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Original post : Backup and Restore Files in Windows 7.
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This guide explains <strong>how to create a backup of your files and restore those files on Windows 7 computer.</strong> If you're looking on how to use System Restore, go to <a href="https://neosmart.net/wiki/windows-system-restore/#Restore_Windows_7">our Windows System Restore - Windows 7 guide</a>. [toc] <h2>How to create a backup in Windows 7</h2> To backup certain files on a Windows Vista computer, you'll be using the <strong>Backup and Restore</strong> utility. In Windows Vista, it was called Backup and Restore Center. To create a backup of your system in Windows 7, follow these steps: <ol> <li>Click <strong>Start</strong></li> <li>Go to Control Panel</li> <li>Go to System and Security</li> <li>Click <strong>Backup and Restore</strong> For a faster route: click Start, type <code>backup</code> in the search field, and then click on the <strong>Backup and Restore</strong> option from the search results list. </li> <li>At the <em>Back up or restore your files</em> screen, click <strong>Set up backup</strong> [caption id="attachment_2591" align="alignnone" width="367"]<img src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/10/windows-7-set-up-backup.png" alt="Windows 7: Set up backup" width="367" height="230" class="size-full wp-image-2591" /> Windows 7: Set up backup[/caption] </li> <li>Select where you want to save the backup and click Next You can save the backup on: <ul> <li>a hard disk drive</li> <li>writable DVDs</li> <li>on a network</li> </ul> If you plan to save the backup on a DVD, insert the DVD when prompted and label each DVD in sequence. If you plan to save the backup on a network, browse to the the desired location on the network. After you type the network credentials, click OK. </li> <li>Choose <strong>Let Windows choose (recommended)</strong> [caption id="attachment_2592" align="alignnone" width="577"]<img src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/10/windows-7-let-windows-choose.png" alt="Windows 7: Let Windows Choose" width="577" height="247" class="size-full wp-image-2592" /> Windows 7: Let Windows Choose[/caption] You can opt for Let me choose and select individual files and folders to backup. </li> <li>Click <strong>Next</strong></li> <li>Verify the backup details</li> <li>Click <strong>Save settings and run backup</strong></li> <li>The process will now start. This might take some time because your system is backing up all data on your system.</li> <li>After the process is complete, the <em>Back up or restore your files</em> wizard will display the size of the backup file.</li> </ol> <h2>How to restore a backup in Windows 7</h2> The instructions to restore a backup file using the Backup and Restore utility are: <ol> <li>Click <strong>Start</strong></li> <li>Go to Control Panel</li> <li>Go to System and Security</li> <li>Click <strong>Backup and Restore</strong></li> Or type <code>backup</code> in the search box at Start and click the Backup and Restore items from the search results list.</li> <li>At the <em>Back up or restore your files</em> screen, click <strong>Restore my files.</strong> [caption id="attachment_2593" align="alignnone" width="428"]<img src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/10/windows-7-restore-my-files.png" alt="Windows 7: Restore my files" width="428" height="95" class="size-full wp-image-2593" /> Windows 7: Restore my files[/caption] If no backups are being detected, the Restore my files button won't appear. In this case, click <strong>Select another backup to restore files</strong> from instead. </li> <li>Browse to locate the backup file You can narrow your location search by clicking Choose a different date. This enables you to choose a backup file based on the date you saved the backup. </li> <li>Click <strong>Next</strong></li> <li>Select a location where you want to restore the backup file</li> <li>Click <strong>Restore</strong></li> <li>The restore process will now begin. This process may take a while depending on how large the backup file is.</li> <li>When the process is complete, click <strong>Finish</strong></li> </ol> <h2>Delete individual backup files</h2> In Windows 7, you can delete individual backup files created using Backup and Restore utility. To do, follow these steps: <ol> <li>Click <strong>Start</strong></li> <li>Go to Control Panel, then System and Security</li> <li>Click <strong>Backup and Restore</strong></li> <li>At the <em>Back up or restore your files</em> screen, click <strong>Manage space</strong> [caption id="attachment_2594" align="alignnone" width="402"]<img src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/10/windows-7-backup-manage-space.png" alt="Manage Space button in Windows 7" width="402" height="25" class="size-full wp-image-2594" /> Manage Space button in Windows 7[/caption] </li> <li>The Manage Windows Backup disk space wizard should now appear</li> <li>Click <strong>View backups</strong> [caption id="attachment_2595" align="alignnone" width="570"]<img src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/10/windows-7-view-backups.png" alt="View Backups button in Windows 7" width="570" height="65" class="size-full wp-image-2595" /> View Backups button in Windows 7[/caption] </li> <li>Select the backup files you want to remove</li> <li>Click <strong>Delete</strong></li> <li>Click <strong>Delete</strong> again to confirm that you want to delete the backup files.</li> <li>The deletion process will now start. This may take a while depending on how large (and how many) the backup files are.</li> <li>Once the backup files are deleted, click <strong>Close</strong></li> <li>Click <strong>Close</strong> again to exit the Manage Windows Backup disk space wizard</li> </ol> <h2>Restore files from Windows Vista backup</h2> If you created a backup file in Windows Vista, you can have it restored on a Windows 7 system. To do so, follow these steps: <ol> <li>Insert the Backup DVD you used in Windows Vista</li> <li>Click <strong>Start</strong></li> <li>Go to Control Panel, then System and Security</li> <li>Click <strong>Backup and Restore</strong></li> <li>At the <em>Restore</em> section, click <strong>Select another backup to restore files from</strong> <img src="/wiki/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2014/10/windows-7-select-another-backup-restore-files-from1.png" alt="Select another backup to restore from" width="232" height="72" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-2596" /> </li> <li>Verify the backup file details. Click <strong>Refresh</strong> if you don't see the details yet.</li> <li>Click Next</li> <li>Choose <strong>Select all files from this backup</strong></li> <li>Click Next</li> <li>Choose where you want to save the files on your Windows 7 system</li> <li>Click <strong>Restore</strong></li> <li>Once the process is complete, verify that the files have been restored successfully</li> </ol> <h2>More Information</h2> [partial name="partial_moreinfo" versions="7"]