Windows 10: it’s time for me to start a backup plan on my upgraded win10 computers

In Windows 10 there are 2 methods for creating system image backups in Control Panel
Backup and Restore (Windows 7) & File History
What are the differences between them?
I’ve never used File History but it appears to me it’s a better system.
I recently upgraded my Win7 & Win8.1 to Win10.
They run excellently and it’s time for me to start a backup plan on each one.

:)

 

Is the Windows 10 update going to be like Windows 8?

That question -- Will Win10 be a Win8 update -- haunts me too. Windows 8 was and is a disaster. Windows 7 is solid and will be supported through 2020. No reason whatsoever to make this transition. I plan to wait quite a long time and spend a lot of
time reviewing and assessing Win10 before I even consider this jump.

99% of Windows upgrades in past years did not take place in the same computer. Upgrades were almost always part of a new computer purchase. That's my recommended strategy.

Take good care of your computer. Prices for new have gone up considerably.

 

I upgraded 3 computers to Win10, set one aside for two months and forgot the sign-on password.

Hi,

The Microsoft Community can not help with lost or forgotten pins/passwords

per Microsoft Policy.

Keeping Passwords Secure- Microsoft Policy on Getting Around Passwords

Keeping Passwords Secure- Microsoft Policy on Getting Around Passwords

What to do if you forget your Windows password (Windows 8 & 8.1) 10 is

essentially the same.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/forgot-windows-password

Hope this helps.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rob Brown -
Microsoft MVP <- profile - Windows Experience : Bicycle - Mark Twain said it right.

 

Backup and Restore (Windows 7) creates a full system image backup. It is supposed to create a backup of everything required to restore your entire computer, Operating System, installed programs, and user data and then if your entire hard drive crashes you are supposed to be able to restore EVERYTHING from it. Many people have had issues with the built-in Backup and Restore and prefer to use Macrium Reflect Free for that function - which is more reliable and more versatile.

File History monitors a list of folders that you tell it to monitor. When a file inside one of the folders changes, File History makes a backup copy of that file only onto a separate drive. You delete that file by accident, for example, and you can go to the backup location and pull the copy of it back. Or an app misbehaves and shuts down unexpectedly and corrupts the file you were working on, you should be able to go back to the backup location and retrieve the last saved copy. File history will not create a backup of your entire system and cannot be used to restore you entire system if your hard drive crashes.

Macrium Reflect Free

 

Thanks. Backup and Restore (Windows 7) will suffice for me on one of my Win10 computers as I want to try it.
File History doesn't matter to me.
--- On another Win10 computer that I have, I'll use MRF.

 

When I was using system image backups in Win7, it was possible to delete prior system image file backups by managing space of backups on a current backup location using option 1.
Windows 7 backup user and system files delete backups
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials...e-backups.html

In Win10, that ability isn’t included that I can see.
The Backup and Restore (Windows 7) process creates an entry in System Restore just as it did in Win7.
I think it’s entered as System Image Restore Point or something like that.
I just created a system image backup on my friend’s computer but I don’t recall the exact entry.
I recommended to my friend to create monthly system image backups
So that’s 12 entries in system restore in one year: in 5 years that’s 60 entries etc.
Prior system image backups can be deleted on the external hard drive, but the entries in System Restore are still there.
If I’m wrong and they are removable, please let me know.

When searching that issue, I have read that limiting space usage in configuring system protection is the way to deal with that.
--- I don’t see how that addresses removing the entry: all it does is cover up the issue so those entries aren’t seen
--- Aren’t those unseen entries still in the background somewhere and still taking up space?

So my questions are:
--- Does my friend have to live with that? If this is the case, we’ll live with it: I just need to know.
--- However Is there an official way to remove them? I have seen some proposed solutions on the Internet, but all of them are subjective proposals none of which I would trust at this time.

 

I conducted 5 experiments on using Win10 built in System Image Backup methods, as I was concerned about how much space is kept on the hard drive. After doing all 5 of them, I selected delete all restore points for this drive. All regular restore points were removed and the System Image Restore Point: backup entries were not removed as expected. But then the current usage was reduced to 0 bytes.

To me the bottom line is: even though I complained in my prior post that those System Image Restore Point: backup entries are not removable, those entries are insignificant. They do not consume disk space or affect computer performance.

 

My son has quite a bit of data on his laptop and I used Win10 built in File History method to back up his data and also create a System Image backup onto my external hard drive.
I’d like to explain the procedure I used to ensure I’m doing it right.
I started off by turning File History on, selected to set up the backup.
Unchecked run backup on a schedule because I knew I would be removing my external hard drive when finished.
When the backup (I imagine its his data backup) was completed I moved on to create a system image.
When all of that was completed, I turned File History off and removed my external hard drive.
I plan on creating more backups in the future when I visit him

I also created a system repair disc
But I didn’t see how to restore a system image backup or data backup
Is the system repair disc required to do either or both of them?
Or is it possible to restore either or both of them w/o using the system repair disc?