image I thought we were backing up so I don’t understand why were creating images. Thanks you
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
There are basically three kinds of backups... One is taking your files and copying them off a Windows computer to an external drive. That doesn't do anything for you if Windows crashes, just saves your personal files. The second method, less popular but smarter, is to create a disc "image", save that to an external, and you can reload Windows "as-is", personal files, operating system, etc. The third option, arguably the smartest option, is to do what is called "cloning" the drive. It involves two similar size drives. Using software or hardware, you make an exact duplicate of your existing drive. In the case of a Windows crash or hardware crash, you can literally take the cloned drive, swap it with the bad one, and you're up and running in minutes, exactly the way the machine was at the time of cloning. This is less popular because it's a little more time consuming, but the advantages are that you don't spend hours reloading Windows and any software programs, as well as personal files. The disadvantages are that it involves buying a second drive to clone to, and unless you have your personal files backed up, you would lose any files you've saved since the last clone. I'm waiting on a vendor to send me some hardware and I will probably make another video going through each method in detail. Hope that helps you understand a little better :)
@joeglennaz Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy thank you so much for responding. I’m gonna make sure that I subscribe to you now I understand the last two options cloning and disc image sound very similar but in my mind I was thinking the difference were as follows back up personal files, like music videos, my documents, or just back up the whole drive, which would include everything the OS operating system all the files everything. Now I understand as you’ve explained it in a more technical way in a more accurate way, and I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thank you so much.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
My pleasure! Welcome to the community :)
@user-hh6ex9md4w 8 ай бұрын
User's Comment: I love going camping with my family and having a backup power source would be so helpful! Can you recommend any good portable power stations for outdoor use?Your Reply: Absolutely! I highly recommend the Segway Portable PowerStation Cube Series. It's a versatile powerhouse with a massive capacity of up to 5kWh and a fast recharge time. Its armor design and waterproof technology make it perfect for outdoor adventures. Plus, the smart app control allows you to manage power flow easily. Happy camping!
@AskYourComputerGuy 8 ай бұрын
👍
@luistrejito1 Жыл бұрын
What's your take on MiniTool? I use it with my customers to clone from HDD to SSD and to run periodical image backups, to me it is a good investment and I add it to the cost of my labor, my customers run it thanks to it's simplicity and reliability.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
MiniTool is great. I've actually got a MT on the drawing board for an upcoming video 👍
@sarahcaldwell3576 Ай бұрын
What if your computer is running out of space and you want to back everything on externally and then delete everything off the computer?
@teaf5157 9 ай бұрын
Great video! Hey by the way, I believe you have my stapler?
@AskYourComputerGuy 9 ай бұрын
😂😂😂
@scottvalery 11 ай бұрын
A simpler clonezilla is rescuezilla. I also use ventoy for multiple iso files
@innercityunit2112 Жыл бұрын
Brilliant!..I just discovered your channel and am so impressed. Fantastic, clear and concise information, and I have just subscribed...This information may just save things for me. My main, reasonably high-spec laptop, which is primarily used for my photography, Photoshop work, graphic design, 3D rendering and gaming, has just ended up stuck in a Windows automatic repair loop. I have tried various methods, following other guides, to try to get out of this loop, but so far, no success. I am concerned that for a few weeks before this I was getting a Smart Error, warning my main C: drive was going to fail, and wonder if this has any bearing?...I don't know....But my first concern is going to be to try and rescue all my jpegs and raw files, and crucially a ton of Ps PSD files that contain hundreds of hours of work and workflows, that would be impossible to replicate. Workflows that I use for base templates for any new projects that required similar design techniques/styles...I do have a 1TB external HDD, which has (should have) a complete system backup on it, which I did using Paragon software. So if I did it right, it should be on there. So, if you don't mind me asking, would I be able to use this to resolve things?..and yes, this disc clone was made around a year ago, so I know files added after this will not be there, but it would at least save a fair portion of my files...I really want to try and save this laptop I'm talking about, it cost around $1800 and is/has been a really solid machine/build = around 5-6 years old now. Thanks in advance for any additional help/response.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Yes. First and foremost, get your files. Everything else is irrelevant. You can use Hirens to access your files or Linux if you're more comfortable with that. After that you can worry about your hardware, but it sounds like a failing drive for sure
@innercityunit2112 Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy Thanks so much for the prompt response and advice. I will get on to that as quickly as I can and take the whole thing step by step. Great channel, I'll be watching regularly...thanks again!
