How to Create a System Backup in Windows Vista

By eHow Computers Editor

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Windows Vista has improved the backup and recovery capabilities from previous Windows versions. In particular, Vista now offers a means to back up an entire system, including not just user files but system files as well. Using Vista's new complete backup feature, you can create a snapshot of your system and return it to a specific point in time should your system be unrecoverable because of file corruption or hard drive failure.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Windows Vista Business, Ultimate or Enterprise

Step1

Start the "Backup and Restore Center." Choose "Start," then enter "Backup" into the search field. Select "Backup and Restore Center" from items listed in the search results.

Step2

Identify a suitable backup location. Make sure that it has sufficient storage space to hold a copy of your entire system. To find out how much space your system currently uses, select "Start," then "Computer," and then separately add up the used space listed for each of the drives that are a part of your system.

Step3

Begin the backup process. Click "Back Up Computer." Accept any "User Account Control" notices that appear. Vista will look for appropriate backup devices and provide a list of options. These will include local media such as locally connected hard drives and CD and DVD drives. You will also see warnings if a given device has insufficient space for the operation. Select a location and select "Next."

Step4

Select the drives to back up. By default, Vista selects all internal drives for backup. Any connected external drives remain an option as well. Select the drives that you wish to back up. Click "Next." Note that a drive to which the backup is to be performed cannot be selected as part of the backup set.

Step5

Confirm the backup settings. Vista will provide a summary of the backup settings to review before starting the backup. Review them, and when satisfied select "Start Backup." When the backup completes successfully, click "Close."

Tips & Warnings

Store the backed-up image in a safe location away from the computer, to ensure that the backup image will be available in case of a catastrophic loss.