Once you have collected together all of the files and settings you might need, you must create a copy of them which can be stored safely while you initially install Ubuntu. There are many ways of storing a copy of this data, and which method you choose will depend on your particular circumstances.
![[Caution]](../../images/admon/caution.png)
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After you have made a copy of your files, it is very important to test the files to ensure that they have been copied successfully. If you have many files, at least check the most important files and randomly check other files where possible. This will help to protect you from data loss. |
If you are installing Ubuntu onto a different computer than the one on which your data is stored, you can leave the data you collected on that computer and can safely transfer the data across once Ubuntu has been installed onto the other computer.
When ready, you can transfer the data between the computers using a network connection.
A common and reliable way of backing-up data is by using a recordable CD or DVD disc. CDs and DVDs can be used by almost all computers and are relatively cheap. However, your computer must have a CD or DVD recorder drive installed and you may have to use several CDs or DVDs if the data you have collected is larger than the capacity of a single disc.
If possible, use DVD discs as these have a larger capacity and so you will require fewer discs to store all of your data. CDs typically have a capacity of 650-700MB while DVDs can normally hold up to 4.5GB of data (roughly equivalent to 7 CDs).
In order to store data on a blank CD or DVD, you must use a CD writing application. Microsoft Windows XP includes such an application by default, although other such applications are capable of storing your data just as well.
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Ensure that your CD- or DVD-writing drive contains no discs. Eject any discs currently in the drive.
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Press → . Locate your CD or DVD writing drive - it will likely have a name such as CD-RW drive.
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Double-click on the icon of the drive. A blank folder should open, with a heading called CD Writing Tasks shown in the blue panel to the left of the screen.
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Leave this folder open and then open the folder containing the files which you have collected together.
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Select as many files as you are able to fit onto the disc which you will be using. You can check the size of the current selection by right-clicking any selected file and choosing Properties from the menu which appears. The Size field on the General tab gives the size of the current selection.
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Copy the selected files into the CD- or DVD-drive folder which you opened earlier.
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Press , which can be found in the blue panel. The CD Writing Wizard will start.
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Follow the instructions given on-screen by the CD Writing Wizard. This will write the selected files to a blank CD or DVD.
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Once the disc has been written, eject it and then re-insert it into the drive. In
My Computer, open the drive and check that the files you just copied to the CD are visible there. Try opening a few of them just to make sure. -
Repeat this procedure until all of the files you collected together are safely stored onto CDs or DVDs.
Once you have stored your data onto discs, ensure that the discs are well protected and labelled correctly. If you scratch or otherwise damage a disc, you may lose some of the data stored on it. Labelling discs also helps to avoid confusion and will allow you to quickly find data when the time comes to transfer it back onto a computer.
If you have access to an external hard-disk drive or some other removable storage device of a great enough capacity, then you can simply copy the files you have collected onto this device. When ready to transfer the files onto your Ubuntu installation, you may simply connect the drive and copy the files from it again.
Removable storage devices such as external hard disks will have a certain type of file system. For use on removable devices, the best supported filesystem for Ubuntu is FAT (also called FAT32 or vfat). While other file systems (such as NTFS and HFS+) are usable, they may require additional steps to allow you to use them with Ubuntu. If possible, try to use the FAT format for your removable disk.
You can discover the format of an external disk by right-clicking it in My Computer and selecting Properties. The format of the disk is shown in the General tab under File system.
If your computer is connected to a network, you may be able to temporarily store the files which you collected together on another computer on the network.
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Ensure that a computer on the network has sufficient disk space to allow you to copy your files onto it.
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Ensure that you are able to copy files onto the other computer from your computer. To be able to do this, the computer must have at least one network share/shared folder and you must have write privileges for that network share.
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Open the network share on your computer. This can normally be accessed by pressing → → and then finding the network share or the computer which provides the network share.
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Copy the files you collected into the network share. This may take some time depending on the size of your files and the speed of your network connection.
If you have a second partition available on your hard disk, or have two hard-disks, then it is possible to copy the files you have collected onto this second drive.
![[Warning]](../../images/admon/warning.png)
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You must be very careful not to over-write the partition on which you have stored your data. It is recommended to make additional back-up copies of your files onto CDs or DVDs in case of this. |
Simply copy the files you have collected onto the second drive as it appears in My Computer. Ensure that this drive (or partition) is not the one which you intend to install Ubuntu on to.
