Windows Backup vs 3rd party Backup solution.

[musiclover7]

Checking out the windows backup option bundled with the OS.. In the past, I have used an older version of Acronis to build backup jobs, etc. The new backup looks to be pretty good initially, but I am wondering if anyone has any experience with how well it performs... I know I have been asking a lot of questions lately, but figured one more would not hurt..

 

[zigzag3143]

ML

We love the questions. win 7 backup utility works for most ppl. I use it in addition to Acronis. I like the ability to pour an image back to the same or different partitions and for that Acronis fits the bill. For straight backup the OS partition win 7's backup works fine. So its 6 of one half a dozen of the other. If I had to pick one and only one it would be Acronis

Ken

 

[musiclover7]

So I am sure I understand this.. With win 7 backup, you can now make a full complete backup of the core OS partition to another partition, that can be used to recover the entire system in the event the core OS bites the dust..? In past versions of windows, this could only be accomplished from outside the OS, at least to my knowledge.. this would be a big improvement from my perspective..

 

[Brink]

Hello Musiclover,

Yes, you can now create a complete System Image Backup for everything and/or individual User and System Data Files in all editions of Windows 7.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[musiclover7]

What about append another backup with an incremental, or write only files across that have changed on schedule.. Also, are the backups encrypted, and if not can they be? Can they be set to not encrypted? I can figure all this out by playing around of course, just hoping for an explanation here..

 

[DrWho]

There is a whole forum, dedicated to Ghost and other Windows backup programs.

Since around 1997, when Ghost first appeared on the IT scene, I've been using it to backup partitions and whole HD's. Ghost 2003 works a treat on all OS's up to and including XP and is small enough to be run from a floppy disk, but also runs great from a bootable flash drive or CD.

However, Vista and Win-7 throw some new stuff in the game and Ghost 2003 no longer works without you having to jump through hoops and perform some acrobatics.

So for Vista and Win-7, I use either Ghost 11.5 or Acronis 9, run from a boot Flash Drive or CD to backup my Win-7 OS partition.

You MUST have your backup and restore program on some bootable media when your main HD has totally shot craps and is a smoldering ruin.
Having your backup software on C: when it's dead is NO backup at all. Likewise having your backup image file on a second partition of the drive that's just died is NO backup at all.

For a backup of C: to be valid and useful, it MUST be on some other media, than your main HD. An external HD or DVD's is the only safe place for a backup image file.

I've been setting backup schemes for home and business for many years and I know from which I speak.

My own backup DVD's for XP are bootable to Ghost so I have no problem restoring those backup files from just the one DVD. (even to a brand new HD )

I back all my data files that have changed, on a daily basis with a simple batch file incorporating XCOPY to back up new files or files that have changed, to folders on my backup hard drive. I really like to keep things simple and NOT load my PC down with redundant software. Using DOS batch files wherever possible solves this problem.

Cheers Mates!
The Doctor

 

[noyb]

..you can now create a complete System Restore in all editions of Windows 7
Shawn

It's my understanding that this feature is NOT in Windows 7 Home Premium ??
Am I wrong ??

 

[Brink]

Hello Noyb,

From what I see below it's available in all editions of Windows 7, but doing so to a network location is not available in the Home Premium, Basic, or Starter editions. It's not available in those editions with Vista though.

Which one is right for you?

and

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/14422-compare-windows-7-editions.html

 

[noyb]

I see now .. Many Thanks

I wonder if it has all the features of Acronis ..
Like mounting a backup image as a Virtual HDD so specific files can be recovered ..
or being able to backup/restore individual partitions ??

 

[Brink]

It automatically selects the Windows 7 system partition and Windows 7 C: partition to backup that cannot be unselected, but you can select other available individual partitions.

http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/24578-clean-install-via-win-7-upgrade.html

I notice that the system image is made to a VHD file, so it may be possible to open somehow to view and restore specific files instead.

 

[SIW2]

Surprising how many have never heard of making a system image .

It's going to be a help to those who previously were unaware - at least they will probably let it do it's thing.

I would rather use a 3rd party app. that allows me to choose which partition (s) to image and restore - with decent compression levels - and that I know is reliable.

 

[Barman58]

One thing to add of course is that the restore from a previous complete image is one of the repair options available on the windows 7 install disk which may prove invaluable in the event of a total hardware failure

 

[stealthl]

DrWho,
Care to share your batch file?
Thank you..........

 

[ultraplanet]

Ghost is an excellent tool that I use daily but I have never found it to be a good backup option. The down side is if you have a lot of data you will be without you computer for hours while it is booted into DOS running ghost.

I have always prefered the fresh install and restore data route. Don't get me wrong an image of your fresh install is a great idea but an image of a system that has been up and running for months ... not so much.

Robocopy works great for daily data backups. Type robocopy /? at a command prompt for details. Here part of the batch file I use to run robocopy.

robocopy C:\Users\user E:\backup\user /MIR /E /B /R:0 /XJ

 

[harpua]

I made a back up of C: to an external hard drive using the native W7 back up app and then when I tried to restore the image from booting with the install "disk", although it could "see" the backup, it failed to restore. It may have been a driver issue. I just don't know.

