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How to copy C drive into an external drive

8 years ago

Preparing to overlay all of Windows 10 but currently first trying to back up all of the files in my C drive into an external drive.

Have a somewhat new desktop running Windows 10. Found something in the PC called File Explorer. Clicked on the C drive in FE, which displayed what I think are the main folders in the C drive. I clicked on the first folder and then hit Ctrl A to highlight all the folders in C. Then I clicked Ctrl and dragged the highlighted files to a folder in my external drive H but nothing happens. TIA.

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Comments (4)

mikie_gw
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

make a system image and send it to your remote drive, then you can right click and mount it and open Drive Manager and assign it a drive letter to open it like a mirror image of your old c drive.

Microsoft hopes you would use a third part backup program for that now. A fairly simple one is the AOMEI BackUpper, free version, that I think will do what you want too.
luis_pr
Original Author
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Ugh, I was hoping to just copy the files as is rather than using software to create these back up files that contain everything. I have some external disks that claim to let you do back up business that but installing their software in W10 has been like reading a manual in another language. Using W10 has been bad enough. How do I do what you specified in the first line? I do not know how to do Control Panel anymore. I thought it went away?
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mtvhike
8 years ago
I'm not sure why what you did didn't work, when I copy a bunch of folders to another drive, I select all then right-click while dragging them over. That should copy all your files, but the programs, etc. won't work unless you reinstall them. In other words, if you simply copy them back to a new C: disk, the computer won't boot. Your data, however, will be preserved. Dedicated backup programs are designed to create a new bootable disk, but I have never used them.
mikie_gw
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Open control panel -- type Control into Cortana or the run line. Or open file explorer and right click in white space or ThisPC & select Properties which opens system and then the menu bar should show Control Panel\All Control Panel Items

Or you can open settings / updates & then in the side bar see backup;

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