Back up your files before you fix anything

Windows and programs can always be reinstalled. Your photos, documents and accounts cannot. Copy them first, and repairs become stress-free.

What to back up

Your files live in your user folder, **C:\Users\*your name***:

• Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Videos, Music: the obvious ones.
• Other folders you made yourself on C: or other drives: project folders, scanned papers, accounting data.
• Program data that is easy to forget:
• accounting or billing software data files and their backups;
• email kept on the computer (Outlook .pst files, often in Documents\Outlook Files);
• browser bookmarks and saved passwords (turn on sync, or export bookmarks from the browser's bookmark manager);
• WhatsApp Desktop and other chat histories live on the phone, not the PC;
• game saves, usually in Documents or Saved Games, unless the launcher syncs them;
• fonts, templates and signatures you added;
• licence keys and installers for paid programs.

You do not need to copy the Windows or Program Files folders. Programs are reinstalled, not copied.

The quick way: copy to an external drive

1. Plug in a USB hard disk or pen drive with enough free space. To see how much you need: right-click your user folder › Properties.
2. Open File Explorer, go to C:\Users, and open your folder.
3. Select Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Videos and Music (hold Ctrl and click each), right-click › Copy.
4. Open the external drive, make a folder named with today's date, and Paste.
5. Add any other folders of yours.

Copying is slow for large collections; leave it running. If one file stops the copy with an error, choose Skip, note its name, and deal with it afterwards.

Check the copy

A backup you have not checked is a hope, not a backup.

• Compare sizes: right-click the original folder and the copy › Properties; the number of files should match.
• Open a few files from the copy: a photo, a document, a spreadsheet.
• Use Safely Remove Hardware before unplugging the drive.

Backing up to the cloud

• OneDrive folder backup: Settings › Accounts › Windows backup › turn on the folders to sync (Desktop, Documents, Pictures). They then live in OneDrive and appear on any PC you sign in to. Free storage is limited, so large photo and video collections need a paid plan or an external drive.
• Google Drive, Dropbox and others work in a similar way with their desktop apps.
• Wait for the sync to finish (the cloud icon in the tray shows "Up to date") before you reset.

Automatic backup: File History

File History copies your folders to an external drive on a schedule and keeps older versions.

1. Plug in the drive you will keep for backups.
2. Press the Windows key, type File History and open it (Control Panel).
3. Click Turn on. Under Advanced settings choose how often to save and how long to keep versions.

It runs whenever the drive is connected. To get a file back, see deleted files recovery.

When Windows will not start

Your files are still on the disk. Ways to reach them:

1. From the recovery screen: Troubleshoot › Advanced options › Command Prompt, type notepad, then File › Open. Change "Text Documents" to "All Files". This small window lets you browse the disk, right-click folders, Copy, and Paste them onto a USB drive. Nothing shows while it copies; wait.
2. Take the disk out and connect it to another computer with a USB disk enclosure or adapter.
3. Start from a live USB stick of another operating system and copy the files across.

If the drive is encrypted with BitLocker, you will be asked for the recovery key (account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey).

A sensible routine

The well-known rule is 3-2-1: three copies of anything important, on two kinds of storage, one of them away from home. For a household that can simply mean: the computer, an external drive updated every week or month, and the cloud for the folders that matter most. Disconnect the external drive between backups, so that a power surge, theft or ransomware cannot reach both copies at once.

For Windows 11 and Windows 10. Written in November 2026. Menus move between updates; use the search box in Settings if a name differs. Back up important files before any step that resets, repairs a disk or opens the computer. This is an independent guide, not connected with Microsoft.