backup w10 apps

Question

Hi,

I have a W10 laptop which I want to upgrade to W11. I can't run mpt2gpt.exe because of some historic boot partition issue so I have to set up the BIOS to UEFI, clean the hard drive then do a new install of W10 before upgrading to W11 .

I want to back up my W10 apps and files onto a second drive installed in my laptop. I don't want to have to reinstall all of my apps, settings, preferences, passwords etc. Microsoft wants me to use one drive for my 240GB backup....

If I make a clone of the drive then when I attempt to restore it I'm sure it'll want to use the old MBR partition setup.

I found references to a W7 backup and restore facility which claims it can do this but I can't find the actuall app to do this. My W10 is 22H2 and I think that app was removed after 22H1

It's already a pain to jump through the hoops to upgrade to W11 so I'm hoping that I can at least find a way of restoring my W10 environment into W11 after the necessary hoops have been jumped through...

Thanks in anticipation

Russell

Answer 1

Hi Brian,

Thanks for chatting with me about file backups.

Have you got any advice about the question that I raised?

To be honest it's a bit unnecessary now, I just configured uefi, booted to a w10 usb and started over.

I already had a copy of my user file with all user files and app data so at least I can reference everything.

Regards

Answer 2

Hello, Argyrj

Welcome to the Microsoft Community.

Thank you very much for your feedback. I have carefully read the information and problem description you provided. You mentioned that you need a way to back up personal files in Windows 10 so that you can migrate to Windows 11.

I understand your current needs. No, backup and restore are still available, but you need to open it in the Control Panel. I suggest that you do not use backup and restore, but use another more convenient and useful backup feature of Windows: File History, which can help you back up personal files.

How to use this feature, you can refer to the steps below.

File History is a feature provided by Windows that can help you automatically back up personal files, such as documents, pictures, music, videos, and files on the desktop. When a file is modified or deleted, you can restore the previous version from File History.

Step 1: Enable File History

Prepare an external storage device (such as a USB hard drive, network drive, etc.) and connect it to the computer.

Use the Windows + R shortcut key to open the "Run" dialog box, execute control to open "Control Panel" > "System and Security" > "File History".

The wizard will automatically scan and display eligible drives.

After selecting an available location, click Enable.

Step 2: Configure File History

After selecting a storage location and applying it, the File History service will start and back up a full copy of your files, and then back up every hour by default. You can adjust the backup frequency:

In File History, click Advanced Settings.

Select as needed:

Save copies of files: from as little as 10 minutes to daily.

Retain saved versions: from 1 month to forever, where "until out of space" allows old backups to be automatically deleted when the drive is full.

Step 3: Manage backup content

By default, File History backs up:

All folders in the current user profile, including folders created by third-party applications.

The contents of local folders added to custom libraries.

If you want to exclude certain folders, you can follow these steps:

In File History, select Exclude folders.

Click Add and select the folders to exclude.

After defining all the folders to be excluded, click Save Changes.

Step 4: Restore files

Use the Windows + R shortcut to open the Run dialog box, enter control to open Control Panel > System and Security > File History > Restore personal files.

You will see a File History window showing all the files and folders that have been backed up. You can browse different versions of files in chronological order.

Select the file or folder you want to restore, then click the green "Restore" button to restore the file to its original location.

If you want to restore the file to a different location, right-click the file and select "Restore to", then select a new location.

Best regards

Brian - Microsoft Community Support Specialist