142
If Something Goes Wrong
Develop good computing habits
Fortunately, the Windows
®
operating system offers a
convenient way to back up your computer or just your
important files to an external hard drive. An external hard
drive is recommended in case the internal storage drive fails.
No additional software is required.
Follow these steps to back up your computer or files to an
external storage drive:
You cannot back up the computer while running on
battery power. Connect the AC adaptor before
continuing.
1
From the Start screen, type
Control
. Click or touch
Control Panel
from the list that appears.
2
Click or touch
Save backup copies of your files with
File History
under the
System and Security
heading.
Follow the on-screen instructions to back up your files.
For additional Help, while in the Windows
®
Desktop screen,
press the
F1
key to launch the Windows
®
Help and Support
screen. Search for “back up files.”
General tips for installing hardware and
software
Here are a few tips to help ensure safe and easy installation
of new hardware (printers, pointing devices, external hard
drives, optional external optical disc drive writers, scanners,
etc.) and software (applications like Microsoft
®
Office and
Adobe
®
Photoshop
®
, or utility software such as special
toolbars for your web browser).
❖
Create a restore point (refer to
configuration with restore points” on page 140
). Before
installing anything, use the System Restore utility to set
a restore point (see the section titled restore points). If
anything goes wrong, you will then be able to easily
restore the Windows
®
operating system to the state it
was in prior to the installation, undoing any changes that
the installation process introduced.
❖
Back up your critical data (see
your entire computer with the Windows
).
❖
Have your back up DVD(s) on hand in case you need any
files from them.
NOTE
