Windows 7 : Protecting Your Files - Using Backup and Restore (part 1) - Backing up files and settings

Windows Backup is an alternative to the simple method for backing up files described earlier. It can back up individual folders, all files for all user accounts, or even your entire hard drive. Windows Backup works best if you have a second hard drive that you can use for backups. It can be an internal disk or an external hard drive connected through a USB port.

Very few computers sold come with multiple hard drives. So your system most likely has only one. If you want to back up to another hard drive, you'll either need to purchase and install one yourself, have it installed, or use an external hard drive that you can easily connect with a USB cable.

You can also back up to removable media like CDs and DVDs. It's not always easy to know in advance how many disks you'll need. It depends on how many files you back up, and whether or not you back up just your personal files or the entire hard drive. You might want to consider buying CDs or DVDs in spindles of 50 or 100. They're cheaper in those quantities. It won't take that many to make backups, but you'll probably find plenty of uses for the extras.

If you have a DVD burner, your best bet would be to use DVDs because one DVD holds as much information as about six CDs. Backup media (RW disks) are better than distribution media (R) disks for backup, because RW disks are reusable.

Finally, you can back up folders and files to a shared network folder. This option provides simplicity in that you don't have to change removable media. However, backups to tape or other removable media enable you to take your backups offsite to guard against a catastrophic incident such as a fire that destroys all of the computers on your network.

1. Starting Backup and Restore

Backup and Restore is a tool for backing up files in all user accounts, so you need administrative privileges to run it. If you're logged in to a standard account, log off. Then log back in to an administrative account. Use either of the following methods to open Backup and Restore:

• Press , type back, and click Backup and Restore.

• Click the Start button and choose Control Panel => System and Security => Backup and Restore Center.

Backup and Restore opens looking something like Figure 1.

2. Backing up files and settings

The Backup and Restore Center backs up all user files and personal settings in all user accounts by default. It does not back up Windows or any installed programs. Its main purpose is to make sure that you can recover documents like pictures, music, videos, and such in case you lose the originals on your hard drive.

The first file backup you perform might take several hours. It will run in the background so you can continue to use your computer during the backup. But the backup will consume some resources, slowing things down, so you may want to run the first backup overnight, starting it at a time when you can leave the computer on and running.

Before you start a backup, you should configure options for the backup. In Backup and Restore, click the Options button, and then click Change Backup Settings in the resulting dialog box. Windows 7 starts the Backup program and then displays a wizard similar to the one shown in Figure 2. In the first step, choose the device on which you will place the backup. Figure 2 shows three potential targets: a network drive, a local CD-RW drive, and a removable (flash) disk.

Figure 1. Backup and Restore with backup in progress.

Choose the desired target for the backup and click Next. The wizard then presents you with two options. You can let Windows decide what to back up, or you can choose. If you allow Windows to choose, Windows backs up data files from your libraries, desktop, and default Windows folders, and also creates a system image that you can use to restore your computer should it crash. If you specify the option to let you choose what to back up, Backup and Restore displays the wizard page shown in Figure 3 when you click Next.

Use the Data Files branch to select which user libraries to include in the backup. Use the Computer branch to select other folders as desired. Optionally, select the check box Include a System Image of Drives to create an image that you can use to restore the computer if it crashes. Then, click Next.

Backup and Restore at this point displays a summary of what will be backed up and the target location. It also specifies the backup schedule. To change the schedule, click the Change Schedule link to open the wizard page shown in Figure 4. To perform a one-time backup, clear the Run Backup on a Schedule check box. Otherwise, choose the backup schedule from the drop-down lists on the page, and then click OK. When you're satisfied with the settings, click Save Settings and Run Backup.

If you specified a recurring schedule, Windows 7 will automatically back up files according to whatever schedule you specified. If you use an external hard drive for backups, you'll need to remember to connect that drive before the scheduled time arrives.

Figure 2. Choose a backup location.

As mentioned, the first backup may take a while. But subsequent backups will copy only files that have changed since the last backup, so they'll go more quickly. Also, you won't have to answer all the same questions again. Subsequent backups will assume you want to keep the same settings.

If you back up to an external hard drive, the backup files will be in a folder that has the same name as the computer you backed up. If you delete the folder, you lose the backup. Exploring that folder won't reveal files in their original form. The backed up files are combined and compressed to minimize storage requirements. To restore from backups, use the method described in the next section.

Figure 3. Choose what to back up.

Figure 4. Set a backup schedule.