How to backup files in Windows 11 and go back to Windows 10? Although the Win11 system is very popular, there are many bugs in the current Win11 system and the functions are not used. Many users want to return to the Win10 system, but they don’t know how to operate it. The following editor will give you a brief introduction!
Here’s how to backup system files in Windows 11 and go back to the old operating system.
• Use a USB drive or external SSD and manually copy the Documents, Desktop, Pictures, Music, Downloads, and Videos folders.
• Back up your critical files with File History without manually copying files.
• Use OneDrive to store files in the cloud and download them later.
• Downgrade back to Windows 10 in-place using the ISO file.
• Windows 11 will be officially released on October 5. By that day, you’ll start seeing Windows 11 in Windows Update, and you’ll be free to upgrade to the new OS as you see fit.
• But what happens if you upgrade and don’t like it? Or if you were one of the Windows Insiders who tested Windows 11 before but needed to roll back to Windows 10?
• Well, if you recently installed Windows 11 (within 10 days) then you can just use the rollback feature to go back to Windows 10 and keep everything working fine. Just visit WindowsUpdate, click Advanced Options, Recovery, and then click the GoBack button.
After those 10 days, you’ll have to “clean install” Windows 10 and start over. With this, without backups, you will end up losing files. We are here to help you avoid this. Here’s how to back up your files in Windows 11 and then go back to the old operating system.
Use an external drive
If you wish to back up your files in Windows 11 before returning to Windows 10, one of the best things to do is to copy the files to a USB drive or external SSD.
There are some great SSD and USB drive options on Amazon, but our personal favorite is the Samsung T5SSD because it’s so compact. Here’s how to copy these files to the SSD.
Insert the SSD or USB into the computer
• Open File Explorer, click This PC in the sidebar and find your drive in the list.
• Double-click the drive to open it and make sure the window remains open.
• While the current File Explorer window is still active, use CTRL+N to open a new File Explorer.
• Drag the two windows side by side, and in the newly opened window, click This PC in the sidebar.
• Right-click on the Documents section and select the Copy option. (It’s the icon in the upper left corner of the right-click menu)
• Right-click back to the File Explorer window (this is the window your SSD or USB drive opens) and select Paste.
• Repeat this process for the Desktop, Downloads, Music, Pictures, and Videos sections.
By following these steps above, your critical files will be copied to external storage, and you can later navigate back to the SSD location in File Explorer and paste everything back to the appropriate location in the File Explorer section (Documents, etc.) Location. The fresh installation process is complete.
Use file history in windows 11
We described the manual process of copying files above. However, if your USB drive or SSD is large enough, you can use Windows 11’s File History feature to save copies of all your files using Windows’ own utility without all the hard work. That’s it.
• Search the Start menu for “File History” and click it when you’re ready.
• Select a drive in the list, then select Turnon.
• Follow the on-screen steps, and File History will archive your data in the Important Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders.
• Once done, do a fresh install of Windows 10, then go to Control Panel, System and Security, File History, and select the drive as before. Then, follow the steps below.
• From there, select the drive, then select the previous backup on the drive I want to use for this file history.
• Then in the box under Selectanexistingbackup you should see the previous backup. Select it and click OK.
You can then restore your files by clicking the Restore personal files link in the sidebar, making sure you click the back button to go back and find your previous backup from Windows 11.
Since Windows 11 is primarily based on Windows 10, the File History feature should work fine between the two operating systems. We tested it in the current Windows 11 beta without any issues, but once Windows 11 leaves beta, there is no guarantee it will work. If this guide is no longer valid, we will do our best to keep it updated.
Using OneDrive
If you’re a Microsoft365 subscriber, you have 1TB of space in OneDrive. When migrating from Windows 11 to Windows 10, we recommend that you make the most of this space with OneDrive’s PC folder backup. It’s basically like uploading your files to the internet and using a virtual SSD or USB drive, although you’ll have to re-download the files over the internet later.
• Open the OneDrive app on your Windows 10 computer.
• Right-click in the open OneDrive folder, then left-click Settings.
• Go to the Backups tab and select Manage Backups.
• In the Backup Folder dialog box, verify that the folder you want to back up is selected, and then select Start Backup.
After backing up our files with OneDrive, you can access OneDrive on the web after installing Windows 10. When your files finish syncing to OneDrive, they’re backed up and you can access them on OneDrive from anywhere in Documents, Desktop, or Pictures. When you back up your desktop folders, items on your desktop roam with you to other PC desktops running OneDrive.
Downgrade back to Windows 10
We’ve shown you three ways to save your files, and it’s time to downgrade back to Windows 10. As part of this process, you’ll need to download the Windows 10 ISO file through Microsoft. Follow the steps below to learn more.
Remember, you will lose all your files because you will downgrade to Windows 10 “in place”. No need for a USB drive as you are already on Windows 11, just the Windows 10 installer from the ISO file.
This is the same as doing a clean install from a USB drive or CD, as you’ll have a clean install of Windows 10 when it’s done. Check out our guide to learn more about how to use a USB drive to install Windows 10 when needed. Otherwise, follow the instructions below.
Download Windows10MediaCreationTool from Microsoft website
• Start tool
• Agree to the terms, then select the option to create installation media for another PC, click the next button twice
• Select the ISO file option and choose Next
• Save the ISO file to something like the desktop
• Allow Windows 10 downloads
• Once done, navigate to where you downloaded the ISO file
• Double-click the ISO file to mount it and look for the mount icon.
• Click it and follow the on-screen instructions.