Backing up files on old computer and moving to new computer, help please

Question

Hello All,   I will soon be setting up a new Dell 3670 Inspiron (Windows 10) for a friend and need some input please. I will be connecting a WD My Book backup drive (3 TB) to backup the files on their old Windows 7 computer.  When I am able, I will then connect the WD backup drive to the new Dell Inspiron (1 TB) computer and install the backup files onto the new computer.  The WD hard drive will then be used to make regular backups for the new computer. Do you have any suggestions on some backup software that they can use to make such backups.  They are not tech savy so the program needs to be real simple and user friendly.  AOMEI and Cobian are good programs but they are not user friendly for folks who are not tech savvy.  They also compress files so you cannot simply browse through old backups.   1. It needs to make daily or hourly backups of files they work on (Word, Excel, Images).  2. It needs to save backups in case they need to go back in time to access various backup files/dates.  They need to be able to view the backup files also and not necessarily restore them.  It seems most backup programs save the backup in a compressed fashion which makes it difficult or impossible to simply view old files.   They will be using a 3TB backup drive to backup a 1TB computer so space shouldn't be an issue.  If space becomes an issue they can simply delete some of the old backups.  3. They need to be able to make a system backup as well in case windows suffers an issue.  Otherwise, can Windows Restore be used for this?   God Bless, Ralph

Reagan III · Accepted Answer

I will use a few programs, Microsoft and the provided WD backup software, to accomplish my goals.  Thanks for all the input. God Bless, Ralph

RoHe · Answer

Does this new PC only have the 1T HDD or is there an SSD in there too?

As @JOcean said, look at Macrium Reflect Free. After you image the HDD with MRF, it will let you "mount" the image like it's a drive and then open any individual file, just like you would when it's on any HDD. It can also be set up to save complete images, or only incremental images (eg, only image files that have been changed since last backup).

Microsoft Office has multiple options to save/protect data, especially if they use Office360.

Automatically create a backup when opening a file
Save recovery data for the open file every X min
Make local copy of files stored on network and/or removable drive

JOcean · Answer

Try Macrium Reflect Free at their site here. A very user friendly GUI and loads of information on their site and on YouTube as to how to use the various functions.

Mary G · Answer

Since no windows 7 system files or programs can be restored or used in windows 10, it is better just to copy personal files--photos, music, documents, etc--to removable media. Those can be copied to the new computer. Do that instead of using win 7 Backup or any disk imaging. Programs that are windows 10 compatible (no utilities) have to be installed from disk or download. There are really not many old programs that will work on Windows 10. You will need to get windows 10 versions for the new computer.

Disk imaging is for installing a new hard drive on the same computer.

Windows General

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