Back up Windows files and folders

a. Click Start, point to All Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup.
b. Click Advanced Mode.

Note:

If the Backup and Restore Wizard starts, the utility is running in Wizard mode. You can click to clear the Always start in wizard mode check box, and then restart the Backup utility. If you continue to use the Backup and Restore Wizard, your steps will vary slightly from what is listed in this procedure.

c. Click the Backup tab.
d. On the Job menu, click New.
e. Select the check boxes next to the drives that you want to back up. If you want to select specific files or folders, expand the drive where these files or folders are located. Then, select the check boxes next to the files or folders that you want to back up.

2. Select the System State check box that is located under My Computer in the navigation pane.

3. If the Backup destination list is available, click the backup destination that you want to use.

Notes:

a. If you selected File in this step, type the full path and file name for which you want to back up data in the Backup media box or in the file name box.
b. You can specify a network share as a destination for the backup file. Typically, backup files have the .bkf file name extension. However, you can use any file name extension that you want.

4. Click Start Backup to open the Backup Job Information dialog box.

5. Under If the media already contains backups, do either of the following:

a. If you want to append this backup file to previous backup files, click Append this backup to the media.
b. If you want to overwrite previous backup files with this backup file, click Replace the data on the media with this backup.

6. Click Advanced.

7. Select the Verify data after backup check box.

8. In the Backup Type box, click the type of backup that you want to create. For a description of a backup type, click a backup type and the description appears under Description. You can select any of the following backup types:

a. Normal backup. A normal backup copies all selected files and marks each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). With normal backups, you need only the most recent copy of the backup file or tape to restore all of the files. You usually perform a normal backup the first time you create a backup set.

b. Copy backup. A copy backup copies all selected files but does not mark each file as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). Copying is useful if you want to back up files between normal and incremental backups because copying does not affect these other backup operations.

c. Daily backup. A daily backup copies all selected files that have been modified the day the daily backup is performed. The backed-up files are not marked as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared).

d. Differential backup. A differential backup copies files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It does not mark files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is not cleared). If you are performing a combination of normal and differential backups, restoring files and folders requires that you have the last normal as well as the last differential backup.

e. Incremental backup. An incremental backup backs up only those files created or changed since the last normal or incremental backup. It marks files as having been backed up (in other words, the archive attribute is cleared). If you use a combination of normal and incremental backups, you will need to have the last normal backup set as well as all incremental backup sets in order to restore your data.

9. Click OK, and then click Start Backup.

10. When the backup is complete, click Close.