How Do I Backup Installed Programs & Move Them to a Different Computer?

Backup all your important files and folders.

We are all familiar with the viruses and security threats so commonly found in the computers these days. Though most computers remain safe from these perils, many people still prefer making backup disk for the PC as a precautionary measure. That way, you will not have to worry about losing important files and documents to viruses and other computer problems.

Things You'll Need

• External hard drive

Instructions

1. Buy an external hard drive or a zip drive for the computer. You will use this drive to create a backup of all files from your existing hard drive.

2. Plug the external hard drive or the zip drive into the computer. It will most probably be a USB drive that can be plugged into one of the USB 2.0 ports of your computer.

3. Go to "System Tools" in Windows XP from the main menu of your computer, and click on "Backup" option. In a minute or two, "Restore Auto Wizard" or "Backup" will appear along with a few options. Choose the last option to select your own files. Then select your destination drive. You can also back up to a CD-RW.

4. Go to the Control Panel in Windows 7, and then to Systems and Maintenance and then to Backup and Restore. Either set up the backup if you are doing this for the first time, or select "Create new full backup." Select the destination drive or DVD for your program copies.

5. Insert the drive or DVD containing the backup data into a different computer and copy all files under a new folder. Name the folder "Backup". Mentioning the date in the folder name will help you remember when the backup was made.

References

• Microsoft: Windows XP Backup Made Easy
• Bizrate
• Microsoft: Back up your files