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Is there any danger leaving the default file Exclusion list alone?

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I just upgraded from 2013 version and ran my first backup with 2020. I kept all the files & file types in the default Exclusions list because I don't know enough about this stuff. Any danger to just leaving this list as-is in the future? (I tried to upload a screenshot of the list here but couldn't)

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Brian, there shouldn't be any issues when keeping the default exclusion list as the majority of items are either temporary or get recreated when Windows boots up etc.  The only question mark may be over having System Volume Information in the list but this only applies if you are using System Protection (disabled by default in Windows 10 by Microsoft) to create System Restore points, as this is where these are stored.  One other check point is any folders for your web browser which you should ensure doesn't include bookmarks, profile settings etc if these are in the list.

Excellent. I don't do restore points (that's kinda what I use True Image for), and I will try to find out whether Firefox is using any of the excluded items.

I'm loving 2020 so far -- so streamlined & friendly compared to 2013 (my previous version). And it actually saves my backup options as global defaults! (2013 did not.) So creating a brand new backup is even easier now. (though honestly it wasn't that hard before either)

Thanks, Steve!

-Brian

I do a Win10 System restore whenever testing new software.

It really is the quickest way to ensure quick recovery if ever there are isses later down the line.  I do this as a discipline, and not to replcae regular backups.

I assume I should prune "System Volume Info" out of TI default Exclusion List !?

Barry, yes if you are relying on being able to use System Restore points for your software testing but be aware that this can increase the size of your backup images depending on how much space is used by System Protection on the drive.