Backup file questions

I haven't messed with the built-in backup in Windows 7 yet. Can someone confirm - when you do a backup, do the files simply get copied over to an appropriate folder (by date from what I see) onto the backup drive? Or does it compress and/or change into some native format?

Previously on XP, I used a simple XCOPY command in a .bat file. What I liked about this method is that it would create a duplicate of My Documents or whatever onto the backup space. I could then have access to those files independently. e.g., I could use the backup drive to upload those files onto a Linux machine.

Just want to make sure if I can do that using the Windows 7 backup.

The file backup utility compresses the files into standard .zip format, which you can open with any suitable app (or Windows itself), and then extract any individual file, if you wish. Or you can restore the entire backup in its entirety. It's pretty versatile. I like to copy the backup files over to an external drive, as a belt and braces thing.

If you have Home Premium or above, then the Windows Image utility will make a bit for bit image of the Windows partition. In that case the backup file is stored as a .vhd (virtual hard drive) which can be mounted using Virtual PC or VMware virtualisation software.

I knew you'd come back with a fast and helpful answer! :)

Good to know - I'd prefer to use the uncompressed backup - just the files themselves - but if that's not possible, zip might be okay. I do have Home Premium.

Not to step on the OP thread, but I too have not played with Backup feature in Win 7 yet either and I was wondering if you can burn the backup to a DVD or some other "outside" location.

And would this backup be the same as a restore set? Or would it be just for select files and such for normal backup procedures?

Paul

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/ff_backup.asp

Yes you can backup to a DVD. It can be a system image or just a data backup.

So did I understand correctly that the Windows 7 backup system cannot be setup to simply copy your file and directly structure over - without any kind of compression, zip files, etc.? i.e., we can't have it essentially do a drag & drop of the folders we specify?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Midknyte

http://www.winsupersite.com/win7/ff_backup.asp

Yes you can backup to a DVD. It can be a system image or just a data backup.

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Thanks for that link Midknyte. That's exactly the info I need.

So I guess my Acronis True Image software is not necessary anymore? Or would your personal opinion be to use it instead of Windows backup?

Just curious.
Paul

Quote:

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Originally Posted by NickC

So did I understand correctly that the Windows 7 backup system cannot be setup to simply copy your file and directly structure over - without any kind of compression, zip files, etc.? i.e., we can't have it essentially do a drag & drop of the folders we specify?

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You mean SYNC, not backup. That's not what Win7 backup was designed for. Take a look at this thread instead:
http://discussions.virtualdr.com/sho...d.php?t=244584

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ups4

Thanks for that link Midknyte. That's exactly the info I need.

So I guess my Acronis True Image software is not necessary anymore? Or would your personal opinion be to use it instead of Windows backup?

Just curious.
Paul

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I still use Acronis. It's tried, true, and battle-tested.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Midknyte

I still use Acronis. It's tried, true, and battle-tested.

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I tend to agree. It's never let me down before.

Paul

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Midknyte

You mean SYNC, not backup. That's not what Win7 backup was designed for.

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Not sure I understand the terminology. I don't mean sync. I mean backup, only the files are copied directly to the backup drive with no compression or alterations. Is this the same thing as sync? I always thought of "sync" as being a two-way bridge - where both devices were identical in data.

e.g., when I use the XCOPY script in XP, it's simply copying new files to the backup area but not really keeping the two drives in sync. So if I delete a file from my main drive, the file wouldn't get deleted in the backup.

The advantage for something like this is that the files on the backup area are native so they can be copied and used elsewhere independently. I guess if Win 7 saves them as groups of files zipped, that can be restored on different systems so maybe it's all cool! :)

Backups usually make archives. If you want loose files, then check out one of the sync tools instead. Sync/copy tools can do a one way copy as well as mirroring of folders.

Microsoft SyncToy 2.1 (free)
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

SyncToy can perform five actions on folder pairs:

• Synchronize: New and updated files are copied both ways, from Source to Target and from Target back to Source. Renames and deletes on both Source and Target are repeated on the other.
  
  
• Echo: New and updated files are copied from Source to Target. Renames and deletes on the Source are repeated on the Target.
  
  
• Subscribe: Updated files on the Target are copied to the Source if the file name already exists on the Source.
  
  
• Contribute: New and updated files are copied from Source to Target. Renames on the Source are repeated on the Target. No deletions.
  
  
• Combine: New and updated files are copied both ways. Nothing happens to renamed and deleted files.

Further details can be found in SyncToy's Help.

This is what is contained inside a Backup Set:

And here are the contents of a zipped folder. As you can see, you don't have to do much to get at the native files contained therein :)

Good stuff everyone! I guess technically I have been doing a one-way sync using the XCOPY!

So I'll look into both sync tools as well as the native backup in Win 7.

BTW, I have actually dropped Acronis in favour of Windows Image backup. Though I would still happily recommend Acronis, it did let me down badly back when I was running Vista, and so I started using the Windows utility. And that has worked flawlessly each time I've needed to restore an image :)

That's really good to hear. To be honest, I'm a little nervous about relying on one large image backup file being able to restore the system. But hearing the stores of successful restores helps! :)