I just recently upgraded to windows 7, and I'm getting these low backup space errors. It says that 14.6 GB are taken up in drive d:, yet when I look inside it I only find a 6.5 GB backup, and the ~2 MB recovery file. What's going on here?

Hi,When you setup the backup, you must check the box before "Include a system image of drives(C:)". See the third photo from http://www.backuphowto.info/how-backup-your-files-windows-7If you check thebox, every back up will be a system image that contains almost all data on the hard drive. Backup and restore will create seperate folders for the machines being backed up. However the system image is placed outside the folders and the rest of the backup is placed inside the folder. That is why about 8 GB missing from the backup folder.The default file storage location used by the Microsoft Backup utility is the first available drive after the C: drive. Usually, it is D: drive.The Windows Backup and Recovery Center allows a user to select where to store backed up files. The files should be backed up to a set of DVD/CD-ROM disks or to an external storage device. It is suggested to change backup settings tostart a new full backup.1.Click Start , type Backup in the search field, and click Backup and Restore Center when it appears to open the Backup and Restore Center.2.Click Change settings under the Back up files pane.3.On the Backup Status and Configuration window, click Change backup settings to adjust your current settings or start a new full backup.4.When prompted by the User Account Control for permission to start the action, click Continue .5.When prompted on where to save your backup files, click the drop-down arrow for the hard drive option and select an available DVD/CD-ROM drive, and then click Next.6.When prompted, on which types of files you want to include in the backup, select the desired type and click Next .7.When prompted, on how often you want to create a backup, select the schedule for times when the PC will not be in heavy usage and click Save settings and start backup to save the backup settings. You may allow the backup utility to complete the backup at this time. You may stop the current backup and do a backup at another time.Once the settings for the automatic backups are saved, the backup utility will prompt you to insert a DVD/CD-ROM disk just before the backup starts.

Hi, As Magon_67 mentioned, Windows backup stores backup on the target device as follows:1. System image is stored in the form of.vhd files under WindowsImageBackup folder.2. File folder backup is stored in form ofzips under folder withmachine name as folder name.To know how much space is occupied by each type of backup, please go to Managespace link onBackup and restore controlpanel. ThereSpace usage summary can be viewed giving detaild of space occupied by Data file backup and system image both. On the same page there are also options to delete older data backups and manage how system image backups are stored in the target.For more information on Manage space follow this blog post: https://blogs.technet.com/filecab/archive/2009/11/23/managing-backup-disk-space.aspxHope this helps. Thanks,Neha