Windows 10 clean install but save personal files

As a recap. Safe mode, repair, restore from  previous version, and reset computer all didnt work.

The computer boots like normal i get to the login screen, date time, and wifi all work. After typing in my password it goes to start windows but the dedk top is black and the lower bar withe tge search window and windows start buttom are there and my mouse continued in tge circle loading icon. The a message says windows application is not responding....

As a recap. Safe mode, repair, restore from  previous version, and reset computer all didnt work.

The computer boots like normal i get to the login screen, date time, and wifi all work. After typing in my password it goes to start windows but the dedk top is black and the lower bar withe tge search window and windows start buttom are there and my mouse continued in tge circle loading icon. The a message says windows application is not responding....

If you can go to control panel > back up and restore and select to backup all your personal files. Do the let me choose and select files to save and click on back up.

You need an external location such as a DVD, USB Thumb drive, your onedrive or google drive, another hard drive on your PC, the public folders location on another PC on your home network, Microsoft cloud etc.

Then after clean install, go to control panel > back up and restore >Restore my files.

Personally, I will not do it this way. I will physically make a folder on external location and then copy and paste all files I want saved to that location

You can also purchase this

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/transfer-your-data?tduid=(dd223af88b67edb57e529537d769f97a)(259740)(2542549)(UUwpUdUnU33795YYw)()

If you have not already installed the new install, you may be able to go back in Safe Mode and log on if you can do that.

Then do this. If you can create a new folder, most like can,

I will give you the most easiest way to do this

Go to your User folder

C:\users\YOUR NAMED FOLDER

inside that folder create a new folder and name it My Back Up

Then put any files that you want from your User Folder and your public folders>C:\Users\Public into that new My Back Up folder

So highlight/select all your folders as shown in photo

Then right click on any highlighted folder and select copy

Then double click on My Back up and open it

then right click on empty area and select paste

It may take quite awhile to copy it all in to My Back Up.

Now, I do not know if you have a DVD or BR Player or an additional hard drive connected inside or a USB external HD or a USB Thumb drive.

Now you are in safe mode, so I am not positive, on a Thumb drive, DVD drive or external USB HD, because in safe mode not all drivers load or the system may not recognize the thumb drive or USB drive when plugged into USB port, and DVD Might not work due to possible issues, But I know with an internal IDE or SATA HD you should be able to now copy that My Back Up folder to the other location, which ever one works the best.

But first, you need to right click on My Back Up that you just copied all your data to and select properties.

It will load all files and subfolders and will display the total size of the folder.

Now the location you are copying to needs to be just a tad bigger than that folder size..

Depending on the size you are saving, will really also determine what you want to copy it to.

Thumb drives are cheap and you can get ones very large in size like at Walmart, Best Buy, etc.

A DVD will hold about 4 GB of data.

A BR will most likely be big enough

A internal hard drive is best option

and Thumb Drive or external USB HD may be your only option, if the system can detect them in safe mode.

So get the size and then let me know what it is.

In your My Back Up folder, you can open it and copy certain folders at a time to fill up a location device and copy more into other location devices, such as needing maybe 3 8GB thumb drives if your My Back Up folder was approx. 22GB total size.

So you do not have to copy all the back up folder together to a new back up location.

then after new install, insert that device with the Back up files and move them to your new user folder. Do not replace the system folder for system folders such as, you copied all the highlighted folders and everything inside them to My Back Up folder.

So to copy the files back. open each system folder and move all the files inside to inside that system user folder on new install in your C:\users\Your Name folder.

Be sure to format Thumb Drive FAT32 or USB drive to NTFS

You can perform a custom install then recover your files from Windows.old:

How to: Perform a Custom install of Windows 10
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/wiki/insider_wintp-insider_install/how-to-do-a-custom-installation-of-windows/38adfa8c-32f8-4354-8c53-13b5f2cf7e44

Recover files from windows.old:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-files/recover-personal-files-from-the-windowsold-folder/755e0ea3-b16f-4d5d-89b5-abecfbf68300

You can perform a custom install then recover your files from Windows.old:

How to: Perform a Custom install of Windows 10
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/wiki/insider_wintp-insider_install/how-to-do-a-custom-installation-of-windows/38adfa8c-32f8-4354-8c53-13b5f2cf7e44

Recover files from windows.old:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-files/recover-personal-files-from-the-windowsold-folder/755e0ea3-b16f-4d5d-89b5-abecfbf68300

I have a question, Is there a chance of this failing if during clean install, as we all know the major issues with windows 10 after updates, upgrade and clean install, that if the clean install fails, then the previous and new install are pretty much history.

And if it did, would one be such as lucky enough to be able access the drive as a second drive after purchasing a new drive for a clean install and then connect the old drive to access these files, if they were not destroyed during the crashed new install.

At the point of where Windows 10 is, I would be terrified to trust Windows 10 updates, upgrade and clean install and possibly lose all my data. Myself and many others probably have backups on external devices, but for those who do not, Very scary and risky.

Just my opinion and wondered if you know people who have used this method and if it is fool proof and never failed!

You can perform a custom install then recover your files from Windows.old:

How to: Perform a Custom install of Windows 10
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/wiki/insider_wintp-insider_install/how-to-do-a-custom-installation-of-windows/38adfa8c-32f8-4354-8c53-13b5f2cf7e44

Recover files from windows.old:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-files/recover-personal-files-from-the-windowsold-folder/755e0ea3-b16f-4d5d-89b5-abecfbf68300

I have a question, Is there a chance of this failing if during clean install, as we all know the major issues with windows 10 after updates, upgrade and clean install, that if the clean install fails, then the previous and new install are pretty much history.

And if it did, would one be such as lucky enough to be able access the drive as a second drive after purchasing a new drive for a clean install and then connect the old drive to access these files, if they were not destroyed during the crashed new install.

At the point of where Windows 10 is, I would be terrified to trust Windows 10 updates, upgrade and clean install and possibly lose all my data. Myself and many others probably have backups on external devices, but for those who do not, Very scary and risky.

Just my opinion and wondered if you know people who have used this method and if it is fool proof and never failed!

I have the same question. I normally back up to external hard drive but I had not done so in awhile.

You can perform a custom install then recover your files from Windows.old:

How to: Perform a Custom install of Windows 10
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/insider/wiki/insider_wintp-insider_install/how-to-do-a-custom-installation-of-windows/38adfa8c-32f8-4354-8c53-13b5f2cf7e44

Recover files from windows.old:

https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_10-files/recover-personal-files-from-the-windowsold-folder/755e0ea3-b16f-4d5d-89b5-abecfbf68300

I have a question, Is there a chance of this failing if during clean install, as we all know the major issues with windows 10 after updates, upgrade and clean install, that if the clean install fails, then the previous and new install are pretty much history.

And if it did, would one be such as lucky enough to be able access the drive as a second drive after purchasing a new drive for a clean install and then connect the old drive to access these files, if they were not destroyed during the crashed new install.

At the point of where Windows 10 is, I would be terrified to trust Windows 10 updates, upgrade and clean install and possibly lose all my data. Myself and many others probably have backups on external devices, but for those who do not, Very scary and risky.

Just my opinion and wondered if you know people who have used this method and if it is fool proof and never failed!

I have the same question. I normally back up to external hard drive but I had not done so in awhile.

Well the numerous posts I have seen in 2 years of custom install on clean install to retrieve files in windows old, or just an upgrade, update. There is no guarantee the process is successful and you could lose it all.

I think command prompt copy and move commands is your only choice.