Copying My Discs To An External Storage Device.

[Khandro]

Is it a simple matter to copy the entire contents of my discs (C & G) to an external device for back up? I'm Windows 10.

I have an external storage device which has 180 GB free space. and my 2 discs combined have a total of 102 GB of data (C has 78 GB and G has 24 GB).

 

 

 

 

[barry1010]

Yes.  A simple thing to do but several ways to do it.

[barry1010]

Apologies, for some reason I thought you were copying music files only.  Maybe not so straight forward if you want to 'clone' your hard drive including the OS

[bhg481]

You  can only copy DATA from one drive to another. Drive C will contain your operating system and program files; you can copy them but they won't work from the new drive.

[barry1010]

You can clone the entire thing, including OS, to your external drive, enabling you to reinstall everything should the hard drives on your PC fail.  You need software to do so, all explained in this link from a respected magazine

https://www.pcmag.com/how-to/how-to-clone-a-hard-drive-on-windows-pc-mac

 

[Khandro]

What I call 'data' is mostly images - hundreds of them, all relating to, and of my work.

I'm scared of my computer crashing and losing it all and equally of getting it wrong transferring it and losing it also that way.

Do I need to 'clone' it ?

I know an IT guy, perhaps it would be best if I get him round to do it 

 

[bhg481]

If all you want is your data then cloning is unnecessary. Just drag and drop your data to a second, separate disc or flash drive. Two copies are better than one. I actually bought some software for doing this because it allows the source and destination directories to be compared and, in case of duplicated files, keeps the newer and overwrites the older. I use it particularly with photos; if I modify one I can spread the mod to all my backups without having to copy the entire disc.

[Khandro]

Thank you bhg & all. I think I'm sorted.

[PsalmEquipt]

Synchredible is a free and intuitive software designed to duplicate content from one location to another. https://www.softpedia.com/get/System/File-Management/Synchredible.shtml

[Atheist]

I use a 256 gig memory stick (usb). Just copy your documents over in the usual waay.

[ToraToraTora]

you don't really want to copy the whole thing. Most of it will be system files and program files. You really only want to copy your personal docs which will be much smaller.