Each Windows user has a user profile that holds customizations and personal files. Users may install software, download files or change the look and feel of Windows.
Backing up user profiles may not be something that most users are familiar with. There are full system backups after all, which include user profile data.
User backups may come in handy in some cases, however. Here are the two main cases:
- To migrate a user profile from one Windows device or installation to another.
- To back up a user profile for safekeeping.
Windows users who use a Microsoft account may have some of their customizations and files synced between devices. Not all data is synced on the other hand, including Win32 software installations or customizations of installed programs.
A backup of the user profile and the restoration of it on another device takes care of that.
Note that there are also specialized programs for copying settings. Appcopier is a free tool that does that. Note that Windows Backup backs up user data as well, but not much more.
Super Grate: back up Windows user profiles
Super Grate is a free open source tool for Windows to back up Windows user profiles and to restore the backups. Its main purpose is migrations from one device to another. It runs on Windows 7 to Windows 11 devices.
The program requires no installation. Just run the program after download to get started. Windows may throw a SmartScreen error, which you can skip. The application is safe to use. Note that Super Grate requires elevation.
The interface looks simple enough, but there is a roadblock for users who never worked with computer names and domains.
Backing up profiles
To back up a profile, it is necessary to enter the name, and optional domain, of the computer. Open Settings > System to get the name of the computer. It is listed at the top of the page.
Type the name of the computer into the source computer field and activate the “list source” button. The program will return all user-created profiles but no standard profiles.
The name, creation date and last modification date of each profile is listed by the app.
Select one or multiple profiles and activate the start button to back up these profiles. It may take some time to back up profiles. Much of it depends on the size of the profile. There is a progress bar that reveals the progress of the entire process.
Restoring profiles
Restoring a Windows user profile works similar to the backup process. Type the computer name into the destination computer field and hit the “list store” button afterwards. To restore on the same computer, type the computer name again.
Super Grate should return all backed up profiles. Select the profile that you want to restore and then Start to restore the user profile on the device.
Tip: you may rename a Windows user profile by right-clicking on it and selecting the “set destination user name” option from the context menu.
Full migrations
To migrate a user profile from one computer to another, it is necessary to fill out both the source and destination computer fields. These need to be different and connected to the same network.
Consult the official documentation for additional guidance. It includes information about using Active Directory, deleting profiles and more.
Verdict
Creating a backup of a Windows user profile is a simple task with Super Grate. It is a useful when you want to migrate the profile from one device to another, or for back up purposes.
User profiles may become corrupt, for instance after a virus attack or accidental deletions of important files.