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How to view Backup Files on WD My Passport drive

Anonymous
2014-11-18T15:35:13+00:00

I ran the Windows Backup and stored them on a WD My Passport Portable Drive. How can I view the files and can I delete some of the files?

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  1. @CmdrKeene 90,621 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2014-11-18T16:51:10+00:00

    I don't think so, I think you have to erase your backup set and make a new one.  I don't use that (for several reasons, but one being you can't restore to another version of an OS, and I use 7/8/10).  I just store my files in OneDrive so they have versioned backups.

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  1. @CmdrKeene 90,621 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2014-11-18T15:37:57+00:00

    The backup sets can really only be read with the backup program. They are compressed for smaller storage and not able to be "browsed" like a normal folder.

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  2. @CmdrKeene 90,621 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2014-11-18T16:19:00+00:00

    Use the "Restore" option and it will let you browse the backup set and choose files to restore.

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  3. @CmdrKeene 90,621 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2018-01-18T02:25:44+00:00

    This discussion is set for "Windows 7", so I don't want to confuse anyone by giving information that applies to newer versions of Windows.  If you aren't using Windows 7, I recommend you don't use the "Windows 7" backup (which is included as-is in Windows 8 and 10, even still marked as windows 7 backup), but I would never recommend anyone use it when better options exist (and there's a big reason why it's been frozen for a decade and only continued as-is that way).

    To answer your specific question:  if you indeed used the Windows 7 backup tool, then you need to go back to the backup settings and click "restore my files".  If you want to delete old backed up files, follow the guide here: delete-old-backup-files-in-windows-7

    However if you aren't using Windows 7, I would recommend using any more capable or modern backup tool instead. Windows has several options, and many options outside of Microsoft exist too.

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-12-31T20:52:45+00:00

    How do I view what backup files I have on My Passport Drive?

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