Computer Backups for Reimage

There is a lot more information about CrashPlan on TechWeb. The guide below is meant as a simple reference for the backup and restore processes. Students are not eligible for access to CrashPlan and should back up their files to a network drive manually.

Note: deleting files on the synced computer will also remove them from the backup archive. Do not delete files prior to reimaging

Backup

1. Launch the CrashPlan desktop app
2. Sign in using your BU email address, which will launch a browser window to continue the process
3. Select Add New Device
4. Click Manage Files…
5. Select all local user profiles that need to be backed up
6. By clicking on a specific user folder, you can select only the subfolders that need to be backed up. The ‘Application Data’ and ‘Downloads’ folders tend to bloat the backup, so uncheck those if not needed
7. Click Save and wait for the backup to complete

 

Restore

1. Launch the CrashPlan desktop app
2. Sign in using your BU email address, which will launch a browser window to continue the process
3. Select Replace Existing and proceed through wizard
4. Choose the previous device with the backup files you wish to restore; then hit Continue
5. Choose Select Files
6. Select the folders you would like to restore
7. Remember to select other Users if those were backed up too. Once all desired folders have been selected, click Restore Files… and select your preferred restore location
8. The selected files will start to download and display their progress. Repeat this process until all needed files have been restored
9. Continue ONLY if you no longer need the backup from the previous device. Otherwise close the application and return to it later. Continuing will overwrite the old backup with a backup of the new system
10. Click Finish to run the initial backup
11. Remove the license from the old device on your CrashPlan account

If you only have a few known locations of local files or would prefer to perform the backup manually, you can simply copy them to a backup location.

Common locations of locally saved files are:

• BU Account Download folders (%userprofile%\Downloads)
• Local account User folders (%userprofile%)
• Extra storage drives besides C: (see section below for guidance)

The appropriate backup location depends on the use of the computer:

• For staff computers, you should place any work files in the appropriate space on the Administration (W) drive
• For research computers, you should place any related files on your lab’s network share on the Research (U) drive
• And for all personal files, you can save these to your X drive

Information about mounting the drives can be found here.