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
My pleasure! Thank YOU
@experienceph7703 Жыл бұрын
one more thing after watching this video. Do you have a video on network backup. I did a network backup before and was successful, then tried sometime back again and got a "VSS" or "SPP" check. Any advise. Thanks in advance
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Sorry, haven't done one of those. I'd check @thisbytesforyou or @nicoknowstech - one of my buddies likely has made one
@experienceph7703 Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy Thank you sir
@2EEsTunes Жыл бұрын
what disk is best to back up too for long term storage? HDD SSD or the M.2 NVMe? just want something i can leave at another place for years and still work when i plug it back in
@wngimageanddesign9546 Жыл бұрын
Too general a question as it depends on the amount of data backed up, and how often. You can easily overwrite a SSD/NVME or SATA limit if the amount of data is great and done daily. You will use up the write life of the NAND flash. Older SLC and MLC SSDs will have extended life and last significantly longer than today's TLC/QLC 3D NAND drives. Thus HDDs can still take greater write cycles for the same lifespan. Are you planning to have it remotely and backing up to it via the internet (cloud like)? Or just write once and store it remotely like in a safety deposit box, family's house, etc? Technically, the HDD's magnetic media should outlast the NAND flash, if we're talking about decades. But HDD is vulnerable to mechanical defects. But both can be subjected to bit rot from stray cosmic rays. Therefore it's best to always have in scheduled rotation of remotely stored backup media. If it's a remotely capable cloud storage, then I would overwrite the entire contents at least once a year to refresh the backup data.
@2EEsTunes Жыл бұрын
@@wngimageanddesign9546 just write once and store it remotely like in a safety deposit box, family's house
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Honestly, none. All drives will fail, m.2 or SSD. That's why I recommend Carbonite. Small price to pay to NEVER lose your important data
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Good in theory, but even an unused, stored drive CAN and WILL fail.
@FlyboyHelosim 9 ай бұрын
Firstly, an M.2 NVMe is an SSD, there's no distinction. Secondly, if you intend to leave a drive somewhere for years then an HDD is the only way to go. The data retention on SSDs is typically 5-10 times less than on an HDD, with as little as a year cited by some sources as to when an SSD will start to corrupt or lose data.
@cyberzenASMR 8 ай бұрын
do I need a blank external drive? I have a 1 Tb that I have projects on. tried to do backup image and it states I need to reformat to NTFS. it’s currently a exFat (so I can go to mac or windows) and don’t want to lose my projects. also, my backup for files keep failing or not copying all folders. I was looking to do incremental.
@AskYourComputerGuy 8 ай бұрын
If you are just copying files or using a backup program, you should not need a blank drive. Just pay attention to the program. If it tells you it needs to format or wipe the drive, you'll lose anything you have on that drive already
@cyberzenASMR 8 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy I have a samsung external and it has data already on there. Figured I could save the backup on there as well. It just does not complete the task fully. can’t figure out why.
@AskYourComputerGuy 8 ай бұрын
@cyberzenASMR hard to say without seeing it. Try using Fbackup, I've always found it reliable. And free.
@cliffg4437 7 ай бұрын
As well as "long" term backup, a hour-to-hour data file backup rule I use is: autosave (Word, Excel, whatever) every x minutes where x is the maximum time you want to spend getting back to where you were when your computer just bluescreened or whatever (I use 5 minutes). Even better, every hoir or so, save, quit, find the file in the file manager, ctrl-c, ctrl-v, file gets copied and numbered, then go back in and carry on. In the evemt of a crash, add 5 to 10 minutes for cursing Microsoft, and going to fetch a cup of coffee to calm down, and you can be back where you were before in 15 minutes.
