Our Windows 11 superguide can help you get started in figuring out what to check out first. After that time is up, you have to completely wipe your system in order to go back to Windows 10. Microsoft no longer gives you weeks to make up your mind. You don’t get much time to decide if you like Windows 11-just 10 days. While there are dozens of amazing Windows programs, knowing which ones are the must-have software for Windows 10 makes setting up a new installation easier. 6) Decide quickly if you want to keep Windows 11 (In-place upgrades) Whether you've just purchased a new PC or reinstalled Windows, the first task you'll likely do is installing apps. That's why we've put together this comprehensive step-by-step guide to building your first gaming PC, complete with tips and tricks from our veteran builders. But if you don’t have the time for that extra step, having your documents, important downloads, locally saved bookmarks, and other files backed up should be enough. Though building a PC can seem intimidating, you might find that it’s easier than you think, especially when broken into manageable steps. Should you want to go back to Windows 10, you can restore exactly what you had before the Windows 11 update. Our guides to the best Windows backup software and best online backup services can help you pick a good option if you aren’t already performing regular backups.įor extra bonus points, you can make an image of your boot drive. Just be sure that you’re doing a current backup and not relying on a previously scheduled one-once you wipe everything, you can’t go back and retrieve that data.

Obviously, if you’re doing a clean install, backing up your files is a no-brainer.

This piece of advice applies for any operating system upgrade, but it holds as true now as it has in the past. It's an easy-to-use tool for making local backups of your files.Backing up your files can save you grief if you go back to Windows 10. If you ever lost all your files, the app will pay for itself in an instant.Īs an additional backup layer, or for your main backup if you can't afford Backblaze, you should try EaseUS Todo Backup Free. While it's the only app on this list that doesn't have a free option, backing up is worth paying for. You don't have to worry about choosing what gets backed up, and there are no limits to your backup size either.

For just a few dollars a month, the service backs up everything on your PC, as well as any external drives you connect, to the Backblaze cloud. We like Backblaze as an essential backup service for Windows 10. You don't want to lose all your documents, photos, and other files and have to start from scratch.

Backing up your PC is essential, as there's only a natural disaster, break-in, or malware attack could wipe out all the files on your machine. important notice: your use of these materials shall be deemed to constitute your agreement that such use shall be governed by the provisions of your agreement with realpage, inc.

New pc build checklist