To make your first backup in BackupOnShutdown, choose "Set up your first backup" on the empty dashboard. You pick the folders, a place to keep them, whether to use a password, and a name. Nothing is copied until you choose "Back up now", or start a backup later from the dashboard.
What do you want to back up?
Select "Documents", "Pictures", or "Desktop" if they appear and contain files you want to protect. Use "Add folder…" for other folders; none are selected by default. It backs up those folders, not Windows or installed programs — see file backup vs system image.
Select the folders that hold the real files. A shortcut that only points at a folder is not the same as selecting that folder. You can add and remove folders later, so begin with a set you can look over, then continue with "Next".
Where should the backup be kept?
Choose "Choose a drive or folder…" and pick the backup location. An external drive keeps the backup separate from the computer's own drive, so that drive failing won't take both copies with it. A folder on the same drive as your files won't help if that drive fails, and you get a warning before you continue. The location also can't sit inside a folder this backup includes.
Backup locations explains how to choose a drive or NAS folder and handle a missing drive.
Setup asks for one location. After the backup is saved, open it and use "Add location…" to add another drive, a USB stick, or a NAS folder. Each run copies every selected folder to each location it can reach, one location after another. It doesn't send different folders to different drives inside a single backup. For a different set of folders, use "Add another backup".
Should you protect it with a password?
"Password protection" is off by default. You can leave it off for a drive you keep at home, but anyone with access to the drive can open the backed-up files. Turn it on if you want to protect the files against someone else accessing a lost or shared drive.
Enter and confirm a password, then follow the prompt to save a copy somewhere other than this computer. Protect a backup with a password explains how to keep it safe and why a lost password can't be recovered.
Ready to go
On "Ready to go", check the folders, the location, whether a password is set, and how long old versions are kept. Choose a clear "Name", such as Personal documents.
You can finish in two ways:
- "Finish, back up later" saves the setup and returns to the dashboard. Your files are not backed up yet. Start the run later with "Back up".
- "Back up now" saves the setup and starts the backup immediately. This first run doesn't shut the computer down.
Leave the drive connected until the run finishes. The first backup can take longer than later runs, which save new and changed data. Temporary files and folders that apps mark as a cache are always left out; how long the backup takes depends on your files and the location.
If setup offers folders you could download or create again, leaving them out is optional. You can change that later in the backup's details.
How do you check the first result?
When the run ends, read the summary. "Backup finished" means it succeeded. "Backup finished, with a few problems" means something needs a look, and "Details" shows what was reported. The summary also tells you how many files were backed up, and how many were new or changed since the previous run.
For an end-of-day routine with one double-click, turn on "Desktop shortcut" in Settings, on the Preferences tab. Back up, then shut down explains the shortcut, including that it starts without asking you to confirm.
Then restore a file into a new empty folder. This checks that you can recover what you need.
How do you change or remove the backup later?
Open the backup on the dashboard. In its details you can rename it, add folders with "Add folder…", remove folders, and add places with "Add location…". One backup is a list of folders plus a list of locations. That might be Documents on an external drive, or Documents and Pictures on that drive, a USB stick, and a NAS. Removing a folder stops future backups of it; versions already saved remain subject to your old-version setting. Removing a location stops new backups from going there, and it doesn't delete the files already stored there.
"Include when I click Back up" decides whether the buttons on the dashboard include this backup. Turn it off to skip it on the main run. "Back up now" in the details still runs that backup on its own, without shutting down. "Add another backup" starts a separate setup when you need a different collection of folders and locations.
"Delete backup…" removes the backup from the app after you confirm. It doesn't delete the files at the backup location. Keep the saved backups and any password for as long as you need those versions.
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