You can make a Windows backup manually or schedule how often the backup takes place automatically. To successfully back up and restore data in Windows, the appropriate user rights and permissions are required.
- All users can back up their own files and folders. They can also back up files for which they have the Read permission.
- All users can restore files and folders for which they have the Write permission.
- Members of the Administrators, Backup Operators, and Server Operators (if joined to a domain) can back up and restore all files, regardless of the assigned permissions. By default, members of these groups have the Backup Files and Directories and Restore Files and Directories user rights.
To start the Windows 7 Backup Files wizard for the first time, use the following path:
Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Backup and Restore > Set up backup
To change the backup settings in Windows 7 after the Backup Files wizard has been completed, use the following path:
Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Backup and Restore > Change settings > Change backup settings > Continue
To restore a backed up file in Windows 7, use the following path:
Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Backup and Restore > Restore my files
To start the Windows Vista Backup Files wizard, use the following path:
Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Backup and Restore Center > Back up files
To change the backup settings, use the following path:
Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Backup and Restore Center > Change settings > Change backup settings > Continue
To restore a backed up file in Windows Vista, use the following path:
Start > All Programs > Maintenance > Backup and Restore Center > Restore files
The Windows 7 or Windows Vista backup files have the extension .zip. Backup data is automatically compressed, and each file has a maximum compressed size of 200 MB. You can save a Windows 7 or Windows Vista backup file to a hard drive, any recordable media, or to another computer or server connected to your network. The backup can only be created from an NTFS partition. The target hard drive must be either NTFS or FAT formatted.
NOTE: You can manually exclude directories in the Windows 7 or Windows XP Backup or Restore Utility wizard. This is not supported in the Windows Vista Backup Files wizard.
To start the Windows XP Backup or Restore Utility wizard, use the following path:
Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup
The Backup or Restore wizard starts. To change the backup setting, use the following path:
Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup Advanced Mode > Tools > Options
To restore a backed up file in Windows XP, in the Backup or Restore wizard, use the following path:
Next > Restore files and settings > Next. Select the backed up file, and then click Next > Finish
The Windows Backup or Restore Utility wizard and other backup applications commonly provide some of the following backup types:
The Windows XP Backup or Restore Utility wizard files have the extension .bkf. You can save a .bkf file to a hard drive, a DVD, or to any other recordable media. The source location and target drive can be either NTFS or FAT.
You can perform backup operations for Windows XP at the command line or from a batch file using the NTBACKUP command. The default parameters for NTBACKUP are set in the Windows XP backup utility. The options that you want to override must be included in the command line. You cannot restore files from the command line using the NTBACKUP command.
On Windows 7 or Windows Vista, use the WBADMIN command. You cannot use backups made with the NTBACKUP command in Windows XP and restore them using the WBADMIN command in Windows 7 or Windows Vista. To restore backups from Windows XP to Windows 7 or Windows Vista, download a special version of the NTBACKUP command from Microsoft.
A combination of backup types allows the data to be backed up efficiently. Backup types are described in the figure. Backing up data can take time, so it is preferable to do backups when computer and network utilization requirements are low.