PC games in particular have files all over the place. For example, you may want to back up application settings that are located in the C:\ProgramData folder for some applications. RELATED: What Is the ProgramData Folder in Windows?Īny other personal data and settings that aren’t located in your user account folder should be backed up, if you care about it. Here’s how to find the location where Outlook stores your emails. You may still want to check the location of your email files just to ensure they’re backed up, however. The good news is that your emails are likely stored in your user account’s AppData folder, so they’ll be automatically backed up if you back up your entire user folder. However, if you’ve downloaded emails via the POP3 protocol, it’s crucial you back up your emails as they may only be stored on your PC. This isn’t necessary if you use the modern IMAP protocol for your email, as the master copies of your emails are still stored on the remote server. If you use a desktop email client, you may also want to back up your emails. RELATED: Email Basics: POP3 is Outdated Please Switch to IMAP Today This will save you from having to dig through your AppData folder. However, you may want to use your browser’s sync feature and sync its settings with a Google, Firefox, or Microsoft account. Your browser’s bookmarks and other settings are located somewhere in the AppData folder, so backing up your entire user folder will save these files as well. RELATED: How to Sync Your Browser Bookmarks, Extensions, and Other Data Between Computers Or you may not use the default folders at all and simply dump files in a folder elsewhere on your PC’s hard drive. If you store your files in non-standard locations like this, it’s crucial you identify the folders containing your important files and add them to the backup. These files may be stored on another drive, for example. RELATED: How to Move Your Documents, Music, and Other Folders Somewhere Else in Windowsįor example, it’s easy to move a folder like Music, Videos, Downloads, Pictures, or Documents to another location on your PC. If you moved them, only you know where all your files are stored. That’s because Windows lets you store your files in any location you like. You’ll notice that we’re using a lot of words like “by default”, “likely”, and “probably” when saying where your files are stored. So having a backup in the cloud is a good idea. For example, if you store your sole backup drive next to your computer, you’ll lose all copies of your files if your hardware is ever stolen or damaged in a fire. We also recommend using multiple types of backups for maximum data security. Choose the best backup solution that works for you-we discuss some of our favorites here. You can use the tools integrated into Windows or download a third-party backup tool. There are many ways to back up your data, from backing up to an external drive to uploading copies of your data to a remote server over the Internet. RELATED: What's the Best Way to Back Up My Computer? You might think this is obvious, but you’d be surprised how often we’ve been approached by readers that lost their data after their “backup” drive died. You still have just one copy of your data-you just moved it to a different place. If you do, it’s no longer really a backup. You cannot create a backup and delete the original. The most important rule of backups is that any important data should exist in two or more physical locations at once.
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