Alot of people loose their data for a lot of reasons.Whether you got a virus or you accidentally deleted it you may ask how can i get it back.Well if you perform backups then there is no need to worry because you can easily retrieve your data back.

Note:This feature is not available for Windows Vista Home Basic or Windows Vista Home Premium.

First go to the start menu and type in "backup".The select Backup and Restore Center.Or you can also go to Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> Backup and Restore Center.

The Backup and Restore Center has two parts.One is for backing up files the other one is for restoring them.

In the the backup section there are two options.You can backup your computer or backup files.Backing up your computer will completely backup your entire computer.Backing files will backup files you want.

Backuping your personal files and folders

To start click on the Back up files button.

Now you have to choose where you want to store your backup files.You can backup your data on a partion on your hard drive or on a DVD/CD or even a a shared folder on your network.After you decide where you want to backup hit Next.

Then you will see a selection of partions except the one you have chosen to store the backup on.The partion that Vista is installed is selected by default.After you chose the partion(s) you want to include in the backup hit Next.

Then it will ask you what kinds of files you wish to backup.You may choose the following: pictures, music, videos, e-mail,
documents, tv shows, compressed files and additional files.After you select the files you want to backup hit Next.

Then you will be asked how often you want to run a backup.You can have backups run daily, weekly of monthly.These scheduled backups will only save new or updated files.Select your settings and hit Save settings and start backup.

Then it will start to backup.It will start by making a shadow copy,scaning the selected partions for the selected file types,and backing up your data.

IIt may take a few minutes or hours depending on how much your backing up. You can stop the the process anytime.After it is done you will see a ballo on the taskbar indicating that you are finished.

 Creating a complete PC backup

In the Backup and Restore Center click on the option Back up computer to start backing up your entire computer.

It will then ask you where you want to save the backup.You can save it on a partion on your hard drive or a CD/DVDs.If you are using CD/DVDs make sure you have enough.After you choose your method hit Next.

Then you need to choose the partitions that you want to include in the backup. Then click on Next.

Then it will give you a summary of your backup setting.In the Backup location area it will show how many CD/DVDs or hard drive space is required.

Hit the Start backup option and your backup will begin