Technology Tips – Published March 2021 in the Guide and Digest
By Don Trauger – Kennett
Backing up your computer’s files is universally recommended. You may never know when your storage drive may decide to fail. Having a backup can get you out of a difficult situation. However, there are different levels of backup that you can consider to meet your needs. You can simply make a copy of an important file and store it on a plug-in USB drive. In Windows 10 you can also use File History, located in the Control Panel, to backup your personal data files such as Documents, Pictures, Music and more. To do this plug in a blank USB drive, open the Control Panel, click File History and click “Run now”. If you don’t find it look in System & Security in the Control Panel and click “Save backup copies of your files with File History”. Use this method if saving your personal files is sufficient for your needs.
If you have installed a number of programs (Apps) that you wouldn’t want to reinstall in the event of a problem then you should consider a full backup. This will require you to purchase a plug-in USB hard drive. Yes, you could purchase a large 128GB USB drive or larger but the size may not be large enough for your needs. Costs also increase above 128GB for USB drives where a backup hard drive can be half the cost and it has 5 to 10 times the capacity.
A full backup is the safest approach as it captures all your files plus system files and makes an image of them on the backup drive. The Recovery method in Windows 10 can recover these files from the backup drive to restore your computer back to where it was when the backup file was created. This will work BUT your storage drive must be in good condition to receive the files from the backup drive. If drive failure has occurred then the recovery will fail. This will require a replacement of the defective drive. This is best handled by an experienced technician.
Before a recovery is attempted try the following repair procedures first.
Turn on the computer which should fail to boot normally if it’s corrupted. Windows will then go into a troubleshooting mode offering a method to repair a startup problem using Startup Repair. Allow that to occur as it may fix the problem. If it fails, then click Troubleshoot > Advanced Options and click System Restore. If that fails go back and click Troubleshoot > Advanced Options and click Command Prompt. In the window that opens type chkdsk c: /r Press the Enter key. If the above fails to correct the problem then proceed to recovery mode in the next paragraph. You can also manually access these repair tools, providing the computer boots, but has other problems during operation. Click the 4 pane Windows icon in the lower left corner, click Power, then hold down the shift key and click Restart.
If the original Windows installation is corrupt and the preceding repair attempts fail then you should try to recover it. Performing this task is relatively easy. Connect the backup drive and turn it on. Click Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > See More Recovery Options and finally System Image Recovery. Follow all screen prompts.