BackupOnShutdown 1.0 runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11. Install it from the download page, the Microsoft Store, or winget, then choose the folders and backup location for your first backup. On a Mac, follow Install BackupOnShutdown on macOS 13 or later.
What do you need before installing?
Use a PC running 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11, and have an external drive or a network folder you can write to for the first backup. You can install and open the app before that drive is plugged in, but a backup can only be saved somewhere the PC can actually reach.
Look through the folders that hold the files you would hate to lose. Documents, pictures, and desktop files are useful places to review, but the right selection depends on where you actually work. BackupOnShutdown backs up the folders you select, and it doesn't take a full image of Windows.
If you want the backup protected with a password, decide now where a second copy of that password will live. A copy that exists only on the PC you are protecting won't help if that PC fails.
How do you install it?
Website installer
- Open the official BackupOnShutdown download page and choose Download for Windows.
- Open the installer and follow the steps on screen.
- Start BackupOnShutdown.
Take the installer from that page rather than a filename or version copied from an older guide. This installer does not update itself. In Settings, on the About tab, under Updates, Check for Updates opens the download page. Download the new installer there and run it.
Microsoft Store
On the same download page, use the Microsoft Store badge. The Microsoft Store installs BackupOnShutdown and updates that copy.
winget
The download page lists winget under Alternative installation methods. The Install command is:
winget install --id SPQRK.BackupOnShutdown -e
Update that installation with the Upgrade command:
winget upgrade --id SPQRK.BackupOnShutdown -e
If a work or school PC blocks the installation, ask the person who manages that computer to look at the restriction. Do not switch security controls off to push the installer through.
What will you see on the first launch?
The first time you open BackupOnShutdown, it shows Licence agreement. Accept continues. Decline quits the app. If the app language is not English, it also shows: "The licence terms are available in English only. Only the English version is binding."
Next comes Backup basics. Select I have read this and agree, then choose Continue. Continue stays unavailable until that box is selected. Decline quits the app.
You then see an empty dashboard headed "Set up your first backup". Choose "Set up your first backup" to pick folders, a backup location, and whether to use a password, then review the name.
Installing the app, or saving a setup, doesn't back anything up. "Finish, back up later" stores the setup without starting a backup. "Back up now" starts the first backup and leaves the PC on so you can read the result.
Set up your first backup walks through the four screens, the summary, and how you change folders or locations later. Run one backup on its own and check that it succeeded before you trust it at the end of the day.
Do you need administrator rights for open files?
Windows can stop a normal program from reading a file another program has open. To include those files, start BackupOnShutdown as administrator so it can use Volume Shadow Copy. Save your work first, close programs where practical, and check the summary for anything skipped. Starting as administrator still doesn't guarantee that every file is included. The steps are in Back up files that are open (Windows).
When does the 14-day trial start?
The trial lasts 14 days and starts the first time you open BackupOnShutdown. No account or card is required. Licenses are sold to customers in the EEA, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, in EUR, GBP, or CHF. The free trial works everywhere. Use it to make a backup, read the summary, and restore one file into a separate folder. Trial status is shown in Settings, and you can run that first backup without a license key. A backup password and a license key are different things, and buying a license doesn't open a password-protected backup. Activation, and what happens when the trial ends, are covered in Trial and license.
How do you use it at the end of the day?
Back up keeps the computer on. Back up & shut down shuts it down after a successful backup, so save your work in other programs and connect the backup drive before you start.
Shutting down from the Windows Start menu, closing the lid, sleeping, or restarting doesn't start a backup. You start it from BackupOnShutdown. The confirmation, how to cancel, and the optional desktop shortcut are explained in Back up, then shut down.
Download BackupOnShutdown and use the 14-day trial. No account or card is required.