Preferred method of image backup?

[artrosch]

I had Acronis True Image on my old XP computer, and it did a good job, saved my skin
several times. Now I have Win 7 64 bit Home Premium and I also bought a new Seagate USB 3 hdd with the usual recovery software. Not only that, but my Gigabyte mobo has a utility for image restoration. With all these options, I don't want to spend 60 dollars for the latest Acronis. I need to go with one, obviously. I would appreciate an informed opinion as to
my choice of backup/recovery methods. I've already made boot discs from Windows and from the mobo utility.

Thanks

[dneilson]

Use Seagate Disk Wizard, it's free and is identical to Acronis for Image backups. i've used it for a long time and it's absolutely reliable. It works with Win 7 64 bit.

[SuperSparks]

Use Windows own built-in imaging utility - it works very well. Go to Control Panel>Backup and Restore, and then select "Create a system image" from the left hand pane. If you haven't already done so, create a System Repair disk when it asks too (you only need one, so decline the offer if you've already done it).

[Welshjim]

FWIW--Acronis charges only $30 for an Update to the latest version.