So I went back to my usual method of backing up my laptop which involves making weekly clones of my laptops internal hard drive to an identical laptop hard drive using Acronis TIH 2009. In addition, I also use Acronis to make compressed image backups (.TIB files) every other day to an external USB drive. I have found being able to use Acronis to easily browse those files to come in very handy on occasion.

So in the event of total disaster, I can simply swap out my internal laptop drive with one of my recent clones which takes just a minute or two and I'm up and running as if almost nothing happened. And then I can update as necessary from the more recent .TIB compressed backup. Or I could just restore entirely from the .TIB backup, however, I don't like to rely on this because I have heard people occasionally have problems when trying to restore from those compressed image backups. That's why I only really feel safe with my clones.

I see no reason why a clone of perfectly running system with all installed programs and settings is somehow inferior. If it was good enough to be running in the first place, it is good enough to make and use a cloned back up of it.

Anyway, having good backups of my full system has saved me many times over the years. I couldn't imagine running without a good backup system, whatever one's particular method(s) of choice might be.

 

[DrWho]

Keeping your C: drive clean of junk is the first step in a really good backup routine.

I can still get my entire C: drive backed up to a single DVD, with Ghost 2003, using it's HIGH Compression mode. Takes about 15 to 20 minutes to burn that DVD.
If I backup to a second internal HD, using FAST compression, it only takes about six minutes.

I can run "Ghost Explorer" on any Ghost Backup Image file that I've made over the past ten years and extract any file or folder from that image file. So in effect, I still have every file that I've saved in the past ten years, even though, they are no longer saved on my HD.

I'm still curious...... using MS's backup routine, from Windows 7, how will you do a full recovery if the C: drive completely crashes? How will you boot the PC to run a restore routine?..... and where will you get the backup Image File to restore?
OH, and can you extract a single file out of the backup Image File?

Just curious!

Doc B)

 

[musiclover7]

Dr Who.. I too have used acronis and ghost to image a partition from outside the OS, and have found this to be very useful. The problem with doing it this way, is it is not practical for the avg Joe Shmow computer user, and also cannot be setup remotely, which is how I try to work on things as much as possible.

To this end, the Windows 7 backup, which allows you to actually backup your OS load from within the OS, is extremely appealing..

My questions though, I am still hoping to get answered.. Can you A) write backups in a non-compressed format, such that you can access those files that were backed up from another computer via explorer. and B) is it possible to append a previous backup.. ie write only changes to the previous backup that have occurred since the last backup job completed..??

 

[Brink]

Dr Who.. I too have used acronis and ghost to image a partition from outside the OS, and have found this to be very useful. The problem with doing it this way, is it is not practical for the avg Joe Shmow computer user, and also cannot be setup remotely, which is how I try to work on things as much as possible.

To this end, the Windows 7 backup, which allows you to actually backup your OS load from within the OS, is extremely appealing..

My questions though, I am still hoping to get answered.. Can you A) write backups in a non-compressed format, such that you can access those files that were backed up from another computer via explorer. and B) is it possible to append a previous backup.. ie write only changes to the previous backup that have occurred since the last backup job completed..??

Hello Musiclover,

After you create a system image in Windows 7, you can then use the tutorial below to mount the system image to extract specific files from.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/24771-system-image-extract-files-using-disk-management.html

All backups in Windows 7 are incremental to only save the changes that were made since the last backup.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[SIW2]

DR Who,

I'm still curious...... using MS's backup routine, from Windows 7, how will you do a full recovery if the C: drive completely crashes? How will you boot the PC to run a restore routine?..... and where will you get the backup Image File to restore?

Booting the 7 dvd /recovery disc to system recovery options - reveals that one of the options is to restore a system image.

I would still rather use use a 3rd party tool - for the extra flexibility and compression levels available. Some apps. allow restoring the image to different hardware.

 

[ultraplanet]

Anyway, having good backups of my full system has saved me many times over the years. I couldn't imagine running without a good backup system, whatever one's particular method(s) of choice might be.

Agreed

My questions though, I am still hoping to get answered.. Can you A) write backups in a non-compressed format, such that you can access those files that were backed up from another computer via explorer. and B) is it possible to append a previous backup.. ie write only changes to the previous backup that have occurred since the last backup job completed..??

musiclover7 - Not that I am trying to push the Robocopy thing... I first learned of robocopy here at the sevenforums so can't really take credit. I have spent some time since learning of its wonders figuring out how to use it though.

Robocopy does exactly what you are looking for. The files in the backup are and exact mirror of the original location. No compression or special format or file extension. A .jpg is a .jpg. a .doc is a .doc nothing changes and all are readable as the originals from any computer. After the inital backup robocopy only makes changes (mirror) you delete a file robo deletes it from the backup. You add 50 pictures from your camera robo adds 50 pictures to your backup. Mirror copy.

My backup is around 185 gigs with over 36,000 pictures and 9000 music files between 3 users and 2 computers ... after the original copy to the backup location nightly backup complete in less than 2 minutes. Robocopy checks and adds or deletes files and folders as required to keep the original and backup locations the same. I even sync a second external hard drive with the first about once a month and throw it in the trunk of the car. Offsite backup LOL