Can I backup my operating system?

Posted by kent on November 10th, 2009

The following post in our Reader Question series is an actual user submitted question. To maintain the integrity of the original question, we do not edit or change reader questions in any way.

Q: Can I backup my operating system?

A: By default, most online backup services are set to backup documents and other irreplaceable items on your hard drive. In general they do not automatically back up programs or your operating system (or OS, for short). Now, you can have your service back up pretty much anything on your hard drive. While it's crucial to have a restore disk with your OS on it, it's critical that the backup is on a separate, physical installation disk, such as a CD ROM. And it shouldn't just be a copy of your OS; it should be a full restore disk that will install a new OS from scratch. There are three big reasons why, and they're related:

The OS is the foundation of your system. In order to access your online backup service, you have to be using your OS; it simply runs everything. Trying to replace the OS on your startup disk would be a bit like trying to swap out the engine of our car while you're driving it.

Similarly, if your hard drive ever does crash, and your OS goes with it, you won't be able to access your online backup service. You'll have to start up from a separate startup disk. Once you have your system reinstalled, you'll be able to connect to your online backup service and get your documents back.

Now, you might ask why you can't just startup from that external disk, access your online backup, and then restore your OS from a browser running on that external disk. While that may work, a clean install is always the best way. If you've backed up your email, various libraries and preferences (Carbonite does this, for instance, but you should always check to see what your service backs up by default). There are just too many components in the OS that need be installed in a particular way, and in specific places.