Windows 7: Backup and restore

At the Backup and restore Area, you can (obviously) backup your computer by creating a system image or restore from a previous backup.

Backing up your files

The overall process of creating a backup is similar to what was involved in backing up Windows Vista.

When you open the Backup and Restore Center, you are given the chance to either schedule a backup or to create an image backup.

There is an important distinction between the two options, however. If you create an image backup, you cannot use it to restore individual files.

It is used only for the purpose of restoring the entire machine to its previous state. On the other hand, a scheduled backup does allow you to restore individual files and folders should the need arise.

If you do decide to create an image backup, the Backup and Restore Center gives you the option of creating a system recovery disk when the backup process completes.

A system recovery disk is a bootable CD or DVD that contains various Windows recovery tools that you can use to help you to recover from a serious error. The system recovery disk can also be used to restore an image backup.

Restoring your files

Aside from not allowing you to restore files and folders from an image backup, Windows 7 makes it fairly easy to restore files and folders.

The Restore section contains a Restore My Files button, and a link that you can use to Restore All User’s Files.

Both of these options will allow you to restore individual files and folders, but there are some major restrictions that you need to be aware of. Firstly, using these options only restores data from the most recent backup. If you need to restore data from an older backup, you will have to use a different option.

Another restriction that you need to be aware of is that both of these options are designed so that they will only restore data that is located in the user profile directories.

If you need to restore data that was originally located in a folder outside of a user’s profile then you will have to use a different restoration option. You do however have the option of restoring profile data to an alternate location.

There is an option to Select the Backup to Restore Files From. If you select this option, then you will be taken to a screen that asks you which backup you want to restore.

Windows Vista gave you the option of writing backups to a hard drive, but you had to dedicate the entire drive to the backups.

Windows 7 still allows you to backup data to a hard drive, but the hard drive is no longer required to be dedicated to the backup process.

If you open the drive containing your backups, you will find that you can even manage your backups by double clicking on the backup file.

When you do, Windows will open a dialog box for the operation. This provides you with a quick and easy way of performing a restoration.

One useful thing about this feature is that it gives you an option to manage the disk space that is used by the backup.

Clicking on this option allows you to see how much space the backup is actually using, and it allows you to purge older versions on the backup.