uTorrent - Backup/Restore all files Windows

Thousands of members here have come across the situation where they wish they had a backup of their uTorrent settings, history and seeding .torrent files. Everybody should have a backup of the seeding files (music, applications, etc.) and many do, but this guide shows you how to backup everything else (if you're a uTorrent user).

This guide is also handy (and will probably used the most) if a user needs to switch over to a new computer, re-install their operating system, etc.

BACKUP

1. Locate your application data folder.



1.1 Try one of the following.
Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data.
Windows Vista or 7: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming
Or type %AppData%\uTorrent in either Internet Explorer or Windows Explorer's address bar
Or in Start > Run > Open: text box. The Run dialog can also be reached by pressing the Windows Key and the letter R (WIN+R).



2. That folder should contain read-only copies of all your torrents.


3. Now just simply copy over the entire folder to a second location. (Back it up)



RECOVERY (assumes on a new computer or a new operating system installation)

4. Locate the exact same version of uTorrent for Windows that you were previously using. (If you want to upgrade after you complete this that is fine, but whatever you do, make sure to use the same version as before when following this guide.) For older versions see File Hippo and browse to the version you were using before. (Note: Likely any version of the same main number (1.x 2.x or 3.x) will work so at least know what number you used to have. The more precise the better, though.)


5. Install uTorrent as normal and then launch (start) the program.


6. Close the uTorrent program. (do not just minimize it, make sure you exit/close the program)


7. Copy the full contents of the backup folder into the uTorrent folder as described in step 1a/1b above. Allow over-writing (replacement) of existing files in that directory with the copies in your backup.


7a. Make sure that your seeding files (downloaded content) are in exactly the same drive letter and directory/folder structure as before. If they are not or you would rather place them someplace else and you're a Windows user see: http://tinyurl.com/filesharfreak-bencode-article andhttp://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=31306 and forums.php?action=viewthread&threadid=22954


8. Start uTorrent and it will be exactly how you had it before (settings, history, loaded torrents, statistics on each torrent, etc.)

9. If you have moved your seeding files into a different physical hard drive it is an extremely good idea to perform a force re-check on all of your torrents. (stop a torrent and then right-click > advanced > force re-check. This can be done one torrent at a time or you can select all torrents and do it in one operation). This can take a long time depending on the number and size of torrents and your computer's processing power. If any of your torrents do not re-check to 100% it could be for a multitude of reasons and are not within the scope of this tutorial.


IMPORTANT NOTE: This will only backup the ".torrent files" and uTorrent program state and settings, not the actual downloaded and seeding files.

MAKE REGULAR BACKUPS!!!

FINAL NOTE: Every once in a while somebody reports that they opened uTorrent and everything was empty. If this ever happens to you and had a backup from following this guide you can simply restore these files to your existing uTorrent installation and pick up where you left off (from the last time you backed it up) starting at step 4.

BONUS: If you are on Windows and want to combine two installations of uTorrent into one seewiki.php?action=article&id=580

EXTERNAL GUIDE on using the uTorrent BENCode Editor: http://tinyurl.com/filesharfreak-bencode-article and http://forum.utorrent.com/viewtopic.php?id=31306