@AskYourComputerGuy 7 ай бұрын
Only 5-10 minutes to curse Microsoft? Takes me a LOT longer LOL. I'm so in the habit over the years of hitting CTRL-S, my fingers just do it without thinking about it now 😂
@billclay2701 10 ай бұрын
Great topic. If your data really means a lot to you, back up to at least 2 other drives, preferably good brand well reviewed 3.5 inch spin drives. Computers have a way of disappointing you just when you need them to do your bidding. Also always use the eject media thingy in the bottom right corner of the desktop with drives you really care about. Keep in mind SSDs are HARD to do data recovery on, almost impossible really. Same with Flash drives that have got some sort of current shock from the usb port or after no eject removals..... or constant restarts.
@jmproductions7041 10 ай бұрын
does clonezilla copy my disk image AND also my media files? or is it just the OS image?
@AskYourComputerGuy 10 ай бұрын
If you clone, it creates a duplicate of the entire drive, exactly as it is at the time of cloning
@buddiepal12 10 ай бұрын
I just backed up my computer using the windows 7, create system image, to an external hard drive. How do I know if it actually backed up everything from my pc hard drive to my external hard drive?
@AskYourComputerGuy 10 ай бұрын
Browse the hard drive, see if you see backup files or folders. You should be able to open and explore them if saved in zip format
@mhpreach Жыл бұрын
Question what about AOMEI backerupper or rescue Zilla?
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Both great programs!
@rationalbushcraft 11 ай бұрын
I am skeptical of Carbonite. Maybe it is better now but we used to suggest it to our clients but we had a couple of times where it said the backup was successful and it was all green but when we went to restore it said the backup image was corrupt.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
I've never had that issue, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. Hopefully those days are behind them. I have many clients very satisfied with it 👍
@mqcapps 8 ай бұрын
if you don't have a vast and glorious empire - just documents - a simple copy to an external drive will work BUT for imaging you need a back up app but be wary that many of them come and go and you won't be able to get your stuff back - cloud backup can get wonky at times.
@AskYourComputerGuy 8 ай бұрын
👍
@Gepedrglass 8 күн бұрын
If my motherboard supports multiple hard drives, does this mean i can make a backup image and have it save directly to the drive instead? I would assume it would but I figure I'd ask.
@AskYourComputerGuy 8 күн бұрын
Correct 👍
@Gepedrglass 8 күн бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy thank you very much!
@AskYourComputerGuy 8 күн бұрын
@Gepedrglass you bet! 👍
@rogerlee9100 Жыл бұрын
What do you think about File History in Windows?
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
In what context? For backup? I've seen others go that route, but I've never spent much time using that method. Creature of habit I guess
@oninsc102565 11 ай бұрын
What I did to my laptop was upgraded it, since my laptop had a M2 SSD internal port, I install 256 gig ssd and clone my os. Now I have two os on my laptop. I just have to access my laptop Bios to switch between my two os.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Nice!
@emwrmi Жыл бұрын
Good work. What do you say about windows own file history backup?
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Meh. It's "ok". It's Microsoft. But it works ok for average users ;)
@LionRoars918 11 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy.. sounds like you just hate Microsoft. I've noticed it on your videos. But you are typical for KZfaq people, it's about the money.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
@lionroars914 not really. Truth be told, if Microsoft was more like Linux, I'd have to have a regular job. Thankfully, as long as they release crap products, I'll still have work. It's never been about the money. Trying to just enlighten the public who may not be aware of certain things that I have learned over 30 years in the business 👍
@tomdortch7501 Жыл бұрын
Excellent video! I have three user accounts on my computer plus the administrator account. Am I safe to assume I can backup all users using the administrator login and by selecting the users folder. No need to individually backup each individual user folder separately?
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
If you are just backing up personal files, absolutely yes. You won't be able to back up specific profile settings, but docs, pics, etc - no problem! Just grab those folders from each profile and you're good to go ;)
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
As an aside, I wouldn't grab the entire user folder because the appdata folder is usually huge, and aside from a few profile specific configurations, won't do you much good. But if you hwve the space available, it can't hurt. Just be aware it's usually VERY large
@tomdortch7501 Жыл бұрын
Great, thank you for your help!😊
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
My pleasure! Thx for watching ;)
@tomdortch7501 Жыл бұрын
I do have one more question. My C drive is 476GB and about 60% full. Most of the user files are on one-drive only with the files that are frequently used on both the C drive and on one-drive. Is there anything I need to be aware of regarding backup protocol for safety of the files as a whole for all user profiles in case of a drive failure or a malware attack, etc?
