Once configured, they run and back up automatically. Most backup programs easy to “set and forget”. There are a couple of other less-critical-yet-handy benefits to using a backup program. In other words, a backup program copies everything. A backup program really can copy everythingīackup programs use functionality specifically designed to give them access to protected files and files in use. Other applications may also be running with locked and uncopyable open files. When running, Windows has many other files open, preventing you from backing them up with a simple copy/paste. The registry is just the tip of the iceberg. Without the registry, if your hard drive were to die, you’re still looking at a complete reinstall of Windows, followed by a complete reinstall of your applications, onto a replacement drive. If Windows is running, the files containing the registry are locked from outside access. The most notable may be the Windows registry - the storehouse of settings and configurations used by Windows and installed applications. Most importantly, many 1 files open in running programs at the time of the backup will not be copied. Many important files are not backed up using this approach. In theory, it seems simple, and it’s conceptually close to what a backup program does.īut there are some very important things missing. It would have to be run “as administrator” to pick up files that normal accounts don’t have access to. There may be other options that would make sense, but I’ve included the important ones to copy the contents of all files and folders from the root of the C: drive to the root of the F: drive, and copy hidden and system files as well. If you’re familiar with Windows Command Prompt, it might look something like this: The scenario proposed here is backing up C: by just copying all of it to an external drive, like F.

A dedicated backup program has neither of these limitations and will keep you much safer against a wider variety of threats. This approach also frequently saves only the most recent copy of a file, overwriting whatever was saved previously. Files in use will be skipped, including much of Windows itself. You can back up by copying all files from your system drive to a backup drive.

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