Windows 7: what is the difference between....

what is the difference between backing up, creating a system image, and creating a system repair disk?

Hello Scaldwell, and welcome to Seven Forums.

The information boxes at the top of the tutorials below can help give you more details on the differences between them.

System Image backup

backing up

system repair disk

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Backing up does not have a strict definition. When you hear the term "back up", you should ask "back up what?" The speaker might mean Windows or the speaker might mean personal files or who knows what else.

Some people use it synonymously with making a system image. Others mean a backup of their personal data. I think the Windows built in tool does both.

A system repair disk is something else entirely and is a means of repairing Windows as opposed to restoring the entire Windows partition (which is what imaging normally does).