My computer is setup with the operating system and program files on one drive and all of my personal data on another drive. I used the Backup and Restore utility to backup the entire system. I recently installed a fresh copy of the operating system again (Windows 7 Ultimate) and I do not want to restore my system to the state that it was when I backed up my files. The drive that had all of my personal data on it recently went bad. I used the Backup and Restore utility to restore my personal data onto the new hard drive and it worked great. What are my options to backup my personal data for any changes going forward? The operating system does not have any record of a previous backup (because of the fresh installation) so I don't believe it will recognize that most of the personal data is already on my backup drive. Do I have to perform a whole new backup to backup data that I already have? I only want to backup any data that has changed, yet I don't know if this tool is powerful enough to do this. My concern with this is that I only have one backup drive that I own. The backup of my personal data takes a good portion of the drive and I don't have room to fit two backups of the data onto the backup drive. The only way to create a whole new backup of the computer would be to wipe my backup drive and perform the backup. With the luck that I have had lately with hard drives, I don't like the idea of having the data on only one drive at one point. Does anybody have any thoughts about this? Any help is appreciated!

The Windows backup is not very good, I suggest seeking alternatives Windows MVP, XP, Vista, 7. Expanding into Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server, SharePoint etc. My page on Video Card Problems is now my most popular landing page. My Page on SSD is now #2. See my gaming site for game reviews etc. Developer | Windows IT | Chess | Economics | Hardcore Games | Vegan Advocate | PC Reviews

The Windows backup is not very good, I suggest seeking alternatives Windows MVP, XP, Vista, 7. Expanding into Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server, SharePoint etc. My page on Video Card Problems is now my most popular landing page. My Page on SSD is now #2. See my gaming site for game reviews etc. Developer | Windows IT | Chess | Economics | Hardcore Games | Vegan Advocate | PC Reviews Do you have any recommendations? Any thoughts on my existing problem for now?

I use 7-zip which a free archive tool. I then use a USB hard disk to save too. I also use my server HD as a backup for Documents using Live Mesh Windows MVP, XP, Vista, 7. Expanding into Windows Server 2008 R2, SQL Server, SharePoint etc. My page on Video Card Problems is now my most popular landing page. My Page on SSD is now #2. See my gaming site for game reviews etc. Developer | Windows IT | Chess | Economics | Hardcore Games | Vegan Advocate | PC Reviews

Hi, If anything is unclear, please let me know. It is my pleasure to be of assistance. Regards, Sabrina TechNet Subscriber Support in forum If you have any feedback on our support, please contact tnmff@microsoft.com. This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties or guarantees, and confers no rights. |Please remember to click Mark as Answer on the post that helps you, and to click Unmark as Answer if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.