Windows 7 image backup

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Hi

I just built a home PC and installed an OEM version of Windows 7 Home premium- it works well and am happy with my handiwork.

However there is an issue (maybe?) with the image backup process.

I loaded Windows 7 and then took on all the updates, picked up all the necessary drivers and loaded some reasonably small utility programs.

When I used the image process it said that the backup could be up to 11GB and I had three DVDs ready but in practice all I needed was one DVD – I understand that backups use file compression however this seemed to be bit of a high compression rate.

I did try to boot from the image disc and it worked as it bought up the Windows load screen.

Has anyone else experienced this high compression rate?

Regards

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I would think that it is ok, I very much doubt that a compressed image would be 11GB, without major software installed and no personal data I would expect it to be able to fit on a single DVD

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The install DVD is about what, 2.3 gigs or so? If you you’ve only installed a few utilities it seems very reasonable that Windows 7 could tuck it all back into 1 DVD. I haven’t tried it myself yet to see the particulars of the process.

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My Windows 7 Professional, with Office Professional, scanner, accounts and other software installed has a ghost image size of just over 11gb. I have this backed up to an external hard drive.

Bob

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Hi

I just built a home PC and installed an OEM version of Windows 7 Home premium- it works well and am happy with my handiwork.

However there is an issue (maybe?) with the image backup process.

I loaded Windows 7 and then took on all the updates, picked up all the necessary drivers and loaded some reasonably small utility programs.

When I used the image process it said that the backup could be up to 11GB and I had three DVDs ready but in practice all I needed was one DVD – I understand that backups use file compression however this seemed to be bit of a high compression rate.

I did try to boot from the image disc and it worked as it bought up the Windows load screen.

Has anyone else experienced this high compression rate?

Regards

It’s highly unlikely that you made an actual drive image, more like a “system restore” image. Go back and check your settings.
I don’t know exactly what level of compression the prog offers but it is not very likely at all that you could fit an entire drives image on one DVD.

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It’s highly unlikely that you made an actual drive image, more like a “system restore” image. Go back and check your settings.
I don’t know exactly what level of compression the prog offers but it is not very likely at all that you could fit an entire drives image on one DVD.

Thanks – I created another system image using the same program on the same system – this time the program advised me that it may take up to 16GB (I had loaded up more porgrams) however in practice the end result was 1.25 DVDs.

The original image processed advised me of a potential 11GB requirement however I fitted that onto a single DVD as outlined in my original post. So in some way the degree of proportionality is the same (?).

Would appreciate hearing about the experiences of other users when employing the image program.

Regards (and happy new year).

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Reading this thread reminded me I needed to do a system image. Have added several programs since the last image. My actual usage on the HD is 25.89GB. Just finished an image backup and the wizard estimated 26GB would be needed. The actual image was 14GB. That is about 54% of the estimate. BTW, the image was saved to an external hard drive.

Your figures indicate your actual image is about 31% of the estimate. Considerably different than my image percentages but the type of programs installed might make a difference.

JB

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I have done a cmplete disk image using “backup and Restore” to a separate hard drive, this is with all my current apps.
The size comes out to just short of 11 GBs. (actual size upon completion)
I do beleive there are options for doing just the System restore and or various
chosen folders. I have chosen the entire Primary drive for an image backup.

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Hey June,

I’m having a problem seeing a WD Ext hdd during a test of my image. My OS does not see the HDD when I restart. Since my image is on the Ext HDD this presents a problem.

What software and Ext hdd do you use???

I think my problem is WD uses windows drivers which are not loaded during a restore operation, so I need WD drivers (WD states they do not have such drivers stand alone since they use windows drivers)

Thanks

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Ted,

I know you asked June Bug, but until he responds I’ll tell you I used the program built right into Win 7. It worked slick as a whistle and I was impressed with how easy it was.

I created a System Image of my Windows 7 Pro using my Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini All I did was open Control Panel and clicked Create a System Image and the screen brought up my E: drive and I clicked next and it saved 60 GB in 18 minutes. This is the handy portable HD which a friend told me about a year or so ago. I have Win 7 Pro along with the Maxtor drive in my laptop bag.

To use you boot from your Win 7 installation disk. When you get to Install or Repair, choose Repair. It will ask you which installation you want to repair, then you get a screen with five options. Choose the third, System Image Recovery, give it about 30 minutes to do its thing, and you’re good to go.

Here is what System Image is described as in the Control Panel/Backup and Restore

“What is a system image?

A system image is an exact copy of a drive. By default, a system image includes the drives required for Windows to run. It also includes Windows and your system settings, programs, and files. You can use a system image to restore the contents of your computer if your hard drive or computer ever stops working. When you restore your computer from a system image, it’s a complete restoration; you can’t choose individual items to restore, and all of your current programs, system settings, and files are replaced with the contents of the system image.”

I also know some of my friends swear by Acronis. They say it takes 30 minutes to back up and about 8 to restore. My method took 18 minutes to backup and should take about 30 min to restore.

Hey Jude

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Ted,

I’m using a Maxtor STM307504OTA3E1-RK OneTouch 4 Lite 750GB External Hard Drive – USB 2.0. I didn’t use the Maxtor software, just the Microsoft backup program in Win 7. I use this external hard drive for backups on five computers. Also backup the contents of Documents, Music, Pictures, etc. Just for safety in case the 750 fails I also do additional image backups to a Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini, as described by Hey Jude. The Maxtor One Touch 4 Mini ran out of space so that’s when I purchased the Maxtor OneTouch 4 Lite 750GB and now use it for my primary backups. Haven’t had any trouble with either of these drives being recognized by Windows.

JB

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I think my problem is the HDD. Windows 7 back up wrote the image to the Ext HDD, but when I try to test and use restore, when the PC reboots, it does not see the Ext. HDD. I have a WD that uses windows drivers for normal use and I do not think the drivers are loaded during the restore. If I had a way to put the drives on a removable disk I could load them manually when doing the restore. The Ext HDD is brand new and I would hate to have to exchange it, but what will be will be.

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I have used the free Macrium Reflect software to successfully create images and restore from those images with my new Windows 7 64bit pc. The images are 12 or 13 GB and take about 11-15 mintues to create using the maximum compression. Restoration seems to be a little quicker. I store them on another partition or on an external drive. Easy as pie.

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

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i’ll second Phil’s recommendation of Macrium Reflect. i’ve been using it for several months now across all Windows platforms and it works great. you can restore files from a Windows 7 image to an XP computer, which is a big plus.

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