Backup

[Wictorian]

I wanna format my pc so I should do a backup. Which files exactly do I have to backup?

[Bombastinator]

31 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

I wanna format my pc so I should do a backup. Which files exactly do I have to backup?

You don’t format a PC, you format a drive in a PC.  They can have more than one drive and each drive can have more than one partition.  A low enough level format can wipe that partition, and some computers, generally laptops but not always, create extra partitions  to keep stuff on, so wiping a drive at a low enough level can mess with the computer’s ability to work.

[colonel_mortis]

Moved to Programs, Apps and Websites

[Wictorian]

On 12/26/2020 at 5:44 PM, colonel_mortis said:

Moved to Programs, Apps and Websites

c'mon mann, why?

[Wictorian]

On 12/26/2020 at 2:37 PM, Bombastinator said:

You don’t format a PC, you format a drive in a PC.  They can have more than one drive and each drive can have more than one partition.  A low enough level format can wipe that partition, and some computers, generally laptops but not always, create extra partitions  to keep stuff on, so wiping a drive at a low enough level can mess with the computer’s ability to work.

So what? I will format the C drive.

[Bombastinator]

16 hours ago, Wictorian said:

So what? I will format the C drive.

While there always is a C drive of some sort, things are often more complicated than that.

[Wictorian]

4 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

While there always is a C drive of some sort, things are often more complicated than that.

OK my question isnt really about the formatting but rather the backing up

[Bombastinator]

2 hours ago, Wictorian said:

OK my question isnt really about the formatting but rather the backing up

I am aware.  You likewise don’t back up a computer but back up the drives on that computer.  Or rather the apps on the drive of the computer.  If you’re wondering about files windows10 has thousands.  Various apps may have hundreds or perhaps only one.   As a general rule, the boot drives holds stuff critical to the OS, while another drive may hold stuff critical to a particular app if there is one.  Stuff CAN be moved amongst drives though. While the win10 stuff most often stays on the boot drive the various apps tend to write them in weird places in windows thus necessitating installation/uninstalation software.  As for which files, if you want the machine to work the same as it did before the format, the answer would be “all of them”. That you are trying to format the drive though implies you are trying to get rid of something that does not want to be gotten rid of, and want to avoid reinstalling various stuff.  Since I don’t know what you consider important or what you want to save it’s a difficult question to answer.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Bombastinator

[Wictorian]

20 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

I am aware.  You likewise don’t back up a computer but back up the drives on that computer.  Or rather the apps on the drive of the computer.  If you’re wondering about files windows10 has thousands.  Various apps may have hundreds or perhaps only one.   As a general rule, the boot drives holds stuff critical to the OS, while another drive may hold stuff critical to a particular app if there is one.  Stuff CAN be moved amongst drives though. While the win10 stuff most often stays on the boot drive the various apps tend to write them in weird places in windows thus necessitating installation/uninstalation software.  As for which files, if you want the machine to work the same as it did before the format, the answer would be “all of them”. That you are trying to format the drive though implies you are trying to get rid of something that does not want to be gotten rid of, and want to avoid reinstalling various stuff.  Since I don’t know what you consider important or what you want to save it’s a difficult question to answer.

The reason ı am formatting is because I have various problems and I guess it cleans some space (other than apps ofc I am talking about junk)

 

My problems : I cant type into any windows apps with my keyboard (like file explorer or microsoft store or the apps I downloaded from microsoft store.)

 

I can use google ( the search engine ) it says its not safe.

 

 

So is it even a good idea to format anyways and does it actually clean junk files?

[Bombastinator]

53 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

The reason ı am formatting is because I have various problems and I guess it cleans some space (other than apps ofc I am talking about junk)

 

My problems : I cant type into any windows apps with my keyboard (like file explorer or microsoft store or the apps I downloaded from microsoft store.)

 

I can use google ( the search engine ) it says its not safe.

 

 

So is it even a good idea to format anyways and does it actually clean junk files?

It does.  It does it by overwriting data though.  It kind of depends on what you are willing to reinstall.  The browser is cloud based, as is the Microsoft store, so all that can be reloaded.  It’s got to be downloaded first though.  It’s sounding like as long as you are willing to reinstall apps from the cloud, the only stuff you need to save is content you created.  Some save games perhaps ( I dunno how the windows store deals with save game stuff.  If it was steam you’d need to save some of the game files but microsoft is microsoft.  Windows10 has several levels of cleanup though, which might allow you to not have to actually do a format and reinstall windows.  If you’ve actually got malware though there’s a “nuke the site from orbit, just to be sure” element.  I’m not 100% convinced you do though.

[Wictorian]

11 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

It does.  It does it by overwriting data though.  It kind of depends on what you are willing to reinstall.  The browser is cloud based, as is the Microsoft store, so all that can be reloaded.  It’s got to be downloaded first though.  It’s sounding like as long as you are willing to reinstall apps from the cloud, the only stuff you need to save is content you created.  Some save games perhaps ( I dunno how the windows store deals with save game stuff.  If it was steam you’d need to save some of the game files but microsoft is microsoft.  Windows10 has several levels of cleanup though, which might allow you to not have to actually do a format and reinstall windows.  If you’ve actually got malware though there’s a “nuke the site from orbit, just to be sure” element.  I’m not 100% convinced you do though.

I use steam and epic games I dont use Microsoft store I told you I cannot use my keyboard

[Bombastinator]

3 hours ago, Wictorian said:

I use steam and epic games I dont use Microsoft store I told you I cannot use my keyboard

Does the keyboard work if you boot to bios?  It’s a quick way to see if it’s a windows thing or a hardware thing.  If messing with the drive will do any good at all bios should work fine. If you don’t use the Microsoft store why did you specifically mention it then?  No matter. I can talk about steam a little bit.  Saved steam games will be in the saved games folder.  Still don’t know if you need to reformat the drive though.

[Wictorian]

5 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

Does the keyboard work if you boot to bios?  It’s a quick way to see if it’s a windows thing or a hardware thing.  If messing with the drive will do any good at all bios should work fine. If you don’t use the Microsoft store why did you specifically mention it then?  No matter. I can talk about steam a little bit.  Saved steam games will be in the saved games folder.  Still don’t know if you need to reformat the drive though.

I dont use microsoft store for gaming. It also happens in file explorer and start menu. 
 

I will try booting to bios, I dont know how but I will find out and try.

[Bombastinator]

26 minutes ago, Wictorian said:

I dont use microsoft store for gaming. It also happens in file explorer and start menu. 
 

I will try booting to bios, I dont know how but I will find out and try.

So you use it for non-gaming then.  Same deal.  An app is an app.  Games aren’t special, they’re just programs.  The standard way to boot to bios is to hold down a function key.  Holding down delete or f8 during restart are not uncommon.  It will be a function of the bios and as such detailed in the motherboard menu.  Removing the drive would also work as windows is on the drive but bios is run off flash storage on the motherboard. File and start menu in win10 are win10.  Remove the win10 and you’ve got the bios.  My suspicion is most likely the windows install is merely screwed up in some way.  Actual malware is or at least used to be fairly rare. I wish I knew all of the various win10 feature levels used for such things.  One of them is called “refresh”.

 

a given motherboard doesn’t just run windows.  The actual program it runs is bios. The bios runs the windows, and the windows runs the game.  Trying to dive below the windows layer. 

Edited December 30, 2020 by Bombastinator