I want to Reset my PC but keep my files & settings, how do I do it?

I was told by another Adviser on another thread told me :

Win11 by default only installs critical security updates, unless you made the mistake of selecting “Get latest updates” which includes drivers.

I made that mistake but only after a few restarts of my PC did not resolve the problem with the touchpad driver. I also checked that the BIOS was the correct driver and it was 12CHID.

I have used 1.5GB of my free 5GB of free One Drive space and I do not like using it. I prefer to do a backup on a portable hard drive and I bought a 500GB one yesterday for that very reason. I used to back up my old PC every few months using File History and it worked well for several years. I tried using an older hard drive this time but couldn't find a way in File History to change the Copy From to add folders or my personal drive . My screenshot of that setting does not copy for some reason!!!

I am confused by One Drive and would like to try a backup of everything to my new portable drive. First, I have to be able to add my whole used driive space of 106GB to my 500GB drive. I can copy my pics and docs to a thumb drive, as I have done regularly, but that will not save the settings and profiles which are now so important.

No worries at all. :) You’ve done a great job setting up your emails in Thunderbird, which is an important step. As for the touchpad, it may continue to act up if the driver or hardware has a persistent issue. Here are a few more things you can consider while working through this:

Let's also make sure you're up to date in your operating system. Go to Settings → Windows Update → Advanced options → Optional updates and see if any drivers for your touchpad are available.

To avoid the hassle of manually copying files in the future, you could set up OneDrive or another cloud service to automatically back up your important files. This way, even if you reset the PC, your files are safe in the cloud.

Please let me know if this works for you. I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible.

I slowed everything right down in Touchpad settings. I

I had just uninstalled all mouse & pointing devices before I read your repy. It has made the Touchpad work again but that has happened before and then it would suddenly stop working. I have put up with this problem intermittently for almost two weeks. Acer, the manufacturer had given me instructions on the driver and the last time I was in contact with them they said they would have to reset to factory settings. I decided I would do that myself as I could ensure my files and settings were saved. I tried to find out on this Community how I could use my portable hard drive to back everything up and was failed miserably. I couldn't see a way of changing the 'from' folders as I wanted to use File History for the backup. That is when I copied all my own created stuff to a thumb drive because I feared losing them. I never foresaw this mess.

I have set up 4 of my most important emails in Thunderbird and need to spend the evening with them.

You have been the shining light on this community. I feel really bad about the amount of time you have spent on this on a weekend.

I understand how frustrating this situation is, especially with the touchpad still malfunctioning after the reset. Let's first try to fix your Touchpad.

Press Windows + X and select Device Manager.

Find Mice and other pointing devices.

Right-click your touchpad and select Update Driver. Choose the option to search automatically for updated driver software.

If no update is found, try selecting Uninstall Device, and restart the PC. This will force Windows to reinstall the driver automatically after reboot.

Check Touchpad Settings:

Press Windows + I to open Settings.

Go to Devices → Touchpad.

Make sure the touchpad is enabled and check if adjusting sensitivity helps.

Please let me know if this works for you. I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible.