How to Back Up Your Laptop Before Sending It for Repair

Why back up before a laptop repair?

Most repairs, such as a new keyboard, battery or screen, do not touch your files. But three things make a backup worth the effort.

• Some repairs do erase data. Reinstalling Windows, replacing a drive, fixing a corrupted system, or removing malware can all wipe or lose files.
• Repairs sometimes uncover problems. A technician working on a laptop with a failing drive may find it dies as soon as it is stressed.
• Accidents happen. Laptops are handled, transported and tested. You should never rely on a single copy of anything important.

A backup is also useful for you. If the repair takes several days, you can carry on working from another device with your files.

What should I back up?

Go through this list. You do not have to copy the whole laptop, only the things you cannot replace.

• Personal folders: Documents, Desktop, Pictures, Videos, Music and Downloads. Open File Explorer and check each one, plus any folders you created yourself on C: or D:.
• Work and business files: accounts, invoices, customer lists, design files, project folders, school or exam material.
• Email and contacts: if you use webmail such as Gmail, these are already online. If you use an app with local storage, such as Outlook data files, export them.
• Browser data: sign in to Chrome, Edge or Firefox with your account so bookmarks and passwords sync, or export bookmarks.
• WhatsApp: WhatsApp Desktop on your laptop is linked to your phone, but if you keep chats or downloaded files only on the laptop, copy the downloads folder.
• Installers and licences: product keys, licence emails and installers for paid software.
• Special program data: accounting software, school or clinic software, and game saves often keep files in unusual folders. Check each program's own export or backup option.

As a rule, if losing it would hurt, copy it.

Where should I save my backup?

Choose one or two of these. The best option for important data is two different places.

• External hard drive or SSD: large, one-off cost, and does not use data. Good for photos, videos and entire folders.
• Flash drive: fine for documents and small collections. Flash drives get lost and fail, so do not make it your only copy.
• Cloud storage: OneDrive, Google Drive or similar. Great for documents and for access from any device. Uploading large folders uses a lot of data, so use Wi-Fi and start with the most important files.
• A second computer or phone: acceptable as a temporary extra copy, as long as it has the space.

Do not back up onto the same drive inside the laptop, onto another partition, or onto a drive that is plugged into the laptop and will go for repair with it. That is not a backup.

Step-by-step: copy your files to an external drive

1. Plug in the external drive. Open File Explorer and check it appears under This PC. If you are unsure whether it has enough space, right-click it and choose Properties.
2. On the drive, create a folder with a clear name and date, such as Laptop backup 2026.
3. Open C:\Users, then your user name folder. You will see Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures and others.
4. Right-click the folders you want, choose Copy, open your backup folder and press Ctrl + V. Windows shows a progress window; wait until it closes.
5. If Windows reports a file in use or an error, choose Skip, finish the rest, and note which files were skipped.
6. Copy any other folders you identified from the checklist.
7. When done, safely eject the drive: click the small USB icon in the taskbar, choose Eject, and wait for confirmation before removing it.

For a larger or ongoing backup, Windows has its own tools. In Settings, Accounts, Windows backup (Windows 11) you can sync folders to OneDrive. On Windows 10 or for external drives, Settings, Update and Security, Backup offers File History, which saves versions of your files to a drive.

Step-by-step: back up to the cloud

1. Sign in to OneDrive (built into Windows) or open Google Drive in a browser or the desktop app.
2. For OneDrive, click the cloud icon in the taskbar and choose Settings, Sync and backup, Manage backup. Turn on Desktop, Documents and Pictures.
3. For Google Drive, upload folders by dragging them into the browser window, or install Drive for desktop and choose folders to back up.
4. Leave the laptop plugged in, on stable Wi-Fi, until the upload is complete. A taskbar icon shows progress.
5. Check free space: free OneDrive and Google accounts have limited storage, so confirm the total fits.

If your data bundle is small, upload documents and key photos only, and copy videos to an external drive instead.

How do I check my backup actually worked?

This is the step most people skip, and it is the one that matters.

1. Open the backup location (the external drive or the cloud site) and browse the folders.
2. Open at least a few files of each type: a document, a photo, a spreadsheet. They should open normally.
3. Compare sizes. Right-click your original folder, then the backup folder, and choose Properties. The sizes and number of files should be very close.
4. For cloud backup, sign in from your phone or another device and view the files there.
5. Keep the backup safe and separate from the laptop, not in the same bag.

If the numbers are far apart, copy again and watch for error messages.

Before you hand the laptop over: passwords, keys and privacy

• Know your Microsoft account login. You will need it if Windows needs reinstalling or reactivating. Check it works at account.microsoft.com on another device.
• Get your BitLocker or device encryption recovery key. Sign in at account.microsoft.com/recoverykey and see if a key is listed for your device. Save it somewhere other than the laptop.
• Write down your Windows sign-in PIN or password, and tell the technician if testing needs it, or set up a temporary account.
• Sign out of sensitive accounts such as online banking and work systems, and turn on two-step verification where you can, so nobody can use a saved session.
• Remove personal items, such as memory cards, SIM trays, flash drives and the charger if it is not needed.
• Note the condition: take photos of scratches and the screen so the condition is recorded.
• Tell the technician what matters. Say plainly that certain files must not be lost, and ask them not to reinstall Windows without your permission.

Choose a repair centre that explains what it will do and keeps your data confidential. You are entitled to ask.

What if my laptop will not start, so I cannot back up?

You still have options, and the main thing is to avoid making it worse.

• Do not reinstall Windows or reset the laptop. That erases data.
• Do not keep restarting a laptop that is clicking or freezing, in case the drive is failing.
• Tell the technician you need your files. They can often connect the drive to another machine, or start the laptop from a USB drive, and copy the files across before any repair.
• If the screen is the only problem, connect an external monitor with HDMI to reach your files.
• Check cloud copies, phone backups, WhatsApp and email attachments for older versions of important files.

Ask for data copying to be done before any repair begins, and for the cost to be quoted separately where it applies.

Frequently asked questions

Written by the ICT AccessPoint team

We repair laptops and build websites and business systems. Have a question this guide did not answer? Message us.

This guide is general advice. Every device and business is different, so if you are unsure, ask a technician before you act.