@drdr73 Жыл бұрын
I use hasleo backup.its free and very user friendly.the windows built in method gave me some error about uefi...hasleo went through without any error
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Interesting...never heard of it. I'll check it out! Thx
@Petran892 7 ай бұрын
Can i boot another pc with the image backup. I'm asking because i want to switch from my laptop into a desktop and would like everything to be installed and configured the same way
@AskYourComputerGuy 7 ай бұрын
Generally the only way this works is of the machines are identical or very similar, meaning the hardware matches. You can try it, it will either work and you'll have a ton of drivers for Windows to install, or it will blue screen on you. Either way, it won't hurt to try. It will either work or it won't
@Petran892 7 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy thanks for the quick answer!
@AskYourComputerGuy 7 ай бұрын
@Petran892 I do my best! Good luck! 👍
@Freethinker-vj4ut Жыл бұрын
Second question, i have a laptop about 13 years old with hdd. My question is how long does hdd last? Like when is it safe to switch to ssd? Loved your videos always 😊❤
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
The correct answer is immediately, and never. A HDD can't easily outlast and SSD, and vice versa. If the existing system with HDD works well for you, and you don't necessarily need a speed increase, save your money and just make sure to backup routinely. An SSD will give you a huge performance boost, but the lack of moving parts does NOT equal reliability. Just speed ;)
@Freethinker-vj4ut Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy ok. Thanks for the advice 😊
@eyesuckle Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy I had no idea. I always just assumed that a SSD would be more reliable because of the lack of moving parts thing.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Common misconception. Yes, worth the effort if you want speed. Yes, likely more reliable mechanically because no moving parts, but they are being en masse by unknown Chinese companies to be the "biggest and cheapest", that the quality suffers
@706erRick Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy I have just got an 14 tb external hard drive can I use it to extend my c drive...if so how!? Also if I can't how can you make all your downloads go directly to your external hard drive instead of the c drive... because I have a 1 tb c drive and it's full..I need some help here!!!
@AMD-jw6vb 11 ай бұрын
I hear a lot of people saying that 15-20% of your external HDD space is better to be left free for good longevity and defragmentation of the drive and 25% for an external SSD, is this true? because I saw in your video most of your disks are getting into the red zone.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
The best rule of thumb is free as much space as possible, whenever possible. My drives go from almost full to almost empty, as I save my client's data for 6 months, space permitting. Happens often that a client gets zapped or worse a month or so after a repair, and I like being able to tell them I still have their data and they haven't lost anything. Also gives me another service to offer if they haven't backed up their files 👍
@j.jarvis7460 11 ай бұрын
problem with cloud services for me is the transfer rate "both upload and down" is always so slow it makes it unusable for a tech service. Question: What happens with the programs that are under paid single licenses?
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
As long as you have the license keys, you should not have any issues reinstalling them 👍
@j.jarvis7460 11 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy thank you for reply. As this question was for clients I’m not sure what I’ll end up doing. It seems they don’t know where all their keys are. I may have to make a complete windows copy somehow.
@RattlerSSBN Жыл бұрын
First, I hate to change channels on you briefly but I'm looking for recommendations and opinions on a anti-virus solution. I've seen you mention Avast before, can you comment further or point us to a video you may have done recently? I've been using AVG but growing tired of their persistent pestering and web issues. Secondly, does FBackup require a clean formatted drive and can I go to that backup to find and grab a specific file or subdir to restore or copy elsewhere?
