hello,i have some questions about how the Backup and Restore functions work in Windows 7. formerly, i've used Acronis for this task and it's treated me pretty well over the years, however, i like the idea of having such a program within the OS to handle this important task and not using a third-party product.when i began the steps of creating a system image, i was asked (as expected) where i would like to save the backup.so i then chose one of my additional internal drives that has adequet space; the next screen confirms the drives (C: and system reserved) that i am about to backup, the final screen has the summary page of what is to take place and gives me the option to "Start Backup" or cancel.my questions are:1. how is this backup saved and will it in any way affect the important existing data that i already have saved on the destination drive i have selected for the backup?2. is this backup saved as a single file or does it create a partition on the selected drive?...i was affraid to try it first and find out after :03. is it generally safe to save a Windows 7 image backupto a drive that has pre-existing mixed data or should this form of backup be saved to an empty drive only?4.will the system image backup method createan exact replica of my system drive or are there exceptions, i.e. attribute, file dates, etc. that will be changed in the backup/restore process?to note: i typically--and in this case also--haveadditional internal drives connected to my workstation and adjust all my OS and applicationconfigurations so that all personal and settings data is saved toa non-system (or data only) drive. this includes my favorites, outlook .pst files, documents, and the like. this way, when i want/need to re-image (restore) my system drive to it's original state, it remembers all the references to my data only drive(s) and everything is back, exactly as it was when i created the original image.i'm hoping the backup utility that comes with Win 7 can do this for me as Acronis has done in the past, without worry of losing anything.i thank you very much in taking your time to undestand the best and safest practice.kind regards,AJ

Hi AJ,In 'theory' Windows Complete PC Backup should create a perfect image of your hard drive enabling you to, should you have problems, restore your system fully. Sadly, in my experience, the Windows Complete PC Backup software isn't as reliable as one would expect. The times that I have used it I haven't been able to restore my system, simply because the files have either been corrupt or they have not been found (even though I can see them). I have to say that, even from the early beta of Windows 7, I have been very disppointed with Windows Complete PC Backup. Like many other users, me included, you have already found the perfect backup tool - Acronis True Image. I know I will be sticking with Acronis.John Barnett MVP: Windows XP Associate Expert: Windows Desktop Experience: Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk; Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org; Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org;

thanks a bunch for your reply John, this is good information, as backing up data is serious business. all-in-all, i must say i'm very pleased with W7. i was never a Vista user and i think it's fair to assume that any OS isn't going to do everything that everyone wants and do it perfectly.it would be cool to think MS might consider buying out or buying rights to use Acronis in Windows 8 ;)peace,Aj

Hi AJ,When we using the Backup utility, it will let us choose the files we would like to backup. If we check the box "create a system image", it will create 2 file folders. One for saving backup files and the other for saving a system image --- which including the whole Drive C (system drive).The backup files can be saved to a mixed drive or an external drive, but it recommended not to save the files to the save hard disk which installed the system. Tip, please do not move or rename the system image folder, or backup tool will not able to recognize it --- if you need to move or rename, we will need to restore to original location and name before restore files.

hi Shanon,thanks for taking the time to reply and for the useful information. perhaps i'll give Windows backup a whirl :) ~Aj

Hi AJ,Let me try answering your questions. Windows backup is definitely a solution designed to cater to the restore files and the recover machine scenarios. The backup that you set up has two parts - file backup and system image backup, which are useful in the restore files and recover machine scenarios respectively. To answer each of your questions.1. The system image backup is stored in the form of a VHD (one VHD per source volume) on the target. It will not affect any data on the destination drive.2. The backup is saved in a folder - WindowsImageBackup in the case of a system image and machine name folder in the case of a file backup - on the destination drive. No separate partition is created.3. It is safe to keep the backup on a drive with data however it is advised that you create a separate volume so that you do not have to worry about space constraints.4. System image backup creates the complete image of your critical drives.When you reimage your drives, every reference will be maintained since the volume is restored to what it was block by block. However, you will have to backup the files on your additional data drives separately using file backup in case you want them back as well.Hope this clarifies.Thanks,Sneha[MSFT]