How to make a backup of your entire computer for Windows 10/11?

For a comprehensive, all-in-one backup solution that captures your entire system—including the Windows OS, installed programs, settings, and all personal files, a disk imaging tool is the gold standard. Macrium Reflect Free is a powerful, reliable, and user-friendly application designed specifically for this purpose. It creates a complete snapshot or image of your hard drive(s), which can be restored in its entirety in the event of a catastrophic drive failure, severe malware infection, or major system corruption, allowing you to revert your computer to its exact state at the time of the backup.

How to make a backup of entire computer for Windows 10

1. Launch the application. In the main window, select the disk(s) you want to back up (typically your main Windows C: drive). Click "Image this disk...".

2. In the wizard, click "..." to choose a destination. This must be an external drive or a secondary internal drive with sufficient free space not the same drive you are backing up.

3. Click the "Schedule" button to set up automatic, incremental backups (e.g., daily or weekly). This ensures your backup stays current without manual intervention.

4. In the schedule settings, set a "Backup Retention" policy to automatically delete older images, preventing your backup drive from filling up.

5. Click "Finish", then "OK" to run the initial backup. The process may take an hour or more, depending on data size.

6. After the backup, it is critical to go to Other Tasks > Create Rescue Media and create a USB flash drive. This bootable drive is essential for restoring your system if Windows cannot start.

For me, this is one of the best ways to make a full backup of entire computer for Windows 11, Windows 10 and Windows 7.