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
No worries. Last AV video I did was this: Is FREE antivirus good enough to keep my computer safe? kzfaq.info/get/bejne/bMt7hZWc1LyVj3U.html No you don't need to format the drive for Fbackup. Just need the available space ;)
@LanComp1 11 ай бұрын
I use EaseUS Todo Backup to image my system to a remote 6 TB drive. Incase something catastrophic happens "And It Has" I just boot from my EaseUS Todo bootable USB and image my system onto a unformatted SSD and I'm up in less than 15 minutes. This is my practice for the last 8 years.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Score! Love it! 💪
@garyradtke3252 Жыл бұрын
If transferring files from an old working computer to a new clean one why not just connect the two with a network cable or I assume there should also be a way to use USB. I would also think there would be a way to transfer settings such as network, passwords and others? This is really more of a question and assumption than advice given that I could give just about the same quality of advice on building a nuclear reactor. (I know noting about reactors)
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Yes you could network the two machines together, share a folder on the new one, connect to it from the old one (assuming there aren't too many Windows versions between them, then it likely wouldn't work), then search the network and map a network drive letter to the shared folder, then transfer across your network at your typical network transfer speed. ...or for faster copy, use a flash drive :)
@JoshandJamie 6 ай бұрын
What are your thoughts on BackBlaze or iDrive?
@AskYourComputerGuy 6 ай бұрын
I don't have experience in with either. Hopefully someone else can chime in with their experiences 👍
@davidwayne9982 Жыл бұрын
THANKS - I needed this-- I use a 250 GIG SSD for SYSTEM ONLY---- and a separate 2T regular drive for DATA... THAT way if my system konks out-- I just reload it!!
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Nice! Just be aware you're setup correctly for speed, but that 2TB has a lifespan also.
@davidwayne9982 Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy YES- I do REGULAR backups of it about once every other week... I have a 2T SSD and back up to that...and will be getting another regular 2T for MORE backups.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Perfect!
@davidwayne9982 Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy I really LIKE your videos- and will recommend them to anyone-- simple- to the point- NO FLUFF- and no JABBER or wasted time.. just simple USEABLE fact!!! GReat job- on all of them.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Thank you so much! I've worked hard over the past 50 or so videos to just "get to the meat" and not waste my viewer's time. I really appreciate you taking the time to say that ;)
@FlyboyHelosim 11 ай бұрын
I don't keep any files in the user profile folders as I for one I don't keep much data on my main C: drive, and two, that's the first place people look... so if you get hacked, for example. I also don't use any backup methods that do real-time cloud backups as that relies on an 'always on' internet connection, which I also don't use. I see that as a major security risk and unnecessarily bogs down the system with everything always trying to 'phone home' or update. In fact I don't use any backup software at all except for the occasional disk cloning, which obviously has to be done with special software as you can't just 'copy/paste' an active system. I'm pretty old-school and use the simplest backup methods possible, just copying and pasting files and folders using Windows copy/paste. That said, my backup methods are anything but simple. I have multiple tiers of backups across multiple storage devices of different types and in multiple locations.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
That's the smart way to do it! I've got a video coming out soon, showing people how to split their main drive into an OS partition and a "personal files" partition. Not the perfect solution, but (provided the drive doesn't die), always guarantees that they won't lose their personal files in the event of a Windows crash or reinstall :)
@FlyboyHelosim 11 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy I used to use that method on my previous laptop, where I had the hard drive split into two partitions... one for the OS, programs, etc. and the other for personal data. However, since I got my new daily driver laptop it can take multiple drives so instead of having to split one hard drive into two partitions, I can use a separate SSD for the OS and programs, etc. and another separate HDD for personal data. This is even better, as I could in theory swap out different operating systems while maintaining my personal data, or physically remove the drive with personal data on if I wanted to do a clean OS installation without risk of overwriting my files I want to keep. Having separate drives just opens up so many more options, if only for peace of mind when nuking the OS.
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
@FlyboyHelosim agreed, a much better option. But for some people, this quick and dirty method is enough...at least until they can come up a better long term solution that they can manage to figure out 💪
@rotcorpnala 10 ай бұрын
Hi Scott, tried this on a brand new formatted SSD the system came up with an error code which unfortunately i deleted, any advice?
