💻 Computer backup

Your whole system backed up – in the cloud against failure and theft, and locally as a quick undo button.

What it does for you

• Hard disk broken, laptop stolen: your system with all programs and settings comes back from the cloud.
• After a failed update you jump back to the working state in minutes.
• Runs by itself on a schedule – encrypted, only you can read it.

Who it is for: Everyone who doesn't want to set everything up again after a failure.
What you need: Linux with Timeshift or Windows 10/11 (drive C: with NTFS). An unlocked password vault during setup. Enough storage – a system backup usually needs 10–40 GB, see Storage & plan. The feature is being enabled step by step.

The hard disk gives up after five years. The photos are saved thanks to sync – but the system? Reinstalling programs, setting up the printer, Wi-Fi, e-mail, a hundred small settings: that costs a weekend. With a system backup you get the whole computer back instead, just as it was.

Two kinds – which for what?

• ☁ System backup to the cloud: a copy of your system is kept encrypted in your storage with us in Switzerland. Helps when the computer is broken or gone.
• Local restore points: snapshots on the computer itself. Help when something stops working after an update or installation – fast, but gone too if the disk fails.

Both together is ideal. Back up your personal files (documents, pictures) additionally with sync.

How the cloud backup works

1. On Linux, Timeshift (a proven backup program for Linux) creates a snapshot of your system. On Windows, Windows creates a shadow copy (a frozen view of drive C: while you keep working), and DasDing takes an image of the system disk from it – only the used areas, free space is skipped.
2. DasDing encrypts it on your computer and uploads it to the Systemsicherung folder in your storage – over the same secured connection as everything else.
3. From the second backup on, only what has changed is uploaded. The first one takes hours depending on your internet, later ones usually minutes.

DasDing creates the encryption key itself and stores it in your password vault (group “Systemsicherung”). Without this key nobody can read the backup – not even us. On the computer itself, only a protected helper with administrator rights knows it; ordinary programs (even malware in your account) can trigger a backup but can neither read nor redirect it.

Setting up

1. 🏠 Personal area → 💻 Computer backup → section “☁ System backup to the cloud”.
2. Unlock the password vault (🔐 Passwords) if it is locked.
3. Confirm a name for the device (for example “laptop”) → ☁ Set up cloud backup. Linux asks for your password once, Windows asks for administrator rights once: DasDing sets up a small, protected helper (on Windows the task “DasDing Systemsicherung”), so that scheduled backups later run without asking.
4. Set the schedule: daily, weekly or monthly, weekday, time, “only on mains power” and how many backups are kept. Save schedule.
5. For the first backup press ☁ Back up now right away.

Scheduled backups run if DasDing is running at that time – so turn on “Start with the computer” under ⇄ Sync. If the computer was off at the scheduled time, DasDing catches up with the backup at the next start.

The “Systemsicherung” folder

You see it in your personal area – with a subfolder per device. It contains encrypted data blocks with unreadable names. Don't change anything there: deleting, renaming or moving is therefore blocked in the program. You view and delete backups under 💻 Computer backup → Backups in the cloud.

Computer broken or new – restore the system (Linux)

1. On the new or repaired computer install the same Linux variant (for example Linux Mint).
2. Install Timeshift: in the terminal sudo apt install timeshift (or in DasDing under Computer backup 🛠 Set up Timeshift). Open Timeshift once, choose mode RSYNC and a drive with enough space.
3. Install DasDing (download.dasding.tech), sign in, unlock the password vault.
4. 💻 Computer backup → ☁ Set up cloud backup – with the same device name as the old computer (then the new computer later continues backing up there).
5. Backups in the cloud → Show, at the backup you want ⤓ Restore to this computer.
6. The backup appears above under Restore points. There click ↩ Restore and, for safety, type WIEDERHERSTELLEN. The computer restarts – and is as it was before.

Local restore points (undo button)

• Windows uses its restore points (Microsoft calls it “System Protection”) for this, Linux uses Timeshift.
• Set up: if the feature is missing, you see 🛠 Turn on system protection or 🛠 Set up Timeshift.
• Create: enter a description (for example “before driver update”) → ＋ Create restore point. Best before every bigger change.
• Restore: Show → at the point ↩ Restore → type WIEDERHERSTELLEN. This requires two-factor sign-in. The computer restarts immediately – save everything first. Programs installed after the point are gone again afterwards.

While a task is running, DasDing shows a box with progress at the top. You can leave the tab; a second click doesn't start a second task.

Computer broken or new – restore the system (Windows)

You restore the image with the rescue stick. Best create it now, while your computer still works (stick with at least 8 GB):

1. 🔌 USB boot stick → box “💻 Windows rescue stick” → 💿 Download helper system (Linux Mint, once, approx. 3 GB).
2. Choose the stick under “2 · Choose USB stick” → 💻 Create Windows rescue stick. The stick gets Linux Mint (just a helper system that starts directly from the stick – nothing is installed) and the folder DasDing-Rettung. What gets restored is your Windows. If your password vault has a key file, a notice appears with the tick “Copy the key file onto the rescue stick too” – without the file the rescue can't open the vault.

When the time comes:

1. Plug in the stick, switch on the computer and open the boot menu (usually F12, F11, F8 or Esc right after switching on) → choose the USB stick. On the very first start with Secure Boot a blue screen appears: once “Enroll key” → file ENROLL_THIS_KEY_IN_MOKMANAGER.cer → Continue → Yes → Reboot.
2. In the stick's menu choose Linux Mint, then “Start Linux Mint”. Nothing on the hard disk is changed by this.
3. Connect to the internet (Wi-Fi symbol at the bottom right).
4. On the desktop open Ventoy → folder DasDing-Rettung → double-click DasDing-Rettung starten → at “Untrusted application launcher” choose Launch Anyway. A window shows the start and Firefox opens the assistant – in the language DasDing was set to when you created the stick; you can switch at the top right (Deutsch · English).
5. In the browser: sign in (with 2FA code), enter the master password of the password vault (if your vault has a key file, select it too – it is not in the cloud, so keep it ready e.g. on a second USB stick), choose the backup and the target disk, type ÜBERSCHREIBEN. Then restart and remove the stick.

The rescue stick only reads from the cloud and changes nothing there. After signing in it appears as the device “Rettungs-Stick” in your account – you can sign it out afterwards under Account → Two-factor.

What is in the Windows image?

Drive C: with Windows, programs and settings, plus the small boot partitions (EFI, recovery) and the partition table. Not included: other drives such as D: – back them up with sync. The target disk must be at least as large as the old one.

The rescue doesn't find my hard disk.

Some computers run the disk in “Intel RST/RAID” mode, which Linux doesn't see. In the firmware menu (BIOS/UEFI) set the storage mode to AHCI – Windows usually still starts afterwards; if in doubt, ask support.

I use BitLocker – does that work?

Yes. Reading happens via the shadow copy, i.e. decrypted; in the cloud the image is encrypted with your key. After restoring, the system is unencrypted – turn BitLocker on again afterwards.

How much space does it need?

A Linux system usually needs 10–40 GB encrypted and compressed, a Windows system usually 30–80 GB; later backups add only a little. The standard storage isn't enough for this – you need a storage plan.

Are my personal files in the system backup?

Timeshift leaves out the home folder (/home) by default. You back up your files with sync – that way system and files stay separate, and restoring doesn't overwrite newer documents.

The computer doesn't start at all any more?

On Linux, Timeshift can also restore local points from a live stick – you create such a stick with ISO downloader & USB stick. On Windows the advanced start-up option “System Restore” helps.

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This guide is also available in the program under 📖 Guides – with jump links to the other guides.