What Is Your Backup Strategy – Software of Choice?
When asking this question, we believe different users give different answers. For computer newbies, what they usually back up are some kinds of files like paper, pictures, films, etc. and the common solution they adopt is copy and paste.
For those average computer users, they know the importance of data backup as well as operating system backup, so they are likely to choose professional backup software to do this job. And in this post, we are going to explain 5 useful backup software for Windows 7 – the most popular operating system in the world.
1. MiniTool ShadowMaker
MiniTool ShadowMaker is a brand new PC backup software for Windows 7/8/10/11 all editions put forward by MiniTool Software Ltd. No matter if you want to back up your system or files, it can handle the tasks very well. Besides, you can schedule the backup tasks to save time and effort.
How can we back up Windows 7 with MiniTool ShadowMaker? Here we would like to explain how to back up and restore Windows 7 altogether by using this brand-new software. Download and install MiniTool ShadowMaker on our computer.
MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Step 1. Install and launch MiniTool ShadowMkaer and click Keep Trial to continue.
Step 2. Navigate to Backup, and then choose what to back up and where to store the backup image file. MiniTool ShadowMaker automatically detects the system-required partitions at SOURCE, so we only need to select a location to store the backup image. It is worth mentioning that backing up to a hard drive partition is highly suggested.
Tip: There are 3 useful features in Options, and they are Backup Options, Backup Scheme, and Schedule Settings. Apply these functions to customize your backup tasks.
Note: To those who have system partition and data on the same drive, it is better to do disk backup instead of system backup. This is because you never know when a hard drive can fail and data recovery is expensive. Just select all partitions on the same disk at the SOURCE tab.
To restore Windows 7 system image, first of all, we need to make use of a feature called Media Builder (which can be found under Tools) to do two things.
- Create a bootable media of MiniTool ShadowMaker.
- Set the computer to boot from the bootable media.
- Restore the system.
2. Windows 7 Built-in Backup Tool
When it comes to Windows 7 backup software, another good choice is to use Windows 7 built-in backup utility. To know more details, please read on.
What Is Windows Backup?
Backup and Restore (formerly named Windows Backup and Restore Center) is a component of Microsoft Windows introduced in Windows Vista and is included in all later versions that allow users to create backups and restore from backup files. It is a replacement of NTBackup, which was included in previous Windows versions.
How to Access This Free Windows Backup Software?
At the Start icon, enter Control Panel where we can adjust the computer’s settings. Here we need to select Back up your computer under System and Security.
How to Back up Windows 7?
Step 1. At Backup and Restore, select Create a system image from the left menu to activate system backup.
Step 2. Windows 7 backup software will ask where do we want to save the backup, which means to choose the destination location. See we can choose a hard disk, a DVD drive, or a network location as the target location (we recommend backing up to another hard drive or external hard drive). After the selection, click Next to go on.
Step 3. Here we need to choose which drives to be included in the backup. We can see that the system related partitions are checked by default and cannot be excluded. Also, we can add some other partitions. After that, click Next to continue.
Step 4. Finally, we can confirm the backup settings and click the Start backup button if everything is alright. Then Windows will create a system image quickly.
When all is done, we can find the backup file on the appointed partition which is named WindowsImageBackup.
3. NovaBACKUP PC
NovaBACKUP PC supports backing up Windows 7 disk, OS, and individual files. You can store your backup data on a local device or cloud. You can recover your entire system to your computer through this software in just minutes. It has fast backup and restores speed supported by multi-threaded processes. If any disaster happens to your data or computer, you can rescue them quickly from the backups.
4. DriveImage XML
DriveImage XML is a Windows 7 backup software product for logical drives and partitions. You can use it to back up logical drives, partitions, and image files. You can use it to back up data automatically and restore selective files from the backups.
When you back up data, the destination can be the same or a different drive. While creating images, the software uses Microsoft’s Volume Shadow Services (VSS), which allows you to create safe “hot images” even from the drive that is still in use. The images are stored in XML files, so you can process them with 3rd party tools as well.
