Okay – this is getting frustrating... I want to do very simple things, yet cannot figure out how to with the new windows 7 backup and restore. Key question... What’s the difference between the wbadmin command utility and the “Backup and Restore” GUI tool – I am told everywhere that they are the same, yet the files they produce as part of their backup routines are completely different (wbadmin produces some weird VHD file with lots of other meta-data files, and “Backup and Restore” produces something that’s not even a file (0 bytes...?). So they are not the same – what is the difference? Here is what I have been happily doing with NTBackup for years and it works really well... I run a batch file that runs a differential backup as I leave the office for the day onto a removable HDD which I rotate offsite with 2 others. I then replace the HDD with the oldest one and set a full backup going as I walk out the door – thus my next day’s differential only needs to backup the files changed since I last set that full backup going. The result is that I always have a full offsite copy of everything on my system – and I have it with me as I walk out the door. Building burns down = lost nothing. Now I have windows 7 and want to achieve something similar... key things are: - I don’t want to schedule my backups – I want to run them ad-hoc as I leave for the day so I get my days work included and can take it off site with me. - I want to execute the backup via a script file – not have to open the backup and restore app each time. - I want differential backups only so they don’t take long (I understand the volume shadow copy feature takes care of this for me). - IMPORTANT: I want it to recognise what has changed since the last backup FOR THE CURRENT BACKUP DRIVE (not just what has changed since the last backup) – is this possible? Does the Backup and Recovery tool look at the backed up file its “volume shadowing”? - I want to use the GUI tool to be able to restore individual files as needed from a given backup drive (backing up using wbadmin appears to force you to use wbadmin to do a restore – fine if you are restoring everything, but sometimes I just want a single file. Or am I missing something here?) Any help...?

Hi RodneyNZ, Thanks for using Microsoft Answers! As I'm sure you know, wbadmin replaced ntbackup in Windows Vista. Like ntbackup, wbadmin has a GUI, which in this cause is Backup and Restore, and a command line interface. Since you seem to prefer the command line interface, I'll do what I can to assist you with that. Have a look at the following link: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc742083(WS.10).aspx. This is a break down of all the parameters when using wbadmin to create a full backup. The following link gives the full list of subcommands for wbadmin: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc754015(WS.10).aspx (although the link above should be exactly what you're looking for). I'm also going to move this thread to the Windows 7 Misc forums in the TechNet community. They'll be able to further assist you there.Cody C Microsoft Answers Support Engineer Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Hi RodNeyNZ,Thanks for trying Windows backup. Let me try to answer your questions.wbadmin is a command line backup utility used to create image backups. This commandline has a GUI for adhoc system image backups called "Create a system image" on the backup and restore center and also is used by the scheduled backup for scheduled system image backups which you configure using "Set up backup". Basically, it serves the purpose of creating images of hard drives in the form of VHDs. More info on system image here: http://blogs.technet.com/filecab/archive/2009/10/31/learn-more-about-system-image-backup.aspxIf your requirement is file backup, it is recommened to use the scheduled backup wizard. You can get some general information on setting up a backup here: http://blogs.technet.com/filecab/archive/2009/10/23/protect-your-files-and-pc-with-windows-7-backup.aspx. You can choose to not turn on the schedule as part of the settings. This will mean running backup in an adhoc manner through the GUI. Unfortunately, there is no exposed command line for the file backup that you can use for scripting. An alternative is using a script to trigger the AutomaticBackup task in task scheduler under Microsoft\Windows\WindowsBackup if you cannot do with the UI. As per your requirement regarding backing up changed files while switching target hard drives, I am afraid this is not possible using the backup and restore software. Everytime you change your target hard disk, backup runs a full backup since it does not keep track of multiple target drives. Regarding restoring your files from a backup, you can find all the information that you need here: http://blogs.technet.com/filecab/archive/2009/11/12/recovering-your-files-in-windows-7.aspxHope this helps answer the questions that you have. Please let me know if you need more info. Thanks,Sneha[MSFT]