Because it is World Backup Day, a quick run through of the basics, in case it’s useful [as always]…
Microsoft prefers not to get involved with backing up – they like you to store your stuff in their cloud, prefer apps are installed [& reinstalled] from the store, and that if needed, you either recover or reinstall Windows 10. They’re also releasing a new version of Windows 10 soon, which can be hard to escape. A full disk image backup is strongly recommended before upgrading win10 to a new version – when installing the new version breaks, and it does often enough to be a concern, Windows 10 may or may not recover, and the upgrade process may remain broken. Restoring that backup may be the only way to proceed, short of a complete, fresh reinstall.
The most important aspect of backing up is to make sure that you can restore the backup. In a worst-case scenario that means booting the device [PC, laptop etc.] to a USB stick or drive. You may have to research to find out how to do that. The BIOS stores a record of which drive to look at for the boot files, and to boot from a USB stick or drive you need to tell the BIOS to look there instead of the hard drive it would normally use. Sometimes there’s a hot-key that, if pressed while the device is starting, will bring up a menu of connected drives to boot from. Other times you have to enter the BIOS setup dialog to change the boot drive or drive order [drive order is a ordered list of drives to check]. You usually can enter the BIOS setup by pressing a hot-key when the device is starting, but that’s not always the case, and the key to press as a hot-key varies. If you do change the BIOS settings it’s important to remember what they were before you changed anything, so you can put things back as necessary.
Note that there are 2 main ways that the BIOS can work, UEFI [sometimes just called EFI], & Legacy. UEFI is actually a Linux or Linux-like OS that runs on the BIOS chip(s), while with Legacy the coded instructions are run as a program without an overlying OS. Many BIOS can run in either mode, or a combo of both, while others are strictly UEFI or Legacy. Backup software usually detects which one to use creating a bootable USB stick or drive. In many cases it does not matter, since the BIOS may work with either one, but that capability varies with the brand & model of the device, the BIOS version etc. Seeing what will work can sometimes be confusing, and all you can do is trial & error. The BIOS may list something like Windows Boot Loader along with the drive that they’re on, rather than or in addition to the drive’s brand & description. Or the BIOS may only list that Windows Boot Loader without any of the drives that are connected – in that case usually restoring the default brings that full list back. It may or may not help to Google using your device brand/model – you might find a great description of everything you’ll see & what you should change &/or keys to press, or you might not find any info at all.
The brand & model of the USB stick or drive you want to use can sometimes matter – most will work, But Not All – that’s just something to be aware of in case what you think should work does not… the cure could be as simple as using another USB stick. And while there are several brands of backup software available, and most all will work, the same cannot be said for the bootable USB sticks or drives that you can create with that software. Macrium Reflect [free & paid] is probably the best in that regard. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to make creating & testing a bootable USB stick the 1st step if/when checking out whatever brand of backup software.
Besides backup software & the bootable USB stick or drive you create with that software, you also need a place to store your backup archive(s). Fastest & most convenient is a separate hard drive installed in a desktop PC’s case, though you should still save a copy of that backup archive elsewhere. The generally accepted standard is called 3-2-1… 3 copies of your backup archive, 2 on different storage devices &/or types of storage devices, & one copy off-site. Storing copies of your backup archives on removable storage, e.g. USB hard drives, That Are Not Normally Connected, may help if you’re hit with ransomware – ransomware may seek out any backup archives that it can find & corrupt those too. And since ransomware often has a delayed start – it doesn’t do its nasty biz the moment it’s installed – it may be useful to alternate USB drives, in case you’re already infected when you create a backup.
When it comes to USB hard drives, they’re not all created equal. SSDs are fine, if the brand & model selected has good reliability – many of the cheaper brands/models do not. The 2.5” conventional hard drives, like those used in laptops, are often a bit slower, but they generate less heat, so you have a better chance that they’re be OK in a case without active cooling [along as the ambient temperature isn’t too high]. A full size [3.5”] conventional hard drive however usually needs to be actively cooled – read needs a case with one or more fans. You can Google to try & find specs for whatever drive – you usually don’t want to go much above 40 degree Centigrade – and you can set the update interval for Hard Disk Sentinel’s temperature reading from the drive’s S.M.A.R.T. data to keep an eye on it.
