Vista's Backup

[Guest]

I am now pretty sure I understand Vista's backup methods but just to confirm.

Complete PC Backup creates an image of your PC that can be restored (if
necessary) with a boot disk and the Vista repair feature..

File Backup shadow copies files, folders and settings system wide in a zip
format. The first time you do this it creates a backup set directory.
Subsequent file backups are incremental and become subdirectories of the
backup set. If you manually delete or move the backup set directory Vista
will create a new Backup set and begin the process over until you delete it
again. The file backup process is independent of the Image back up in
Complete PC Backup.

Is all this correct?

 

[Jerry]

File Backup shadow copies files, folders and settings system wide in a zip
format.

Did you understand WHICH files, folders and settings?

 

[Guest]

I do understand what is not backed up. I haven's had a chance to proof a
backup yet but I read somewhere it is covers any file type that Vista
recognizes. It does not back up executibles, user profiles, system files,
anything on a FAT drive. The Backup Computer option creates an image file in
the form of xml & .vhd files and gets everything.

 

[Jerry]

I keep all data (files that I produce or stuff I store) under a single
folder.
I would like to be able to:

a) keep a backup of this data folder with everything in it.
b) keep a backup of my system and program stuff (and yes, that includes user
profiles, system files etc.)

so that, if disaster should hit, I could restore both and live happily as
before, or even restore my data on a different machine altogether.

That's what I am doing now with Acronis and I had no problem figuring out
how. With Vista Backup, I am still wondering.

Besides, I need more control over what gets backed up than "pictures, music,
videos..." I need to be able to select explicitly folders and files. And I
don't necessarily want to schedule the task. I want to run it at my
convenience (after connecting my external storage device used for this
purpose).

To me, Vista Backup is pretty useless.

 

[Iain]

I keep all data (files that I produce or stuff I store) under a single
folder.
I would like to be able to:

a) keep a backup of this data folder with everything in it.
b) keep a backup of my system and program stuff (and yes, that includes
user profiles, system files etc.)

so that, if disaster should hit, I could restore both and live happily
as before, or even restore my data on a different machine altogether.

That's what I am doing now with Acronis and I had no problem figuring
out how. With Vista Backup, I am still wondering.

Besides, I need more control over what gets backed up than "pictures,
music, videos..." I need to be able to select explicitly folders and
files. And I don't necessarily want to schedule the task. I want to run
it at my convenience (after connecting my external storage device used
for this purpose).

To me, Vista Backup is pretty useless.

Erm, what version of Vista are you running?

OP is talking about "Complete PC Backup and Restore" programme, which is
only available on Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Vista.

 

[DevilsPGD]

Erm, what version of Vista are you running?

OP is talking about "Complete PC Backup and Restore" programme, which is
only available on Ultimate and Enterprise versions of Vista.

*cough* and Business *cough*

 

[Jerry]

Ultimate. 32-bit.
Do you have options for individual files in other versions?

 

[cdf]

Ken, I hear you - i'm exploring vista backup right now - (see post
three hours before yours)

I think - er - I thought the best way to find out what it backs up is
to run the backup, then run a restore from another machine.
So far, I run the restore from another machine, but have issues with
it finding the backup files.
Ah!, Found the backup files. Start to restore them . . . it wants me
to add the machine user "joe" to my set of users on my machine.
I add "joe.smith" domain user on my computer. No, it wants joe on the
machine user - I did not rbacked up from "Joe" on the machine, I
backud up from Joe.smith on the domain.

So far I've found "tutorials" on the basic level - ie "push this
button and that button and it backs it up"
Is there a "next level" tutorial or discussion out there on how this
wonderful, powerful, well designed, piece of brilliant programming
actually works?