In this article, we’ll learn how to backup the entire computer to a Synology NAS (such as Synology DiskStation). The backup software we’ll use allows you to backup your entire Windows 11 or Windows 10 computer to Synology NAS, including applications, program files, user settings, profiles, emails, documents, pictures, music, favorites – everything you’ve got.
Backup to Synology DiskStation has several advantages over USB drives or Cloud storage.
Unlike a USB drive, a NAS is “always on” – you don’t have to keep a physical device connected to the computer (and let’s face it, if it’s a laptop, you won’t keep the drive connected at all times). Synology NAS arrays also include multiple internal hard drives, which allow for improved resiliency, and can even survive a failure of one of those drives without an immediate data loss. You can also use a single Synology NAS to store backups from all the various computers you have at home.
As for Cloud storage, Cloud is quite slow – and expensive – compared to local network storage. Plus, your own NAS is private, and safe from data breaches and data theft.
The product we will be using here is Zinstall FullBack Pro. It creates a full backup of your entire computer on your Synology NAS (including programs, settings, and all files). That backup is then updated automatically, so you are protected at all times.
Here is how to set it up:
It really is that simple to keep your entire computer safe.
Click here to get a free trial, and make a full backup of your entire computer on a NAS
Yes, you absolutely can! Zinstall FullBack will create a separate subfolder for each computer you back up. Simply set it up on every computer you want, and point the backup location to the network drive.
Yes, you can. The backup location for each drive is configured separately, so you can tell C: to be backed up to one location, and D: to another, for example.
Zinstall FullBack will first make a full backup of the entire computer. It means every file, every program, every setting you have there – all backed up on your Synology NAS, and protected.
After that, it will keep backing up the changes as you make them. So if you change a file, or install a new program, your backup will be updated with those changes. This is all done completely automatically. In fact, you probably won’t even feel it running. It is very efficient in handling just the changes made, and even protects the NAS health, by minimizing the amount of reads and writes to it (this makes the drive live longer!)
If you get disconnected from your network drive, that’s OK – Zinstall will patiently wait until you connect it again and continue backing everything up, automatically.
Of course, the real reason you have a backup is the restore part. How do you restore a single file that you’ve misplaced? And how do you restore everything, including program files, if your computer crashes? Read on to find out.
So you were working on an important document, and now it’s gone. Fear not – that’s exactly why you have set up an automatic backup of your entire Windows 11 or Windows 10! Here is what you do:
That’s it – your file is back and unharmed.
This is something you can only do if you have used Zinstall FullBack. It actually preserves all the stuff from your backed up computer (programs, settings, files, emails, accounts, password, favorites, documents, pictures, music, etc.) onto a completely different computer and completely different Windows. Even if you’ve backed up a Windows 7 32bit Dell, and your replacement PC is a Windows 11 64bit HP, you can still restore everything you’ve got.
To do that, run Zinstall Rescue Kit on the new PC. When prompted, tell it to migrate from the backup container on the network drive, and let it complete the restore. When finished, just restart the computer, and you’ll see all the programs, settings and files from your crashed computer.
Yes, Zinstall FullBack is not the only option out there (although we believe it is the most effective). Here are some other ways you can handle your backup:
If you’ve ever experienced a computer crash or data loss (hopefully not first hand), you know how it feels. Out of nowhere, your files are gone, your programs are gone, your accounts and personalization are gone. There is no way to prevent a disaster like that. It will happen, eventually.
But you can be ready for it.
As they say, the best day to do a backup is yesterday. The second best day is today.
If you have already have a Synology NAS, you can backup your entire computer to it (not just files!), and you can have that backup started in 5 minutes from now.
It is complete, automatic (and always up to date), efficient, does not slow down your computer, keeps your NAS healthy – and most importantly, you will be able to restore your files, and your programs, when you need them.