A very workable solution is a hard drive dock used in tandem with a small desk fan for cooling with conventional hard drives. USB 3.1 Gen 2 is fastest, followed by UASP, then USB 3.1. USB 3.1 is supported by most devices & hard drive enclosures, UASP is a special way of connecting using USB 3.1 that is not supported on all Windows devices, & is more often supported in win10, USB 3.1 Gen 2 is supported by the fewest devices & HDD enclosures. Both UASP & Gen 2 are generally only worth it if you’re using an SSD.
Most disk/partition image backup software will let you create archives split into smaller files – 4 GB is common. That makes it easier to store those archives on DVDs, which make it easier to store copies off-site. They also take up less room than hard drives. In my opinion it works better to create backups to a hard drive, then burn the separate 4 GB files to disc. The downside is that you’d want to copy them back to a hard drive before restoring, but it’s faster & less of a PITA verifying that the archive on a HDD is good once you create it, and the DVDs are more for last chance, “in case of” scenarios anyway. While Blu-ray discs store much more data, the longevity of all but the most expensive discs [& they are very expensive] is highly suspect.
Hard drives have at least one partition – Windows 10 by default creates 4. A partition image backup is the raw data [the 1s & 0s] on that partition stored in an archive file or files, often in the format of a VHD [Virtual Hard Disk] that can be mounted so individual files can be accessed. A disk or drive image backup includes the partition image backups for the partitions on that drive – often you can select which partitions you would like included. You can usually restore just the partition or partitions you select in a full disk image backup. Most software lets you verify the integrity of a backup archive. Some backup software will let you specify files/folders you Do Not want included, but that slows the process – image backup apps owe their speed to just handling raw data, not broken down into files/folders.
There are also partial image backups, that are made up only of the files/folders that have changed since the last backup. This saves storage space vs. creating a full image backup each time, but it has its costs… you’re going beyond just copying raw data to determine which files/folders to include, which takes more time & processing. And since new archives are incomplete, they’re useless on their own. This type of image backup is broken down into two types, incremental & differential – this article explains the 2 nicely… acronis[.]com/en-us/blog/posts/tips-tricks-better-business-backup-and-recovery-world-backup-day
Unfortunately, Windows boot files also need to be mentioned. Microsoft 1st started allowing UEFI [EFI] boot files with Windows 7, though initially it didn’t work more than it did. UEFI boot files Have to be on a FAT compatible partition – with Windows normally FAT32 – while Legacy boot files can be anywhere, though Microsoft usually puts them on a FAT32 partition when win7 is installed. UEFI & Legacy boot files each have their own BCD boot loader, which stores its settings both in the BCD file & in a separate section of Windows registry. You can edit more settings in a Legacy BCD than one that’s UEFI, but both use little or undocumented registry entries. Finally, the FAT32 partition storing the boot files is protected – Microsoft has several partition type codes [that of course could be more documented] and you may not be able to get around those protecting the latest version of win10’s boot partition.
Particularly with UEFI, those boot files MUST be protected, and this means backed up so that they can be restored exactly as-is. If they become damaged, you may have Only 2 options: restore that backup or reinstall a fresh copy of Windows. They can become damaged for example using partitioning software in some circumstances, restoring backups in some circumstances, when win10 is upgraded to a new version & something goes wrong etc. You may not be able to repair them. You may not be able to recreate them without a fresh install. AND, not all backup software will restore those boot files as-is in every situation. Paragon for example *might* -- Macrium Reflect will. [Those are the two I have experience with in that regard – other brands, e.g. AOMEI, may work perfectly well, but I don’t know.]