MS Backup Utility

[choucove]

I just took a look again at the latest version of Acronis that I have (TrueImage 2010) and found that it actually does not support a copy from one location to another without compressing as a specific file when running the automatic backups within Windows. I'm quite confused about that, honestly, as I could have sworn it had the option in one of its versions. But, from the looks of it, it will only allow me while running the program within Windows to make a backup of files and folders to a single compressed file elsewhere.

On the good side, though, I also double checked and this newer version is capable of making a complete hard drive clone from my primary operating system hard drive to a second hard drive while within Windows. Now, I've tried this before on a couple of other (older) computers and the option did not work, it would not detect and list the primary operating system hard drive as a valid source drive, but it may be different with this hardware or that I'm running Windows 7 on this computer. Either way, it was nice to see that.

But unfortunately, no I was wrong: Acronis will not do a direct copy within Windows from one source folder to one destination folder like can be done with Cobian Backup or Backup Magic.

 

[Custom_Grafx]

Interesting,

Ok, so maybe a good solution is to use Acronis for the full clone every couple of months, and keep data back ups of my files using Cobian for instant access.

I still don't see doing a full clone as important/necessary though when comparing with my data files. It would be nice to have however. I notice Acronis is not too pricey so maybe worth it.

 

[choucove]

Yeah, it's hard to tell sometimes. For most homes being able to minimize the downtime in the event of a system failure isn't as critical. However, if you've got a RIP computer or a server that runs every day and makes your business run on a daily basis, having as small of downtime as possible is critical. It's these kind of environments that I highly recommend a full disk clone using Acronis in case you need to make an emergency restore.

At our office we don't actually do frequent clone backups though and here's the reason: With various people getting on, going to email, searching websites, etc. you just never know what stuff could be on that computer. And I'm not just talking about viruses but also any possible personal information that is being saved in cookies such as email address and more. Some of that you possibly don't want back on your computer. So what we did was after setting up the computer the very first time, installing all the programs and configuring all the necessary settings we created an image at that point. It's a completely clean backup that way, and in the case that we need to restore the computer, we know there's not possibly viruses or other stuff that could be restored to deal with again on the computer. It's a fresh start without the hassle of having to reinstall all the programs and configure all the settings again. There may be some updates needed or a couple new programs to install since that, but it's still a fraction of the time as a complete format and reinstall of the operating system and programs and everything else.

 

[Custom_Grafx]

At our office we don't actually do frequent clone backups though and here's the reason: With various people getting on, going to email, searching websites, etc. you just never know what stuff could be on that computer. And I'm not just talking about viruses but also any possible personal information that is being saved in cookies such as email address and more. Some of that you possibly don't want back on your computer. So what we did was after setting up the computer the very first time, installing all the programs and configuring all the necessary settings we created an image at that point. It's a completely clean backup that way, and in the case that we need to restore the computer, we know there's not possibly viruses or other stuff that could be restored to deal with again on the computer. It's a fresh start without the hassle of having to reinstall all the programs and configure all the settings again. There may be some updates needed or a couple new programs to install since that, but it's still a fraction of the time as a complete format and reinstall of the operating system and programs and everything else.

That is a very good point! I'm going to do this when I get my new PC later this year for sure. Very good idea!

 

[Custom_Grafx]

New thread opened as I have switched to Cobian.

http://www.signs101.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=79248

 

[signswi]

There's actually a true imaging backup utility built into Windows 7 as well, just as an fyi.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

There's actually a true imaging backup utility built into Windows 7 as well, just as an fyi.

Yep... and you can schedule both the image backup and the file based backup to run on a schedule. I run an image weekly and file backup daily. In case of catastrophe, you don't have to install Windows in order to restore the image. To restore an image, you simply boot to either the "Windows 7 installation DVD" or the "System Repair Disc" that you are promted to create when you run your first image. It is pretty slick and quick to restore. The best part it is is FREE!

 

[choucove]

I've used the built-in backup utility with Windows 7 before, but unfortunately the one time that my system really did crash (failed hard drive) is when the software failed me. I had created a backup to an image file using the Windows 7 backup utility onto an external hard drive only a week before the system went dead. I popped in the Windows 7 install DVD (and later even tried just the System Repair Disc with the same result) and the system recovery was unable to detect any proper images on the external hard drive to restore the computer with. It just simply wouldn't recognize or read the image file. In the end I probably spent more time trying to get the image to be recognize so I could restore it than it would have taken to just reinstall Windows 7 and all my programs. Fortunately, all my data is actually stored on a separate hard drive so I didn't lose any actual data.

 

[SignBurst PCs]

I've used the built-in backup utility with Windows 7 before, but unfortunately the one time that my system really did crash (failed hard drive) is when the software failed me. I had created a backup to an image file using the Windows 7 backup utility onto an external hard drive only a week before the system went dead. I popped in the Windows 7 install DVD (and later even tried just the System Repair Disc with the same result) and the system recovery was unable to detect any proper images on the external hard drive to restore the computer with. It just simply wouldn't recognize or read the image file. In the end I probably spent more time trying to get the image to be recognize so I could restore it than it would have taken to just reinstall Windows 7 and all my programs. Fortunately, all my data is actually stored on a separate hard drive so I didn't lose any actual data.

Interesting... I have used it numerous times with stellar results. All I cant think of is some kind of BIOS/USB setting that wasn't allowing the computer to see the drive/image?

 

[choucove]

Interesting... I have used it numerous times with stellar results. All I cant think of is some kind of BIOS/USB setting that wasn't allowing the computer to see the drive/image?

That could very well be. Every piece of software out there will have some kind of little compatibility issue with something eventually, so I must have just lucked out! Either way I really am glad to see that Microsoft has gone to this level of included backup software. Backups used to be a thing that no one really thought of, but really there's no reason why someone shouldn't be backing up their data. Including the functionality is a great benefit.

I have heard rumors that Windows 8 (currently in OEM pre-beta testing) may support a Time Machine like feature for making backup "images" of the system states as well as individual files, which would be a giant bonus as well.