@AskYourComputerGuy 10 ай бұрын
Without the error, I'd have no idea where to start 🤷♂️
@rotcorpnala 10 ай бұрын
Hi again, thanks for yur prompt reply, I reformatted the SSD and tried again, this time it worked, with no issues. Thanks for posting and I am now subscribed. Cheers Alan@@AskYourComputerGuy
@AskYourComputerGuy 10 ай бұрын
@rotcorpnala excellent!
@DJaquithFL Жыл бұрын
Personally I use Macrium Reflect and clone my M.2 to a same model M.2 and copy my RAID 1 M.2's to my NAS and my important files are backed up remotely. Critical data e.g. financial data is manually backed up on a thumb drive.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Macrium is/was great. Unfortunately, it's no longer free. But older versions are still allowed and work great :)
@DJaquithFL Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy.. I got into a habit a long time ago about backing up and like the idea of a boot SSD with RAID storage. Even though my new PC is 100% solid-state (all M.2's) the OS drive and apps are a lot more vulnerable than just pure storage purposed drives. The problem is sometimes a System Restore doesn't fix the problem of a major corruption and I totally agree with not backing up that type drive daily. The reason I mentioned it is there aren't too many videos that show you how to move your document, photo, etc folders to a different location. I keep mine on my RAID 1 drives.
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Working on one right now. Not NAS complicated, but how to split your drive into two partitions and move your libraries to D. Not the best solution because the drive as a whole might die, but makes for easy Windows reload with no worries about data recovery
@donnanorth7324 11 ай бұрын
Can FBackup backup to BluRay RW discs?
@AskYourComputerGuy 11 ай бұрын
Should be able to, since it can burn to CD/DVD 💪
@mayravixx25 6 ай бұрын
Just figured I'd ask: If I were to clone my SSD onto a standard 1 TB HDD, would I be able to read files from the 1 TB HDD on a new installation of, say, Linux via that drive reader and just copy my files from that? If one of those external readers plus a 1 TB HDD aren't that expensive, I may opt for that instead of my original plan of getting two 128 GB USB sticks
@AskYourComputerGuy 6 ай бұрын
Short answer...absolutely
@mayravixx25 6 ай бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy Thanks 👍 I did end up finding out though that the distro I use (Ubuntu) comes with software that allows me to image my SSD as an ISO that I can mount later, so I might see about using that to generate an ISO and storing it on a 4 TB hard drive that I can then use for mass file storage later (like mods for games or charts/beatmaps for rhythm games that tend to take up a lot of space when you have over a thousand of them)
@vancecost Жыл бұрын
@Ask Your Computer Guy That’s great for a HDD. But what about a SSD. Most new computers are SSD, laptops and desktops. Thank you!
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
Great question! They are absolutely interchangeable, you can use HDD or SSD, whichever works best for you and your budget!
@nikolajmller7377 7 ай бұрын
What is your take on Sync Toy from Microsoft?
@AskYourComputerGuy 7 ай бұрын
Haven't played with it yet. I'll put it on the drawing board 👍
@MisterMarin Жыл бұрын
Clonezilla can be confusing, and it's a bit iffy when it comes to cloning larger drives to smaller drives. I prefer Macrium Reflect. Some older versions are still available as free. Mind if I post a link? 🙂
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
I think I have links disabled, but you're welcome to offer your guidance as a comment. I appreciate you asking in advance. Go for it.
@MisterMarin Жыл бұрын
@@AskYourComputerGuy Okay, I posted a link and wrote a few more sentences, but the whole comment has disappeared. Did I do and / or say something wrong? If I did, I do apologize. 🙂
@AskYourComputerGuy Жыл бұрын
You didn't do anything wrong. KZfaq might have flagged the comment, it will eventually pop up for me to review and I'll approve it
@wngimageanddesign9546 Жыл бұрын
@@MisterMarin KZfaq deletes comments with URL links!
@MisterMarin Жыл бұрын
@@wngimageanddesign9546 Really? Well that sucks. The old 'no good deed goes unpunished' saying proves itself true once again. 🙂
@PearlX9 2 ай бұрын
Acronis True Image is top notch
@AskYourComputerGuy 2 ай бұрын
Agreed 👍
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