Windows 7 comes with an improved built-in backup facility that you can use. This article is a short guide about the same.

Windows 7, in many ways, is the best version of the operating system, launched by Microsoft so far. You can see the extra effort that they have taken to make it a complete operating system, in all respects, after the Vista fiasco.

The company has significantly enhanced and added the utilities that come with it. It includes a free antivirus program in the form of Windows Security Essentials and a better inbuilt backup system, that even lets you create a system repair disc.

The advantages of the OS are many and having an inbuilt well-equipped backup utility, that is good enough to compete with the best backup programs in the market, is one of them.

The new backup program is extremely reliable and carries out its scheduled job quietly in the background. It can be programmed to back up specific folders that need to be protected. Copy and back up your most important folders on the hard drive automatically, by programming the backup software.

Configuration

Like most Windows programs, setting the scheduled backup is quite a simple exercise. Here is a step wise guide to scheduling.

Right Click On Drive to Select Properties Option

To begin configuring, right click on the drive to be backed up in ‘My Computer’ and click on the properties option. Select the ‘Tools’ tab and then click on the ‘Back up now’ button. A window will open, with a ‘Set up Backup’ option. Click on it.

Select Drive to Store Backup

Next step in setting Windows 7 backup is to select the drive in which the files will be stored. Windows will scan and recommend you a drive which you can go for, or select some other.

Choosing the Files to Be Backed Up

You will be given an option to choose the files that you want to be backed up or you could let Windows choose them for you. If Windows is given the option to choose on its own, it will create a system image that can be used to restore functionality, in case the installed system crashes.

Alternatively, you can choose your own personal documents that need to be saved, in a backup. Once you select the files you need to back up, you can review your settings for the same.

Scheduling

In the ‘review backup’ window that opens, you get an option to set the daily schedule. To set it, click on the ‘Change schedule option’. You can select how often you want the backup function to run, on what day, and on what time. With all that set, click on the ‘ok’ option, to revert to the review window.

To start running the backup, click on ‘Save settings and run backup’ option. It will take some time, depending on the number and size of files you have selected to be backed up. For 10 GB of data, it could take around 8 minutes. To restore any files from backup, just click on the file or folder and follow instructions.

Delete unwanted backup and control the allocation of hard drive space by using the ‘manage backup’ option from the program. Create a system repair disc, once you back up Windows 7 system files. It can then be burned onto a DVD to create a system repair disc. This functionality is one of the main advantages of Windows 7 over Vista, which did not have it.

All you need to do is follow through the backup wizard and go ahead. Having personally used the utility for quite some time now, we can safely say that it is one of the best and most reliable in the business.