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3 June 2024  Jennifer Thatcher  Technology Manager of Test Dept.
 

Summary
Perform a partition backup on your Windows computer to protect vital files from system or hard disk failure.



Table of contents

table iconI. About hard disk partition
table iconII. How to back up hard disk partitions on a Windows computer?
partition backup

I. About hard disk partition

Hard disk partitions, also known as volumes, require initialization before use. This involves selecting a disk partition type (MBR or GPT), creating a new volume, and setting the partition capacity, drive letter, and file system format. Common drives like C and D are actually partitions. If a partition’s capacity is insufficient, you can expand it via Disk Management. Additionally, if a partition fails, you can format it through Disk Management to clear all data and reset the partition capacity, drive letter, and file system format.
Backing up hard disk partitions is crucial, especially for partitions storing important data like the system partition (usually the C drive) or user-designated partitions. To back up a partition, an image file is generally created to encapsulate the entire partition’s data, similar to a compressed file. This image file is then stored in a secure location, such as an external hard disk. In the event of a system or hard drive failure, entire partitions can be restored from these backups, preventing the loss of important data.
Next, let’s learn about the practical methods of backing up hard disk partitions. I hope everyone can gain something.

II. How to back up hard disk partitions on a Windows computer?

Backing up hard disk partitions is not a particularly difficult task. The following will introduce two simple and practical methods for backing up hard disk partitions, both of which support setting automatic backup plans.

1. Use Renee Becca to back up hard disk partitions

Renee Becca is a tool for system/hard disk data backup and restoration. It helps you back up and restore important data like programs, system configurations, emails, photos, videos, documents, and bookmarks. Using leading incremental/differential backup technology, it saves time and disk space. It supports system, partition, hard disk, and file backups, as well as disk cloning.
Renee Becca - Reliable Data Backup & Restore Software

Quick Backup files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Fullfill different backup needs Supports system backup, disk / partition backup, file backup and disk clone.

Intelligent Automatically analyze the differences between source and backup data.

Convenient Support VSS, allowing to freely view webpages when backing up system.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

Quick Backup files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Fullfill different backup needs Backup for disk, partition and system. Save disk space by backing up incremental /differential data.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

Free TrialFree Trial 2000 users have downloaded and enjoy Renee Becca!
Step 1: Download, install, and run Renee Becca. Select the “Disk/Partition backup” option in the main interface under the “backup” function to back up the entire hard disk or partition. For individual files, use the “file backup” function.
Renee Becca backup function
Step 2: Next, switch to (Backup Partition) under Source. Select the hard disk partition to be backed up and the location to store the backup in (Destination).
select the disk
Step 3: In (Scheduler), you can set the daily/weekly/monthly regular backup and the time to start the automatic backup.
backup disk daily, weekly or monthly
Step 4: In Backup Scheme – Scheme Type, choose a suitable backup scheme according to your needs. Renee Becca offers 5 options: version chain mode, single version mode, full mode, incremental mode, and differential mode.
backup mode of Renee Becca
Renee Becca offers 5 backup options:

  • Version Chain Mode: Keeps the latest 5 versions, automatically deleting older ones after each backup.
  • Single Version Mode: Retains only the most recent version, deleting the previous one after each backup.
  • Full Mode: Creates a full backup.
  • Incremental Mode: After an initial full backup, only incremental backups are created.
  • Differential Mode: After an initial full backup, only differential backups are created.
Step 5: Finally, click the (Backup) button to start the partition backup.
clone the disk with Renee Becca

2. Use the Windows backup function to back up hard disk partitions

The Windows system has its own backup function, which can also be used to back up hard disk partitions and some system data. The following are the specific steps.
Step 1: Start the computer, click the (Start) menu, select (Settings)-(Update and Security)-(Backup), and then click Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

backup and restore windows 7

Step 2: Click the (Set up Backup) button to start setting up Windows Backup.
set backup
Step 3: Choose where you want to save the backup, it is recommended to choose an external hard drive, and then click (Next).
Windows backup
Step 4: On the “What do you want to backup” interface, you can select the (Let me choose) option and click (Next).
Windows backup
Step 5: Select the hard disk partition to back up, including the option for System (C:), (D:), and Windows recovery environment system image (S:). After selection, you can back up the partition and create a system image. Click Next.
Windows backup
Step 6: Confirm the backup location and items. Change the automatic backup plan and then click (Save Settings and Run Backup) to start the partition backup.
Windows backup