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Backup and Reinstall

I would like to know how to make a backup of my entire computer. Also, I would like to download a brand-new install of Windows 10 64-bit. My version was previously one downloaded by an employee of Office Depot. Unfortunately, I don’t have a copy—this could be a problem if my computer crashes, as I’ll have nothing to show for it. Please advise.

–Jerry Yaron

THE DOCTOR RESPONDS: Go to www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx to download and install Macrium Reflect Free. Once installed, open Macrium, and, assuming that Windows, your apps and all your personal files are on a single drive, choose “Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows,” then follow the prompts to create a recurring backup to your hard drive. Choose the “Differential Backup Set” template for a sensible backup regime, involving daily “differential” backups to keep the backup size down. Choose “Other Tasks > Create Rescue Media” to create emergency bootable media on CD or USB flash drive so you can recover your backup if Windows becomes unbootable.

You can create your own Windows installation media by downloading the Media Creation Tool from www.microsoft.com/software- download/windows10—use this to create a bootable USB flash drive, which you’ll be able to use to reinstall Windows from scratch on your computer, should the need arise. The key thing is determining what kind of Windows 10 license is on the computer—if you log into Windows 10 using your Microsoft account username and password, then it’s a digital license. What this means is that you can skip the prompt for a product key during installation, and Windows 10 will automatically reactivate after you’ve set things up from scratch.