How to BackUp, Restore and Manage Backup Size in Windows 7

Windows 7 is an upcoming version of windows developed by Microsoft. Only the beta version of Windows 7 is available in the market, the official version is still to be launched. Windows 7 supports following features:

• Improved task bar previews, bigger icons, and pinning.

• Easy File sharing.

• Quick and easy access to documents and website

• A quick way to resize the window.

• Software like get mail in photo gallery is provided freely.

• Searching your PC is like searching on web. This feature makes it more attractive as windows searching speed has increased drastically.

With the modernized world, usage of computers has increased in every field and as such backup has become an important issue.Backup refers to making copies of data to ensure safety after a mishap. Backup serves 2 purposes:

• To restore data after a mishap has occurred.

• To restore file or folders, accidentally deleted or corrupted.

How to keep Backup in Windows 7?

Follow the steps given below:

Step 1: On Desktop, double-click My Computer icon to open up the window that displays the list of available drives in your computer. Now, right click the drive you want to backup and from the popup menu that appears, select Properties.

Step 2: From the properties' window, click on Tools tab and under it, single click the Back up Now button.

Step 3: After clicking the Back up Now button, Backup and Restore window will appear. From the window, click the link that reads "Set up backup".

Windows will itself look for the available drives to store the backup image. You can either keep the backup image on your computer or a portable drive. It is recommended that you store the backup image on a portable drive to ensure safety of your data.

You also have the option to store the backup image on a computer connected to a network. To select a network computer, click on Save on a network button located in the right corner of the Backup and Restore window.

After selecting the drive, click Next button to proceed.

Step 4: You have 2 options available to choose from.

1. Let Windows choose (recommended)

With this option, windows will back up every important folder along with an image of the system to restore your computer in future if anything goes wrong. However, it will not backup data greater than 1 GB.

2. Let me choose.

With this option, you can decide which files and folders to backup.

If you go for "Let me choose" option, a window will appear that will allow you to select the files and folders you want to backup. You also have the option to "Include a system image of drives: (C:) ".

Step 5: In Review your backup settings window, ensure that you have selected all the files and folders and click Save settings and run backup button to proceed with backup.

Step 6: Finally, check the option Run backup on a schedule (recommended) to activate auto backup option and select the time period for the schedule. Click OK button to proceed.

Step 7: At last, you will notice a green color Backup in progress bar that displays the progress of backup. You can also click View Details button to see a more detailed progress that displays the progress in percentage along with a drive name being backed up.

After completing the process you now have 2 folders and 1 additional system image folder if you opted for the image.

How to restore backup in Windows 7?

Follow the steps given below:

Step 1: On Desktop, double-click My Computer icon to open up the window that displays the list of available drives in your computer. Now, right click the drive you want to backup and from the popup menu that appears, select Properties.

Step 2: From the properties' window, click on Tools tab and under it, single click the Back up Now button.

Step 3: After clicking the Back up Now button, a Backup and Restore window will appear where you have the option to either crate a backup or restore an existing backup. You can choose to directly recover the system settings or choose another backup image to restore.

Step 4: If you want to restore a file from the backup files then click "Restore my files" button.

Step 5: Now, browse through the backup image that you want to restore.

Step 6: After clicking the Next button, a new "Restore Files"window will appear.On this window, you have the option to restore the files at the original location, or you can also specify a new location. Finally, click on "Restore"button. You can see the progress of the restoration process.

How to manage backup size?

Window 7 can manage the size of backups when you want to recover the disk space. In the "Back up or restore your files" you have another option "Manage space" to manage the disk space. Click on this option.

You can find details about the backup, and anytime you can click on "View backups..." button to check the history of the backup and delete older backup files.