Windows 10: "Working on it..." Message for over 18 hours

There is no difference. A backup device just is any hardware to store a backup on: It can be a harddisk, a USB flash drive, a DVD, a CD or your loved floppy disks. The important thing just is that you have a backup, which is outside of that PC.

I don't know, if that small little flag icon in the taskbar still works, if you delete the downloaded files. But, yes, you will always be able to download the installation files again using the Media Creation Tool from the tutorial I linked you above. That way you will also be able to start the installation process - without needing this small little flag.

The difference between installing now and in a few months is not the download. This download will be identical. What will make a difference though is that the installer during installation will automatically get the newest Windows Updates and will directly integrate them into your installation. That way, if you install in a few months, you will directly have a few bugfixes, which have not yet been released today. I personally have upgraded a few PCs a month ago already and it worked out nicely. What I would really take care of is what this little flag icon in the taskbar tells you, whether your PC would be ready, or if there would be any problems with programs or with drivers. If it complains about something, this would be, what I would fix first or where I would wait for a fix. If it lists nothing and if I wanted to upgrade, I would go ahead.

 

Thank you for you time and patience. I do have my files backed up. I didn't get any complaints from the installer. I will probably wait a month or so and try again. Now I understand why my local repair shop told me to wait.

 

There are several ways to back up.

You can keep copies of critical files. That doesn't require the use of any special software. If your Windows installation was messed up, you could recover, but you'd have to re-install the operating system, and all applications. Plus remember some settings.

Or, you can save an image of your current installation. That allows you to restore your exact setup now: operating system, applications, files, and settings. The restore can take less than 10 minutes on fast hardware.

Maybe your online installation will go better in a month's time, if the problem was due to some problem with the upgrade software that Microsoft will patch. Or not. I recommend using the Media Creation Tool approach, which will at least break the process up into steps whose progress you can monitor.