How to Back Up Your Computer Before Repair

Bringing your computer in for repair? Back up your data first. Most repairs don't touch your files, but some — like hard drive replacements, OS reinstalls, or virus removal — may require wiping the drive. Here's how to protect everything.

Why Back Up Before Repair

Even routine repairs carry a small risk of data loss. A failing hard drive might die completely during transit. An OS repair might require a clean install. Virus removal sometimes means wiping everything. The five minutes you spend backing up now could save you from losing years of photos, documents, and files.

Quick Backup: External Drive

Windows

1. Plug in an external USB drive (at least as large as your used space)
2. Open Settings → Update & Security → Backup
3. Click "Add a drive" and select your external drive
4. Turn on "Automatically back up my files"
5. Click "More options" → "Back up now" to start immediately

Mac

1. Connect an external drive
2. When prompted, click "Use as Backup Disk" for Time Machine
3. Or go to System Settings → General → Time Machine → Add Backup Disk
4. Time Machine will back up everything automatically

Cloud Backup Options

If you don't have an external drive, cloud storage works. The trade-off is speed — uploading hundreds of gigabytes takes hours or days on most internet connections.

• OneDrive (Windows): Built into Windows 10/11. Free 5GB, Microsoft 365 gives you 1TB. Right-click the OneDrive icon in the taskbar → Settings → Sync and backup
• iCloud (Mac): Built into macOS. Free 5GB, 50GB for $0.99/month. System Settings → Apple ID → iCloud → iCloud Drive
• Google Drive: Free 15GB. Install the desktop app, drag your important folders into the Google Drive folder

What to Back Up

At minimum, back up these folders:

• Desktop and Documents — where most people save everything
• Downloads — often has installers and files you forgot about
• Pictures and Videos — irreplaceable family photos
• Browser bookmarks — export from Chrome/Firefox/Edge settings
• Email — if you use a desktop email client (Outlook, Thunderbird), export your mailbox

What You Don't Need to Back Up

• Programs/apps — these get reinstalled, not restored from backup
• Windows/macOS itself — the operating system gets reinstalled fresh if needed
• Temp files — anything in C:\Windows\Temp or browser caches

Manual Copy Method

If backup software isn't cooperating (common when your computer is already having problems), just manually copy your important folders to an external drive:

1. Open File Explorer (Windows) or Finder (Mac)
2. Navigate to your user folder (C:\Users\YourName or /Users/YourName)
3. Copy Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Videos, and Music to the external drive
4. Check for any other locations where you save files (D: drive, custom folders)

Don't have an external drive? A 1TB portable USB drive costs around $50 and is worth every penny for peace of mind. Or bring your computer in and we'll help you back up before we start any work.