If Windows cannot load normally, you’ll see those startup options automatically. In Windows 8 and 10, the advanced startup options work a bit differently, but they’re still there.

RELATED: How to Use the Advanced Startup Options to Fix Your Windows 8 or 10 PC In Windows 7, you can access certain advanced startup options-like booting into Safe Mode or getting to a Command Prompt-by hitting F8 when your system is starting. Windows has always offered some kind of recovery environment to help you troubleshoot things when your computer won’t start. You can exclude folders you don’t want backed up and add folders from elsewhere on your PC that you do want backed up. It not only regularly backs up files, it also retains previous versions of files that you can easily restore.īy default, File History backs up important folders in your user folder-stuff like Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, and parts of the AppData folder. You set up File History to back up all your files to an external drive and then you really can just let it do its job. Rather, it focuses on making sure that your personal files are backed up. File History doesn’t create a full backup of your entire PC.

RELATED: How to Use Windows' File History to Back Up Your Dataįile History was first introduced in Windows 8 and continues to be the primary built-in backup solution in Windows 10.

RELATED: Which Files Should You Back Up On Your Windows PC? File History You also should be creating offsite backups-or at the very least, storing a copy of your backups in a different location. Just remember, it’s not only about backing up to an external hard drive. The good news is Windows itself provides some pretty solid tools to get the job done. We’ve covered all kinds of ways to make sure that your computer is backed up and we’ve even talked about what files you should be backing up. You’ve heard the advice a million times, but it’s still surprising how many people don’t take the time to make sure their files are adequately backed up. RELATED: What's the Best Way to Back Up My Computer? Built-In Backup Tools in Windows

On the Recovery side of things, Windows offers a full recovery environment you can use for troubleshooting and recovery, as well as the ability to fully reset your PC to it’s default settings.

Recovery tools windows