Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Step1
Open the "Backup and Restore Center." Select "Start," and then type "Backup" into the search field. Choose "Backup and Restore Center" from the top of the search field.
Step2
Choose a backup location. Click "Back up files." Vista will search for backup devices and will present a list of options, including local media such as hard drive partitions, CD and DVD drives, external drives and network locations. To backup to local media, select from the drop-down list under "On a hard disk, CD, or DVD." Make sure that the local media has sufficient space for the files to be backed up. To backup to a network resource in all versions of Vista except Home Basic, select "Browse" under "On a network" and locate the network share. Ensure that it has enough space for your files. Click "Next."
Step3
Select the files to backup. By default, Vista provides a set of pre-selected file types, such as pictures, music and videos. To choose unlisted file types, select "Additional Files."Click "Next." Note that only files that are on NTFS-formatted partitions can be backed up. System, executable and temporary files are not options.
Step4
Establish a backup schedule. Vista can automatically back up the selected files daily, weekly, or monthly. Select how often to backup your files, and the day and time for each backup. Note that scheduled backups are not available on Vista Standard and Home Basic.
Step5
Start the backup. Select "Save settings and start backup" to begin the backup, or "Cancel" to quit and start over. A dialog will appear showing the progress of your backup. Select "Stop backup" to end the backup.
