Should I backup system files when creating a recovery drive when I already have installation media?

[Incredibruin]

Hi, all. I installed a retail version of Windows 10 Home (physical box, USB, and all) and I am in the midst of creating recovery media on a different USB drive. Although Windows says I can use a recovery drive with system files backed up to reinstall Windows 10, I already have a means to reinstall Windows 10 with the installation media USB drive that came with the box, right? So does this mean I should not have to backup system files to the recovery drive?

 

[CountMike]

You may have W10 on bootable USB drive but that's only for repairs and clean installation, that will not bring you back your programs and personal files if you have to use it.
Best way would be to make periodical full system backups with a program like Macrium Reflect free. In a case of disaster like HDD failing or bad irreparable corruption you could use that backup to restore system (together with everything on disk) in 15 minutes. It would also let you reinstall system in case of disk change. It would be in same state as when backup was made.

 

[wpgwpg]

I'm with CountMike. Depending on what you have on your computer, you could lose a whole lot of personal data and take a whale or a lot of time reinstalling programs and updates if you don't have a full system backup to an external hard drive. I've seen external hard drives for as little as $35 (500 GB refurbished); pretty cheap insurance.

Good luck.