How do I back up my entire system onto an external hard drive?

KingArthurTheFirst · Dec 11, 2011

Hi, I have an external hard drive with 1 TB of space. I have a feeling my PC is about to die and so I want to back up my entire system (not just individual folders) onto the external hard drive before it does. Can this be done via Windows Explorer and if so, how? Or is there a better way of doing it?

Many thanks.

hrlow2 · Dec 11, 2011

Could do a clone job.

http://www.xxclone.com/

This can give you some info.

KingArthurTheFirst · Dec 11, 2011

Thanks for your reply. Will the free version do the job or will I need to pirchase the pro?

hrlow2 · Dec 11, 2011

Free works for me.

KingArthurTheFirst · Dec 12, 2011

OK. So saving my entire system onto my external hard drive using xxclone will save stuff like Outlook (all my emails) and all my software, etc, as well as Office, My Music, My Video, My Photos folders, etc - the whole caboodle?

ReviverSoft · Dec 12, 2011

KingArthurTheFirst said: ↑

OK. So saving my entire system onto my external hard drive using xxclone will save stuff like Outlook (all my emails) and all my software, etc, as well as Office, My Music, My Video, My Photos folders, etc - the whole caboodle?
Click to expand...

Yes, it will.

BUT, you might need to reinstall some/most of the programs:

After a successful XXCLONE operation, I rebooted the system using the newly cloned disk. Then, I discovered that my Office-XP says it needs a new installation. What should I do?

A:

It is best that you re-install the application as required.

Although the cloned volume created by XXCLONE is capable of booting up the system to a Windows operating environment very much like the original environment, it just cannot be 100% the same.&nbps; In virtually all cases, the hardware characteristics of the disk drives are differnt. Even if you choose an idenical model from the same manufacturer, the serial numbers of the disks are differnt.

There are a number of software products that are sensitive to minute differences in the environment. Typically, it is a result of deliberate design by the software vendor.

XXCLONE has just one provision to handle such chases. The Cool Tools > Duplicate Vol. ID function allows you to copy the volume serial number from the source volume to the target volume. For certain products (e.g., some popular anti-virus products) that are finicky with the volume serial number, the problem will go away with the change in the serial number. But, in our view, the fundamental issue is that XXCLONE can only do so much within its design parameters. It is our opinion that if a software product issues a warning and suggests a specific solution, you should follow the instruction. The duplication of the volume ID will not cure all such problems.
Click to expand...

- Taken from he XXCLONE website

KingArthurTheSecond · Dec 12, 2011

OK thanks. Is there another way of copying everything over to my external hard drive? Can it be achieved via Windows Explorer? If so how?

hrlow2 · Dec 12, 2011

Right click and Send To will work for most items.
Operating System is NOT included in that, though.
Better to use for transferring things for storage.

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How do I back up my entire system onto an external hard drive?

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