Hi everyone.....
I just bought an external Seagate Backup Plus 4 TB. I have not installed it yet.
I heard that you cannot create an image backup using Win 7 image backup utility.
Is there any way to make this external drive usable to use the Win 7 image backup utility?
Your thoughts are appreciated...thank you
Why can't you use it.... did you try it? It should work on an usb2.0/usb3.0 port.
Restore works only from usb2.0 port. Maybe from usb3.0 port, if you load correct usb3.0 drivers in "recovery environment"
It is not the USB port.
I was told that Win 7 does not recognize external Drives larger than 2 TB dues to the way that the ext drives larger than 2 TB are formatted
Windows Backup and Restore creates a "System Image" of the files (and disks) necessary to restore Windows functions. It will also backup data files you select if you choose that option. Windows backup will use the entire backup volume as long as you don't place boot files on it.
If you use alternative "Disk Image" software or define the disk as a boot disk (contains an MBR sector) to create a backup, Windows will create a 2TB partition on the drive since that's the maximum allowed for legacy boot systems.
In summation, use only Windows Backup and Restore if you want to use the entire disk for backup.
Also note the difference between System Image and Disk Image. They are not the same.
Added: Plug the drive in and post a snip of the Disk Management screen. It will show how it's formatted.
Last edited by carwiz; 17 Dec 2013 at 15:28. Reason: Addition
Why not use the free version of Macrium Reflect? It supports GPT disks so should work with your external drive. If you decide to test drive it, download it from MajorGeeks. Macrium's website uses CNET for its download mirror which has gained an unsavory reputation of tagging crap ware to downloads. Reflect id popular with many Seven Forums members.
Macrium is a good one but the free version sucks. It doesn't support differential or incremental backups so every backup is a full copy. Over USB, that can take a while not to mention wasting space on duplicate files.
While what you say about the free version of Reflect not supporting incremental and differential images, based on how popular Reflect is here and the number of complaints I see about Win 7's Backup & Restore, methinks your opinion the Reflect free sucks is in the minority.
While differential and incremental images will reduce the amount of time needed for backups after an initial image, they are not without risk. Lose just one incremental or differential image and the entire set past that initial image will be useless. Most people here advise against them although I have had good luck with them.
Images are best for backing up restoring the System partition or drives but aren't as handy for data because a backup isn't as convenient to access data from without using software to mount the image. Macrium Reflect can be used to easily clone an entire drive but that won't work for just a partition. What a lot of people use for data backups is a folder and file syncing program. Once the initial backup has been made, the syncing program can be used to add any changes to the initial up. With this method, data can be accessed directly from the backup or, if it is a full drive, can even be used as a direct replacement. Examples of syncing programs include SyncToy and FreeFileSync.
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