[Valacapt]

I am running W7/64 in a Dell Inspiron. I discovered that Windows Backup did not give me back my folders when I needed them and I don't want to use it again. In all previous OSs I have used Apricorn/Acronis which backed up from BIOS and produced an external HD copy which would boot automatically and restore the complete disk, or one could select folders and files to move back. Simple and elegant.

i searched for "clone" information in "Windows 7" and got information mostly for other XP, Vista, etc. But I did see that the free XXCLONE was mentioned and I would like to hear from anyone who has used XXClone in Windows 7 to report on its value, problems, etc. -- Thank you.

[Megabite]

Sorry if you are backing up important data then a few bucks are worth it...at least to me...I use Acronis TrueImage...it has always worked for me.

[Megabite]

Have they made XXClone for Windows 7 ..it used to be for XP...but not vista..atleast the free version wasn't

[Hughv]

See Backup and restore in Control Panel to create an image.

[lapwlover]

Trust backup software on the market, such as todo backup ,nova, macruim .They are more versatility software than windows 7. Schedule backup set, incremental backup, differential backup. Personally, I use todo backup free in my windows 7.
Differential/Incremental backup and automatic backup
Save PC to a safe place - FTP, CD/DVD, Network
Restore system to dissimilar hardware
Explore backup contents & selective restore
it is terrific!

[Valacapt]

Originally Posted by Megabite

Sorry if you are backing up important data then a few bucks are worth it...at least to me...I use Acronis TrueImage...it has always worked for me.

I am a bit familiar with Acronis because I used Apricorn EZ-GIG where one could select an image or clone backup. The image one was software dependent - it took up less space but had to be restored with EZ-GIG. The clone was a bit-by-bit copy of the HD so that one could get a file or folder or using some other product, such as Ghost, could restore all the files.

I may be wrong about the word "image" - and may be confusing it for "matrix". But the bottom line is that I want what I, and they, called a clone. So my question is: Can you go onto your back up HD and see the folders and files there and available?

Thank you - Once I have that reassurance I definitely will buy Acronis. Those pictures that caused all the problem seem to be lost forever, from a backup made 5 days before they were lost from the computer.

[Valacapt]

Originally Posted by Megabite

Have they made XXClone for Windows 7 ..it used to be for XP...but not vista..atleast the free version wasn't

It looked as though their web site said it worked for W7
http://www.xxclone.com/

[Valacapt]

Originally Posted by lapwlover

Trust backup software on the market, such as todo backup ,nova, macruim .They are more versatility software than windows 7. Schedule backup set, incremental backup, differential backup. Personally, I use todo backup free in my windows 7.
Differential/Incremental backup and automatic backup
Save PC to a safe place - FTP, CD/DVD, Network
Restore system to dissimilar hardware
Explore backup contents & selective restore
it is terrific!

I went to the site and it appeared to me that this software doesn't make the kind of bit-by-bit clone that I am talking about. My old Apricorn/acronis would ask a couple of questions, such as was it OK to erase partitions on the back up HD, and when the source disk was smaller than the Ext HD, whether "proportional" or "as is" writing to HD was wanted.

Then it shut down Windows and re-booted as far as BIOS and ran the back up from there. The computer was useless during the process, but the result was an identical copy which, all by itself, could re-boot and then, using the same software from the backup HD, could restore the HD using the same protocol with the back up as the source and the computer's HD as the destination.

That is all I want - not scheduled backup or backup while one does something else - none of that stuff.

[Megabite]

Not sure what you think but Acronis you can explore the backup and access all backed up files

[techmaster85]

I use Macrium Free edition on my Win 7 32bit machine to back up my complete HDD as an image so I can easily reimage it to a fresh HDD if I have to do so.