How to backup metro "app" data manually?

Question

I'm a PC tech and I have been getting more and more Windows 8 issues. First off I hate metro, and secondly I hate "apps".

I like to do fresh installs of Windows 8. I backup my user's data and then fresh install. Assuming there is no recovery partition how can I manually backup the user's app data so that in the event of a reformat I simply redownload their apps (dumb, I wish there was a way to actually back them up too) and plop the data back in.

Do most normal people even use "apps", or do they use Windows 8 like a desktop OS? I totally dropped metro with ClassicShell.

Solution 1

There are a couple of ways you can do this.

1. Backup all the data using a program, like Windows 8 Apps data backup

2. If you want you can manually backup them from these locations

Appdata

C:\ProgramFiles\WindowsAPPS

Userdata

C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Local\Packages

This folder can be copied. To restore the app settings, just reinstall the apps and then replace the existing folder with your backup.

Edit: added link to why you can't copy the progam files folder

When you can copy program files folder and when you can't

Solution 2

Yes. Without apps how can you use the computer? Desktop apps are "apps" too. So are console apps.

Metro apps' data are stored in C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Packages. The applications themselves are stored in C:\Program Files\WindowsAPPS

Comments

[apporama]

Thanks. When I say "apps", I mean metro style. I meant it in a derogatory way, the cutsey Apple-esque buzzword it is, because my computer is a ****ing computer and not a smartphone. I don't hop on the PC and launch my facebook "app", twitter "app", and then AngryBirds "app". I'm sure there are some teenage girls with Win8 that do those things though, hence my reason for asking this question :).

[apporama]

Beautiful. Thanks for the answer. Do you know if it's possible to just plop the WindowsAPPS folder back after a fresh install. Everything I've read is that it's not supported and the easiest thing to do is re-download.

[Patric Gustafsson]

I doubt that, just like you can't copy the ProgramFiles folder for "normal" programs, see link the safest thing to do is to download them again.

[apporama]

Thanks. But the data can just be plopped back?