(07-21-2021, 07:27 PM)Thunderer Wrote: My current SSD is partitioned in two parts. One is 80 GB and serves for the OS and program files, the other is 385 GB and serves as an archive where I store pictures, pdfs, games, unessential programmes, etc. Perhaps I could store my backup in the latter instead of buying a new one?
Well if you already have an SSD there is not much point buying a new one just for backing up data. But if you feel like you could use more space, then why not. Although for data storage HDD is cheaper.
Sure, you can copy all the user data (or back up whole OS partition using software booted from USB, I use Acronis but you can use free Clonezilla or others) to the DATA partition. Then make a new installation or upgrade (this way you can keep all your personal data, installed programs and most of the settings) on the OS partition.
But if you make a mistake during installation (or the installation itself screws up for some reason) you could loose the data (on the whole drive). To be safe it is best to backup on a different physical drive, ideally one that is not connected to your PC during the installation.
It depends on what you have on your PC and how many critical data you need to backup. I personally keep a backup of my critical data on an external HDD that is not connected to my PC all the time and update this backup every couple months.
Another option might be to copy the backup (either just critical data or whole OS/DATA partition backup) to another PC over LAN.
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