Windows 11 pre-update checklist
Before your IT department updates your device to Windows 11, there are a few steps we recommend taking to ensure that your data is safe and quickly available on your machine once the upgrade is complete. Whether you a doing an update to Windows 11, or having the device wiped and Windows reinstalled (re-imaging), we recommend backing up any data you feel is important and worth keeping. Please read through the steps below, and feel free to contact your local IT staff with any questions or requests for assistance.
1) Back up your web browser data.
Create an account for your web browser data
A web browser account is an easy and efficient way to make sure your bookmarks and saved passwords follow you to your rebuilt or next device. For Firefox and Chrome, we recommend creating a work-specific account that uses your @illinois address as the primary contact, and a personal email as a secondary contact – that way you are still able to access your data if you leave the university, or are temporarily locked out of your NetID. Logging into these browsers with a personal account is not recommended as it puts your personal browser history and data at risk.
Below are instructions for the three browsers that are standard installs on all ACES devices. For Edge, you simply need to sign in with your university account.
or, export and import your bookmarks
If you are not comfortable with the idea of creating a browser account, you can also export your bookmarks to a cloud storage solution and import them once your device is imaged and you profile has been created again. Here are instructions for that process in each of the browsers mentioned above:
2) Make a list of non-standard applications you are using.
Please make a note of any applications you are using that are outside of what we install by default on every device. You can find a list of standard applications on the Standard Software page. Downloading the installers for these applications, as well as any license information or instructions, and copying them to a new folder on Box or Onedrive can help streamline the process of getting back to work once your device is upgraded and returned to you.
If you have an office printer that is not set up on PrinterLogic or requires special software/drivers, downloading that ahead of time and keeping it in cloud storage can be helpful as well.
3) Screenshot your desktop and check for odds and ends.
If you are particular about the placement and order of your files, folders and taskbar, it is a good idea to take a screenshot of your desktop and copy it to a cloud service (Box, Onedrive) before upgrading. To take a full screen screenshot, hold the Windows key on your keyboard (usually located between the Ctrl and Alt keys) and press the Print Screen key (usually located at the end of the F keys – sometimes requires pressing the Fn key as well).
There may be other items like this that are specific to your workflow that would be difficult to recreate from scratch, like layouts and specific tool functions in an Adobe application, or the order of your favorite applications in your Start menu. Try to take screenshots or make notes on these things, as well.
Save your email signature.
Are you using an email signature that cannot be easily recreated in Webtools or my.aces? If so, please check the web version of Outlook and make sure it is synced by selecting the gear icon in the upper right, going to the Account section, then Signatures. If it does not already exist, you can create a new one and copy and paste it from your desktop application.
Note any shared mailboxes and calendars.
Make a list of any shared mailboxes and calendars you are using. You can easily add those back once your machine is returned to you with these instructions: Open and use a shared mailbox in Outlook and Outlook – How to Open a Shared Calendar.
4) Back up your important data.
Verify whether Onedrive is already syncing your data.
First, check the cloud icon in the system tray (bottom right corner of the screen). If it is gray with an “\” through it, you are logged out. If it is a bright blue, you are logged in.
Next, verify that Onedrive is syncing your files stored in the Desktop, Documents and Pictures folder.
Select the OneDrive icon in the system tray. In the OneDrive menu, select the gear icon in the top-right corner. Choose “Settings”. Go to the “Sync and backup” tab, then under “Back up important PC folders”, select “Manage backup”. If the switches next to each of those folders are switched on then the data in those folders is already backed up – you just need to log back in to Onedrive if your device is being reimaged, enable backups to those three folders again and your data should be available again shortly.
Any other data outside of those three folders, like Downloads or Videos, will need to be backed up manually to another cloud service, like Box or your department’s shared drive.
Back up your data to a cloud service or network share.
If you have data stored in locations that are not covered by Onedrive, or are not using Onedrive at all, you can upload your data temporarily to Box or your department’s shared network drive. We recommend starting this process at the end of the day and letting it run overnight, as doing this during the day could allow new or edited files to be inadvertently skipped.
If the device being updated is shared by multiple users, please ask the IT staff to back up the entire device in addition to running your own backup. There is likely data on the device that you do not have access to that we can make sure is copied in case it needs to be accessed later.
Verify that Box is syncing your data.
In addition to the instructions above for verifying that Onedrive is logged in, it is important to make sure that Box is logged if you are a frequent user of that service. The best way to do this is to go to the system tray and check the Box icon. If it is blue, you are logged in; gray, you are logged out. You can also try selecting it: if a window comes up allowing you to search or check your upload/download status, then you are logged in.
If you are not logged in, please do so at this point and allow some time for the service to sync your files. As long as this data is synced, it will be available once you log into the service again. If it is not synced and your device is wiped for re-imaging, that data will be lost.