How to Back Up Windows With Ubuntu

1. Boot Ubuntu on the computer with the Windows drive that you want to back up. If you have Ubuntu installed as a dual boot on that machine, select it from the list of operating systems that appears when you power on the computer. If you do not, place a Ubuntu LiveCD in the CD-ROM and power on the machine to boot to that. Choose the option to try Ubuntu with no change to your computer. If you use a LiveCD, you may need to adjust the BIOS settings to boot to the CD-ROM before the hard drive.
2. Click on the 'Places' menu on the task bar and select the computer icon from the menu by clicking on it. This is located by default in the upper left-hand corner of your Ubuntu desktop but can be moved.
3. Double-click on the drive or partition where Windows is installed and navigate to the 'Documents' folder. Right-click on the folder and left-click on the option to copy it from the drop-down menu that comes up.
4. Plug an external hard drive into a USB port on your computer and allow it to mount on the desktop. Double-click on the icon for the external USB drive where it appears on the desktop and right-click inside the window that opens. Click the 'Paste' option and allow the contents of your 'Documents' folder to back up there. This backs up all of your documents, music, videos and photos. If you have data in other folders that you want to back up, copy and paste those folders onto the external USB drive as well.