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Back Up for Windows 7
amyawake
Posts: 7,848 Forum Member
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I am a bit of a novice but thought it would be relatively simple to do a back up for windows 7. I have written down the online instructions for this. However, as I started to proceed (i.e. plugged in ext. HD and "set up back up") I came across something that was not mentioned in the instructions.
It says I might want to create a system repair disc ... "a system repair disc might be required to restore a system image"?? I read that a system image is an exact copy of a drive...isn't this what an ext HD is? But it is not a disc, which is confusing me.
When I bought the ext. HD I was told it would be all I need....do I need to buy a disc too?
Also I use 294 GB...so how long would it take, roughly, to back up the HD?
It says I might want to create a system repair disc ... "a system repair disc might be required to restore a system image"?? I read that a system image is an exact copy of a drive...isn't this what an ext HD is? But it is not a disc, which is confusing me.
When I bought the ext. HD I was told it would be all I need....do I need to buy a disc too?
Also I use 294 GB...so how long would it take, roughly, to back up the HD?
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However when it all goes belly skywards you can't boot Windows and so can't run the back-up software. This is where the repair disk comes in. It is basically a DVD with an operating system on and a copy of the back-up software.
You boot up using the DVD and run the back-up software to restore your computer hard drive from the external drive.
Do I then need to buy a blank DVD "with an operating system" on it? What is it called? I guess I need to buy 4? How will I know when to change over to a fresh disc?
So I use a new DVD AND the ext. HD together?
You only need a bog standard DVD recordable disk to make the restore disk. The software that creates it will install the operating system onto it and make it bootable.
So in the event that you can't get into Windows normally on the computer you use the restore disk to boot the computer and restore the disk image. But for normal day to day back-ups you just boot the computer normally and use the back-up software to update the image. The DVD is only needed for emergencies.
W7 Repair Disk is a collection of utilities used to boot the machine (it is not all of W7)
You need a blank CD or DVD to make one.
You may be offered the option to make one after you have made a System Image.
Otherwise the option is there anyway in W7 Backup and Restore Center under Create a System Image on the left of the screen.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows7/create-a-system-repair-disc
Note that a Backup is just some files and folders that you choose.
It does not include Windows.
A Backup is not the same as a Backup Image (System Image) which is everything on the hard drive, including Windows and all your settings.
Based on my old'ish W7 laptop and ext drive...
If you Image 294GB it will take 294 minutes approx. or about 5 hours.
I'd suggest you do set it going before you go to bed and leave it chugging away overnight.
(newer laptops and ext drives have USB3 ports instead of USB2. They are much faster)
Annotated as above
So the HD creates a system image but doesn't repair the image? I am now officially confused. Is it an extra copy or something i.e. the main deal being the DVD to reboot and the HD somewhat superfluous?
How do I boot from the repair disc (to check it) - is it 'back up and restore'? I am a bit nervous about doing this in case it messes up what I have on pc e.g. will it override existing settings or does it play out separately/safely?
The system repair disc that backup is asking you to create is so you can boot the PC from the disc & then restore the backup from your external drive.
The reason for a separate disk is explained in #2
The whole point of the restore is because your pc is in a state where is it isn't useable or you have data issues that require you to go back a few days to a previous version of a file(s).
If you lost your data on the hard disk in your PC, it's a lot easier to boot from a CD/DVD than it is from an external hard disk. So what would happen is, you boot from the optical disk and it restores your backup from the external hard disk.
For the backup; you create the boot CD/DVD once only. You then do the backup to the external hard disk.
You do worry a lot! Why don't you just trust the advice you are given?
I still say you would be better with Macrium Reflect Free
Some other helpful links.
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-gb/windows/back-up-files#1TC=windows-7
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/1838/using-backup-and-restore-in-windows-7/
After you have created the system repair disc you don't need to make a new backup, just boot the PC from the disc & follow the prompts.
You were running a process and at some point, it asked if you want to create a recovery disc. You create the disc and continue with the instructions that you have in #1
The reason for the disc is outlined in #2
The repair disk is only used when you cannot boot into Windows normally and need to restore the back-up to fix the problem. Obviously if you cannot boot into Windows normally you cannot run the normal back-up program so the repair disk gives you that option back. It is quite possible that if the computer cannot boot from the internal hard drive it will automatically switch to try and boot from the DVD so you may only have to put the DVD in the drive and switch on.
I have said I am very grateful for the helpful advice given to me on this forum which has enabled me to solve many situations. This forum is like a safety net to me!
Obviously, if you do a backup then you are saving everything up until that date. When you add or edit documents then these are not backed up until the next time you attach the external HD and run the backup.
As for testing the backup itself, there's no easy way to do that except to run the whole restore routine. That in itself is not a good idea as you may (ironically) lose data if the backup/restore doesn't work. It's best to test the boot disk and not attempt a trial restore.
The whole point of making back-ups is to have an entirely separate safety copy (preferably copies on separate physical drives) of your important data in case of emergency, meaning you can't get access to the originals. So that means that you need to routinely update the back-up as you create new data files.
So you need to get into a routine of regularly connecting the external drive to the laptop and running the back-up software to perform an update to the back-up. How often you need to do this depends on how much new data you generate.
For example if you run a business on the computer and generate loads of invoices, orders, quotes etc on it each day then you might need to to a back-up every evening after work. However if all you do is surf the interweb and every so often fire off a letter to Aunty Betty or whatever then you might only need to do a back-up every month. It all depends on how much stuff you create that you cannot afford to lose if all hell breaks loose and your computer disappears in a cloud of smoke!
Most back-up software that is half way decent will do what is known as an incremental back-up. Basically it compares what is on the computer to what is on the back-up drive and only backs-up those files that have changed or are new which is a lot quicker than doing a full back-up.
if you cannot find this software, then download and install macrium reflect free edition, and copy the recovery partition onto dvds. note that, you must also make the additional macrium rescue disk, which allows you to load the saved recovery partition back onto your computer. you will also need to make the recovery partition bootable to kick start windows re-installation. use a gparted live distro, previously burned "as iso" onto a blank cd or dvd.
the repair disk is a small amount of data, which assumes windows is "mostly still there", but horribly mangled! It's basically just a reboot to system repair, which happens anyway if windows detects very bad errors ........ this assumes that the hard disk recovery partition is undamaged
note that, with manufacturer supplied recovery software, some gives the option of saving user data - as well as reinstalling windows - and some doesn't !
The software will know you have set it up before and will offer to do the required additional backup.