/boot/linux - Backing Things Up Before Getting Started

In case you are planning to dual-boot your Windows installation with Linux, an important step would be to back up your data in case of any errors that can cause data-loss.

Disclaimer: Make sure not to change any partition information or format any disk which contains Windows.

Depending on whether you run Windows 11 or Windows 10, Microsoft's default backup options differ in steps. Hence we have linked an article from Microsoft if you want to use this method.

Alternatively, you can use any other app that you use to backup your files, like Google Drive or Dropbox. Note that this backup will not save your installed apps.

An even simpler solution is to copy all the files you want into an external media/drive, and then download them back once you recover your Windows system.

To help you with this, here are a few links to some good resources on the varying levels of backups you can make:

• PCMag - Creating a System Image Backup (The highest level of backup possible)
• MakeUseOf - Clone your Windows disk to another disk as a backup using CloneZilla (Similar level to the above)
• Microsoft - Backing up your files using Windows Backup to OneDrive
• Google - How to setup Google Drive for Desktop to backup your files to Google Drive

ref: linkstash