The welcome screen
What GBM AI shows the first time it opens, and which of the four starting points to pick.
On this page
The first time GBM AI opens, it shows the welcome screen: four starting points, each measured on your PC, and a way to describe what you want in plain words. Nothing is backed up until you finish setting up a job.
The four starting points#
Each card names the folders it covers and, once it has counted them, how many files and how much space: 4,210 files · 8.4 GB. It reads Measuring… until then. The counting happens on your PC; nothing is sent anywhere.
| Card | What it protects | Backup type |
|---|---|---|
| Documents & Desktop | your Documents and Desktop folders, temporary files left out | Incremental |
| Photos & videos | your Pictures and Videos folders | Full |
| Developer | your Documents folder, without node_modules, build output and .git objects | Differential |
| Whole profile | your whole user folder, without caches and system files | Incremental |
Differential is part of Home and Pro. On Free, the Developer card sets Incremental instead.
To use one:
- Click the card.
- Click Continue with … (for example Continue with Documents & Desktop).
- The wizard opens on step 2, Where, with the job's name, what to back up and how already filled in. Choose where the backups go and when they run, then save. You can go back and change anything.
Tip
Not sure? Start with Documents & Desktop. Add Photos & videos as a second job later.
The steps are described in Your first backup.
Or just describe it#
The Or just describe it card has one button, Ask Genie. It opens Ask Genie with this sentence already typed: Protect the folders I'd hate to lose to an external drive, and tell me what you chose.
Change the sentence if you like, then press Ask. Nothing is sent before that. If you are not signed in, Ask Genie asks you to sign in first (your email and a six-digit code): it is the one part of the app that needs an account.
See Your first backup with Ask Genie.
I'll set it up myself#
This link takes you to Home. Home says Nothing is protected yet. Click Create your first backup (or press Ctrl+N) and the wizard opens with nothing filled in.
The line at the bottom#
On a trial the screen ends with You are on the 15-day Pro trial. Nothing is asked for now: no account, no card. (or Home trial), then Backups stay on drives you choose. Restores work in every edition, for ever.
Once you choose any of these, the welcome screen does not come back. From then on GBM AI opens on Home.