Why I am reverting to W7

Hi guys

I recently had the shattering experience of a hdd failure (4yr old m/c going 24/7), after all my years that was a first. I was surprised to discover at my local tech shop that 80% of his work is hdd crashes

Well I guess you all know the scenario and the tech was able to retrieve most of my data and reinstall my OS (8.1) onto a new hdd. Now I go 100+hrs reinstalling my app etc

OK Im not here to whinge, I should have done more backups yada yada.

But what has really floored me is that there is no way for the home guy to back up his 8.1 system (not data) and restore it to a new hdd (on the same m/c). My tech guy confirmed this as he uses a business backup tp suite. Sounds incredible? You would never know till it happens to you

So I spent hours googling this only to conclude that the subject is littered with 99% crap (selling tp solutions etc and just plain bs - eg not differentiating between data and system, big giveaway

My solution follows the tech guy that I take my m/c to his shop and get him to do a system back up onto my usb hdd which he can then restore whenever using his tp set up - £50 done inc restore fee. Sounds like a con - I dont think he is that kind of guy and wouldnt be in business after 15yrs. I reason that this bu is only done say once/year and stored in a safe place as I dont install much new s/w

I survived my downtime by cranking up my old faithfull xp m/c (20yrs). This got me thinking about W 7, a stage I never went through but noted it has widespread user base (ca 50%) much to the fury of M$

So I got me a newish W7 HP tower and its a slicker version of xp innit. Of course it contains all the system image and restore disc utilities built in and seems easy (is it?) and its not bloatware and you have the control and can block all the annoying interference from M$

So after that preamble (hope it wasnt too boring) what I want to ask, are there any nasties with W7 (I learnt to live with and love xp - bit like an olf Ford Anglia, you could fix it with a few spanners.

Does the back up system do what you expect in the event of a total hdd failure. Can I reboot into a new hdd

You don't know when you leave a PC for backup in a shop if anyone is stealing all your data. Did he give you a disk to boot from to restore your PC if not he is just making money out of you as you would have to take it back to restore more money. You can use MR and do backups weekly at no cost

Windows 7 is the absolute LAST Win OS we will use PERIOD.
Still using XP, 2003 Server with no problems whatsoever and even have an ancient 2000 system that will no doubt outlast me.
When all these and W7 is no longer possible, it's Linux all the way. Believe me, I'll never look back.

Golden said:

Sorry, but that is completely false - Macrium Reflect is the tool to do the job. If your tech guy doesn't know that, then its time to change tech guys.

Search our tutorials for a comprehensive guide to using Macrium.

Golden is correct. Macrium is very good.
But [imho] an even better solution for that is from Terabyte Unlimited: Bare Metal.
Best tool for imaging, transferring etc. we've ever come across in over 27 years of doing this.
Far smaller footprint than Macrium and seemingly faster. It's also far more powerful for what you can do.
Even better is to supplement it with Image for Linux and Image for Windows.

Some of the 'old timers' out there may recall the incredible BootItNG?
We were using that eons ago. It was fantastic and way before it's time.
Bare Metal is the later evolved version.

My wife's laptop is Windows 8.1 64-bit. I have used Macrium Reflect Free to successfully backup and restore her hard drive. I used an external 1TB USB hard drive to do the backup.

there is no way for the home guy to back up his 8.1 system (not data) and restore it to a new hdd (on the same m/c). My tech guy confirmed this as he uses a business backup tp suite.

If your tech guy told you that a "home guy" can't back up and restore his 8.1 system, I think you need to find a new tech guy.