‘Don’t Forget to Back-Up’ List

With my recent move to Windows 7 from XP on my laptop, I had to do a back-up and fresh install (the actual upgrade option is only for Vista). This means remembering all of the silly little stuff that’s not quite as important as your photos or music, but is nonetheless annoying to lose. Every time I’ve done a fresh install, there’s always something I forget. I couldn’t find a list on the web of things “not to forget” so thought I’d write my own.

It goes without saying that you should back-up everything (music, photos, documents etc) from the following locations:

  • My Documents (My Music, My Pictures etc)
  • Desktop
  • Root of the C: drive (I have some games there)
  • htdocs folder, mysql databases and user priviliges (if you’re an xampp user like me)

In addition, the following “little” items:

  • Downloaded fonts in C:\Windows\Fonts (because there’s nothing more annoying than having to re-download your faves from a million and one sites) by highlighting them and CTRL+Cing them to the back-up location
  • Browser bookmarks and offline mail (Mozbackup is good if you’re using Firefox and Thunderbird)
  • If you’re not using Mozbackup, you’ll need to make a back-up or add-on preferences etc too
  • Saved games (not that I’ve had chance to play any lately!)
  • A list of the programs you use (there’s always something I forget to reinstall)

Have I missed something? Add it below, then we’ll have a handy checklist of stuff not to forget :)

16 Comments

  1. If you use photoshop/illustrator: Back up your custom pallets, shapes, etc. I sometimes forget and it’s horrible :(

    I’ve also accidentally not backed-up my htdocs before… all the years of random scripts that were never online and other nostalgic junk — gone.

    It might be a good idea to write a script to do all the backing up for you :) Then you can just add to it when you recall something you don’t want to forget.

  2. Photoshop and Bridge Presets!! I forgot to do mine before I reformatted my mac last time! grrrr

  3. It’s always the bookmarks that I forget. I also fail to back up my emails on Thunderbird so have lost unread messages before now. ==

    I’m sure there’s something I’ve not highlighted that isn’t on your list but I can’t think of it right now. :P

  4. Perhaps passwords for those who do the autosave in FF and/or other browsers.

    And not just the list of programs, but whatever settings might have been done (like the library for iTunes, s/ftp info, etc)

  5. Your porn collection (or karls in any case)

  6. Application Data (XP) or AppData (W7) folders within your user folder. These files store your Firefox bookmkarks, MS Office settings, and other software settings. It’s generally not a big file and well worth it for a back-up.

  7. This is a good list. I had to wipe everything off of my laptop a while back and I forgot so many little things. You don’t think of them at the time, but it’s really irritating when you find that you haven’t got them.
    I forgot to back-up my fonts and then had to spend ages trying to remember which ones I had that I wanted back.

  8. No good asking me, no matter how hard I try and how many lists I write beforehand, I always end up forgetting to backup at least 1 or 2 things and it’s not until after I’ve formatted that I remember them :S

  9. I always backup my screenshots from games I play online. *blush* No fun losing those! I don’t think I do anything else that you haven’t listed, though. I do the same thing, grr.

  10. I’m forever forgetting to backup my presets and brushes from Adobe Photoshop. It’s always agonizing, because I never remember where I download brushes and/or the sites I do remember have closed down =(

  11. I was proud of myself, when I did my upgrade to Windows 7, I only forgot one thing … and I’m still kicking myself for it. In addition to making a list of programs you want to reinstall, save the files for the ones you don’t have discs for (and look for your discs beforehand to make sure they’re still in good condition, and that you can find them). I had a few that I bought online, and didn’t save one of them. That single was that I forgot, was also the only one I couldn’t re-download. I haven’t found a replacement for it yet, either. :/

  12. I ALWAYS forget something, so what I do now is create an image of my hard drive. Very easy in Vista and 7, and good for getting all your files off if you need them. I lost nothing when I reformatted both my Mac and PC. :)

  13. When doing a backup of your documents folder, don’t forget the big folder marked TEXTS. It could lead to heavy crying and a quest for recovery tools.

  14. One day my computer got figged up and I had to re-install windows XP and I lost everything D: not fun. I got virus from downloading a windows XP theme from a random site… *bushes at my stupidity*.

  15. I usually HATE using the C drive. I don’t like mixing system files with documents. I prefer to split the hard drive and make my own mess. I named my drives G and J because I felt like it. I like to have my own space to organise my files in the way I want.

    I wholly agree with the fonts. When I got my laptop last year (which I use daily now) I copied all the fonts from my old computer onto it – that was a breeze.

    I also copied my Photoshop brushes. Anyone who uses Photoshop regularly should backup those kinds of files… I see someone mentioned that already. :P

    I know people who keep things "in the cloud" and email their backups and documents to themselves; I thought about doing this but I just back up in multiple places. I do need to invest in an external hard drive, though.

    I’m on Vista and while a lot of people seem to dislike it, I actually love it. It’s just given me no problems whatsoever. I’ve considered upgrading to Windows 7 but I’m too lazy, can’t be bothered, don’t want to deal with it, etc.

    A little off topic, but kudos to you on your previous post on the 3rd June. :D

  16. I forgot to back up Adobe once, and now it’s lost. That was a while ago, but still. I don’t have it anymore.