How to Backup Computer Before Upgrading to Windows 11?

The reasons to backup computer before upgrading to Windows 11

Microsoft announced that Windows 11 will be officially released on October 5, 2021. Many Windows users are very excited, because all eligible Windows OS can be upgraded to Windows 11 through an update. However, please do not ignore backup computer before upgrading to Windows 11. There are two reasons for the backup:

☞ Unknown errors may occur in the new system, backup to prevent data loss.

☞  If users are not used to or dislike Windows 11, they may want to downgrade Windows 11 to Windows 10.

Three methods to backup computer before upgrading to Windows 11

This section will introduce three methods to backup Windows 10, including the Windows built-in tools BACKUP, Create a system image and a third-party tool AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. Now, I will show you how to backup data before installing Windows 11 one by one.

│Method 1. Backup files before upgrading to Windows 11 via File History

File History will automatically create incremental backups of files stored in the libraries to a different external storage devices. To prevent data loss after updating the system, it is recommended to back up important files in Windows 10 before upgrading the system. Please note that this method can only be used to back up files, if you want to back up Windows OS, please refer to the next method.

Step 1. Connect the external storage device to the computer to ensure that it can be recognized by the computer.

Step 2. Press “Windows + I” to open Settings, then click Update & Security -> Backup.

Step 3. In this window, click “Add a drive” to select the external hard drive you want to backup to.

Step 4. Then, open “Automatically back up my files” and click “More options” to configure the frequency of file history backup, the time to keep these saved versions, and select the folder to be backed up.

Step 5. After that, click “Back up now” at the top position to start your file backup.

│Method 2. Backup OS before upgrading to Windows 11 through Create a system image

Backup and Restore allows users to create system image backups. It can back up Windows 10 before you upgrade to Windows 11. If you are not satisfied with Windows 11 for various reasons after the upgrade, you can use this backup data to restore Windows 11 to Windows 10. It provides internal/external hard disk, DVD or network location to store data. Here are the specific steps:

Search for the control panel in the start bar and open it. Click Backup and Restore under System and Security.

1. In the Control Panel Home on the left, select “Create a system image”. Then, it will scan the storage devices on the computer and list them.

2. After that, choose one of the three options to save the backup data. Take the first type as an example, and then click “Next”.

3. The drive required to run Windows is selected by default. You can add other drives to be backed up, and then click Next.

4. Confirm your backup settings and click “Start Backup”.

│Method 3. Backup system disk before upgrading to Windows 11 with partition manager

Method 1 and Method 2 are more or less troublesome for ordinary users without a computer background.

I introduce you to AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional. This is a powerful backup software that supports users of Windows 11/10/8/7. It can copy one hard disk to another without losing any data, even Windows OS. And all the cloned data can run successfully in the new drive. The operation is simpler than method one and method two, because every step will make you very clear.

It provides two cloning methods: Clone Disk Quickly and Sector-by-Sector Clone. The former refers to quickly cloning the used sectors to the target disk or partition. The latter refers to cloning all sectors of the original disk to the new disk.

In addition, if you only want to back up Windows 10, then clone only Windows OS to another disk (data partition not included) is a good choice.

Please see download the demo version to see how to backup computer before upgrading to Windows 11 with AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional.

Step 1. Free download this computer operating system clone software, then install and open it. In “Clone”, select “Clone Disk”.

Step 2. Here, choose a suitable method based on the differences mentioned above (choose the first method as an example).

Step 3. Select the disk where the cloned file is located (take Disk 1 as an example).

Step 4. Here, select the target disk you plan to clone to.(take Disk 2 as an example). If your target disk is an SSD, you can check “Optimize the performance of SSD”.  The purpose of this is to improve the SSD read and write speed.

Step 5. In this step, you can adjust the size of the target disk partition. If it is cloned to a smaller hard drive, then the first item is not selectable.

Step 6. You can preview all operations this time in this window. Click “Apply” to submit for execution.

Conclusion

This article uses three methods to show things to do before upgrading to Windows 11. You can choose one according to your actual situation. But if it is for convenience and time saving, AOMEI Partition Assistant is a better choice. In addition to upgrading to Windows 11 on this machine, you can also create a portable Windows 11 USB.