Microsoft Backup is crap...according to The Register

[pparks1]

Fun article that I saw blasting Windows Backup and highlighting many speed issues and such which it seems to suffer from;

Windows 7 Backup gets users' backs up • The Register

Windows 7 Backup is getting trashed in a Microsoft forum for being unbelievably bad and stupefyingly slow.

Users are posting stories that should defy belief. Jon Hell posted on April 23 that he is backing up 900GB of data on a quad core PC with 7GB of RAM; "After twenty four hours Windows Backup had managed to complete 18 per cent of the backup, but after forty eight hours, it had got even slower, and had only reached 23 per cent of the full backup."

 

[noobvious]

I love that one post.....

I have a 1 TB system partition and a 2 TB data/work partition

I'm guessing any program would take a long time to back that sucker up. I have never used the Windows Backup, however....I have Acronis TI 2010. Anyone here tried the Windows Backup....is it really as bad as that article makes it out to be?

 

[Jonathan_King]

I use it, and it works fine for me. Doesn't take too long, but then, I don't sit around and wait for it either. In fact, I don't even know it's running unless I hear my hard drives wake up when it starts.

 

[The Howling Wolves]

No problem here with MS backup.
I back it up to External HD on a weekly scheduled day.

 

[Joan Archer]

I did try out the Windows Backup, I didn't really have any problems with it but as I've got Acronis set up and only one external hard drive I've just stuck with Acronis for now.
I'd have no problems using the Windows backup though if I didn't have Acronis as it does a very good job.

 

[royal tyrant]

I think they are talking... Yeah you know what, I use windows 7 back up all the time for saving system images etc to dvd and Ive never had any problems with it and does not take long either, Then again im not trying to back up a 900GB HDD.

 

[BCXtreme]

I don't personally use Windows Backup (I don't actually backup at all ... not smart, I know, but I don't have anywhere to store it). But I know people who do use Windows Backup, and the speed has never been an issue for them.

 

[Dave76]

It's for the normal home user, like they said, anything more than 200GB should be using an image program, a non-MS image program.

If your using Windows Backup and it's working for you, that's great, I'm not saying it's bad.

It's like Disk Manager, it's very limited in what it can do, other free partition manager programs can do much more, easily.

Can MS include much better features, of coarse, but they can't because of the previous law suites and the new ones that would surely come if they did.

It's not their fault, they can't do it without legal repercussions.

 

[BCXtreme]

It's for the normal home user, like they said, anything more than 200GB should be using an image program, a non-MS image program.

If your using Windows Backup and it's working for you, that's great, I'm not saying it's bad.

It's like Disk Manager, it's very limited in what it can do, other free partition manager programs can do much more easily.

Can MS include much better features, of coarse, but they can't because of the previous law suites and the new ones that would surely come if they did.

It's not their fault, they can't do it without legal repercussions.

Don't we all live in great countries, that Microsoft can't make those tools the very best because it might decrease the usage of third-party utilities? /sarcasm.

 

[Tews]

Bleh ... Acronis True Image ... ftw..

 

[johnwillyums]

I back up all my photos, music and movies to external drives. I also backup the exe.s and various programs plus contacts list externally.
I've made a repair disk using Windows backup and I have a retail copy of both my OSs.
I don't see much point in doing a backup.
Am I wrong in this regard?

 

[Tews]

Well, tbh, I'd wager that in the 9-10 minutes that it takes me to restore an image, you might be half way through re-installing your OS... However, if it works for you, great!

 

[BCXtreme]

I back up all my photos, music and movies to external drives. I also backup the exe.s and various programs plus contacts list externally.
I've made a repair disk using Windows backup and I have a retail copy of both my OSs.
I don't see much point in doing a backup.
Am I wrong in this regard?

I would maybe add a system image to that, just so you don't have to manually reconfigure everything if you lose your system.

 

[etalmar]

I would tend to agree with The Register. I recently discovered that the only way you can create a complete system image is to purchase an external hard drive, which to me is an unnecessary additional expense. My D: drive contains the OEM factory backup copy and is off limits. I did not receive a copy of my OS on disc, as it had already been installed prior to when I purchased my Compaq Presario desktop. Of course, Microsft is very willing to sell me OS discs for $21.00 + S&H.

I tried creating a system image of just my C: folder, as a test run to observe how long it would take. On my dual core system, it took over an hour and 12 mins, so MS backup is very slow in my opinion.

Windows 7 OS should come with a warning label - "Warning: This OS is bloated. If you do not buy an external hard drive along with your desktop or laptop, you will never be able to create a complete system image and will have to resort to OEM discs only, in the event of system failure. Microsoft appreciates your willingness to fuel its greed."

 

[pparks1]

I would tend to agree with The Register. I recently discovered that the only way you can create a complete system image is to purchase an external hard drive, which to me is an unnecessary additional expense. My D: drive contains the OEM factory backup copy and is off limits. I did not receive a copy of my OS on disc, as it had already been installed prior to when I purchased my Compaq Presario desktop. Of course, Microsft is very willing to sell me OS discs for $21.00 + S&H.

Well, I disagree with not wanting this on an external drive or considering one an unneeded expense. What good would your backup do in the event that 1). Your physical hard drive actually failed 2). Your machine was burned to a crisp in a fire 3). Your computer was actually stolen?

I think having an using at least 1 (if not 2) external hard drives is very advantageous. You should consider keeping one offsite at all times.

 

[etalmar]

Hello pparks1,

While I do see your point about the need for an external hard drive as a safety net for extreme situations, I was mainly referring to being able to make a basic backup as more of a system restore function, similar to what you could easily do in Win98SE. In the event one would encounter spyware or malware, you could easily revert back to a copy of your system that was conveniently stored on your D: drive. That is no longer the case, as MS has decided to store the OEM factory image there.

I am going to invest in an external hard drive and have been looking at one from Western Digital that has 500 GB storage.

 

[logicearth]

as MS has decided to store the OEM factory image there.

Microsoft decided to do nothing of the sort. The comapny you bought the computer from put the OEM factory image there. Not Windows, not Microsoft.

 

[etalmar]

as MS has decided to store the OEM factory image there.

Microsoft decided to do nothing of the sort. The company you bought the computer from put the OEM factory image there. Not Windows, not Microsoft.

OK..fine. HP decided to store the factory image there. That notwithstanding, there are plenty of other reasons to give Microsoft grief for not offering the ability to create a simple system image, without having to invest in an external hard drive.

 

[BCXtreme]

as MS has decided to store the OEM factory image there.

Microsoft decided to do nothing of the sort. The company you bought the computer from put the OEM factory image there. Not Windows, not Microsoft.

OK..fine. HP decided to store the factory image there. That notwithstanding, there are plenty of other reasons to give Microsoft grief for not offering the ability to create a simple system image, without having to invest in an external hard drive.

That's because that is the only place most people would want to put a system image. Obviously, some people disagree.

 

[Phone Man]

The main reason I don't use the Microsoft image backup is the restore function. On my system disk I have multiple partitions. If I want to restore just the system partition, MS will erase the other partitions on the disk. I now use Macrium and it will not affect the other partitions on the disk during restore.

Jim