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Q: What should I be backing up?
A: A complete automatic system backup or mirror of the hard drive is preferable using proprietary
software or hardware, but if this is not available, a minimum
a following data paths should always be backed up:
Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP:
- C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\My
Documents
- C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Desktop
- C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Favorites
Documents, Pictures, Music and Videos are saved under My
Documents by default.
Microsoft Windows Vista:
- C:\Users\Owner\Documents
- C:\Users\Owner\Desktop
- C:\Users\Owner\Favorites
- C:\Users\Owner\Pictures
- C:\Users\Owner\Music
- C:\Users\Owner\Videos
- C:\Users\Owner\Contacts
In this example,
"Owner" is the name of the profile which is usually
a user name. This example also assumes that
"C:" is the drive letter of your system drive.
If there is more than one profile, then those paths
will also need to be backed up.
In order to see Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail data paths, you
must be able to see "Hidden Files and
Folders". To enable this option, go to
"Windows Explorer" then "Tools" then
"Folder Options" then "View" and check
"Show hidden files and folders" as shown below:
Once you are able to see the paths, the you can back up the
following folders:
Microsoft Windows 2000 and XP:
- C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Outlook
- C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities
- C:\Documents and Settings\OwnerApplication Data\Microsoft\Address Book
Microsoft Windows Vista:
- C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook
- C:\Users\Owner\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows
Mail
Many software vendors use the "My Documents"
folder as the default folder for other data. Intuit uses
the program path for example "C:\Programs
Files\Intuit\Quicken". However,
software vendors that do this, such as Intuit, often provide
an integrated backup solution of their own such. If you
have propriety software installed on your PC it is important
to consult with your
software vendor for proper backup procedures.
The backup solution on this page a good
choice if the user is constrained to space (CDRW or DVDRW) and
time. A user could simply copy the entire profile path;
"Owner" but would need more space to copy and would
be backing up unnecessary files.
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