If i do a normal backup to an external HDD of my current Windows 8 pc, exactly what will it backup? Will it backup installed programs like games and all other programs? I know a system image would take care of everything since it's basically a clone of the hard drive. The reason i ask is because i want to swap mobos and my cpu to upgrade them, but i dont want to lose my programs, files and settings. I was planning on doing a system image, then doing the hardware swap, then if it wouldnt boot i could restore from the image, but i realized it would just keep refusing to boot because it would be in the same state where it wouldnt be able to boot. So i thought about just doing a backup before any hardware changes, and if i dont boot after the mobo swap, i can re-install windows and restore from the backup to get back my programs and all other data. Thing is, im pretty sure a backup only keeps files like photos, music, and other small things like that, but i want to keep everything: programs, installations, games, files, etc. like a system image would keep. So any help to my goal would be massively appreciated. Thanks so much!
↧