5. Clonezilla
Clonezilla can help with Windows 7 system development, bare metal backup, and recovery. It is a partition and disk imaging/cloning program.
Clonezilla has many features. For example, you can get the image file anywhere; it supports unattended mode; you can customize disk cloning and imaging with boot parameters; you can restore a single image to more than one local device; the image created can be encrypted for protection with eCryptfs, a POSIX-compliant enterprise cryptographic stacked file system.
6. Macrium Reflect
Macrium Reflect supports three essential functions: free backup, disk imaging, and cloning. It can back up your Windows 7 data to local, network, and USB drives. It can protect your computer from ransomware with Macrium Image Guardian and restore non-booting systems with backups.
Besides, it has other features such as creating live images of a running Windows OS, restoring selective files from backups, and scheduling backups with flexible templates. It also supports features like log events in Windows and MS Exchange and SQL granular backup.
7. MiniTool Partition Wizard
The third solution we can put forward is partition management software, which can clone operating systems and hard disk drives – another way to back up Windows 7. Such kind of software is especially useful when you need a backup copy in a short time.
Here we think MiniTool Partition Wizard is competent to do this job. To be brief, this is an all-in-one partition manager able to clone systems, hard drives, and partitions. To back up Windows 7, follow the tutorials below:
MiniTool Partition Wizard DemoClick to Download100%Clean & Safe
Step 1. After downloading this disk cloning software, launch it to the main interface and select Migrate OS to SSD/HD.
Note: This feature only works for the current running OS.
Step 2. Choose how to migrate your OS. Then click Next to go on.
Step 3. Here we need to choose a target disk to store all data on the system disk and then hit Next. Note that all contents on the selected disk will be removed to finish the migration. So please ensure that you are selecting the right disk.
Step 4. Then, you can review the changes and click Next to continue.
Step 5. Note MiniTool Partition Wizard tells how to boot from the destination disk. Keep this in mind and then hit Finish.
Step 6. Finally, we can press the Apply button to start system migration. Since this operation is closely related to the booting OS, MiniTool Partition Wizard requires a reboot to finish this job. Now all is done and you can use the copy anytime even when your OS is affected by ransomware.
You may also like: Migrate OS to SSD/HD VS. Copy Disk in Partition Wizard.
Why Back up Windows 7
Although Windows is aggressively pushing Windows 10, Windows 7 is still the most widely used operating system in the world. Besides, most of our files are saved on the computer, and the daily business with our files all relies on a normally running OS. Hence it is rather important to back up Windows 7. However, Windows 7 can be damaged due to the following reasons:
Human errors: While data saved on hard drives are growing steadily, we may need to free up some disk space to cope with the red partition bar. However, if we do not know what files cannot be removed, Windows 7 gets damaged easily. Besides, in WinPE, when we intend to format a partition, we may select the system partition mistakenly. So back up before you proceed any important system change.
Hard disk failure: The problem is that you never know when a hard drive failure can occur. Regularly back up system and important data give you timely protection from unpredictable disk failures.
Virus invasion: Internet is full of information, and viruses. Once infected, they proceed to weaken your system, cause errors, and lead to data loss. A reliable back up can restore data lost through virus infection.
Nature disasters: natural disasters can happen without notice, such as fire, floods, and lightning. If such a misfortune occurs, how will your business survive? Back up systems and hard drives to external location protect your data against such calamity
Summary
In this post, we list 7 tools to do Windows 7 backup. You can choose any Windows 7 backup software you like. In summary, Windows 7 backup is very important and we need to form the habit of data protection in various ways. If you have any questions about using MiniTool products, leave us comments below, or you can contact [email protected].
About The Author
Position: Columnist
Having been an editor at MiniTool since graduating college as an English major, Daisy specializes in writing about data backups, disk cloning, and file syncing as well as general computer knowledge and issues. In her free time, Daisy enjoys running and going with friends to the amusement park.