How to backup laptop with SSD and HDD drives

[kiwidenis]

HP Laptop Model 15-da1058TX   

How do I backup my Laptop with TWO DRIVES:  SSD and 1GB HARD DRIVE  

1.  Regular backup

2.  Making an IMAGE backup 

I am not a top tech person ... just plain language please.

Thanks for any and all suggestions/ ... kiwidenis  (yes I am from NZ) 

[WAWood]

@kiwidenis 

With laptops with two physical drives, the OS, settings, applications, and related data are stored on the SSD;  larger personal files and gaming data are stored on the HDD.

To backup the SSD, you need to make an image backup -- and the best tool out there is Macrium Reflect (more on this below).

To backup the HDD, you can simply copy the files and folders to an external drive; you don't need to image it or use a backup program.

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I personally prefer to use third-party Backup solutions as they tend to be both more flexible and more reliable than any built-in solutions.

Macrium Reflect (MR) provides a FREE version that can be used to image and restore partitions or entire drives.

What I recommend is the following:
1) Download and install Macrium Reflect (MR) from here: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx
2) Run MR and choose the option: "Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows" to write a full backup to an external drive or USB stick
3) Use the option to create a boot USB stick or CD

My experience is that MR, when using the High Compression option, typically can compress the saved image file to about 50% of the USED space in the OS partition. This means if you have an 80GB OS partition, and 40GB is used, MR only needs about 20GB to store the image file.

I use this all the time and it typically takes less than 15 minutes to do the image backup and about the same time or less to do a restore.

Plus, MR has the option to Add a Recovery Boot Menu entry. This allows you then to boot into WinRE, and you can then use that to do a restore -- when you can't boot into Windows!

NOW, you have the means to restore a full working system from the external drive or USB stick in only a few minutes.