* Backup to External hard drive

[Nida]

Happy New Year to one and all,
I hope you can help.
I've had the unfortunate problem of not being able to backup to my external hard drive (Free Agent). My desktop computer gave up the ghost mid-December; I now have a new laptop and rescued all my files from the hard drive but not FH. I've now uploaded a Gedcom but will need to go back & reinsert most of my work.
How do I now save my new work on to the hard drive.
I'm on Windows10; FH 6.2; #gedcom file = Pipe-Nida 2016

[tatewise]

Nida, sorry you had problems with your PC, but it emphasises how important it is to keep backups of EVERYTHING important.
That includes not just FH data, but everything else on your PC.
Please see glossary:backup_and_recovery|> Backup and Recovery which is a topic in how_to:key_features_for_newcomers|> Key Features for Newcomers.

Can you explain how you have "rescued all files from the hard drive but not FH"?
Where did the GEDCOM you uploaded come from?
If you have rescued all those files they should include your FH Project data including GEDCOM & Media, etc.
That would save a lot of time & worry reinserting all the data over again.
Tell us how those files were rescued and we should be able to help you find your latest FH Project data.

I am a little confused about exactly what help you require.
The subject is Backup to External hard drive but your last question is how to Save to the hard drive.
Should that have asked: "How do I now Backup my new work on to the External hard drive"?
What commands are you using?
Use File > Backup/Restore > Full Backup to create a ZIP backup of entire Project to any device & folder you prefer.
In the Enter Backup Filename dialogue choose you external drive on the left, and then navigate to the desired folder.
In Tools > Preferences > Backup you can set a Default Backup Folder in much the same way.

[peterbel]

HI and Happy New Year to you!
I am not the most experienced user on this forum but I do happen to use a network drive for my backups, so my suggestions are as follows.
I believe Free Agent is a Seagate program, does that not provide backup? If it does can you not select the Family History folder and back that up? n my laptop that folder is: C:\Family History\Projects\Complete FH
That will backup all the files associated with the Project you are working on, including any Media.

[tatewise]

Peter, thanks for the advice about Free Agent being a Seagate application that might provide generic backup options.

However, C:\Family History\Projects\Complete FH is your custom FH Project folder and unlikely to help Nida.
The default folder would be C:\Users\<username>\Documents\Family Historian Projects\ and then the name of the Project.