Planning for Disaster Recovery
Backups in Windows 7
Windows 7 Backup $ Recover
Decide on a backup destination:
Online backup, network drive, CD, DVD, Blu-Ray, SD card, USB, External Hard Drive, or other media.
Decide on a backup software:
Windows backup utility.
External hard drives have their own software.
Decide on how complex your backup will be:
Decide on you strategy based on how big of an organization or how much data you will back up.
Test the recovery process:
Erase an unimportant file and use the recovery to see if you can restore it.
Keep back up in a safe place and routinely test them.
To create a backup schedule using the Windows Server Backup user interface
Click Start , click Administrative Tools , and then click Windows Server Backup .
In the Actions pane of the snap-in default page, under Windows Server Backup , click Backup Schedule . This opens the Backup Schedule Wizard.
On the Getting Started page, click Next .
On the Select Backup Configuration page, do one of the following, and then click Next :
Click Full server (recommended) to back up all volumes on the server. This is the recommended option.
Click Custom to back up just certain items, and then click Next .
On the Select Items for Backup page, click Add Items . In Select Items , select the check boxes for the items that you want to back up. If you want to back up just certain folders or files, expand the folder tree and select the items that you want to include. Click OK .
On the Select Items for Backup page, click Advanced Settings , click the Exclusions tab, click Add Exclusions , and then expand the folder tree and select the items that you want to exclude.
On the VSS Settings tab, select either VSS full Backup or VSS copy Backup . Click OK .
On the Specify Backup Time page, do one of the following, and then click Next :
Click Once a day , and then select the time from the drop-down list to start running the daily backup.
Click More than once a day . Then, to select a start time, under Available time , click the time that you want the backup to start, and then click Add to move the time under Scheduled time . Repeat for each start time that you want to add.
On the Specify Destination Type page, select Back up to a volume .
Select Back up to a volume . On the Select Destination Volume page, click Add . In Add volumes , click the volume(s) that you want to use, and then click OK .
Note
You cannot select multiple volumes on the same disk to store backups. You can only add one volume per disk.
On the Confirmation page, review the details, and then click Finish . If you have dedicated a disk for storage, the wizard formats the disk, which may take several minutes depending on the size of the disk.
On the Summary page, click Close .
(www.microsoft.com, N.A.)
Setting up a backup with the Windows 7 Backup and Restore feature is straightforward, taking only a few easy steps and approximately three minutes.
To launch Windows 7 Backup and Restore :
Go to > Start and type > Backup into the search field.
From the results select > Backup and Restore and hit > Enter.
In the Backup and Restore window, click > Set up backup in the top right. As you can see from the screenshot below, I presently do not have a Windows backup set up. For my custom backups I use Cobian Backup.
You will have to wait a moment, while Windows launches the backup tool.
Once the Set up backup window loads, you will see a list of backup destinations.
If you wish to connect to an external hard drive, connect the drive now and then click > Refresh.
Once the desired backup destination appears in the list, select it and click on > Next in the bottom right.
On the next screen, you can choose what to back up and you can either decide to > Let Windows choose or > Let me choose, i.e. choose yourself.
If you have private data saved outside your user profile, then you should go with the second option and set up a custom backup, which is what I will guide you through now. Note that you can always change your choices later on, by changing the backup settings.
After clicking > Next in the previous window, you can check the drives, partitions, and folders you want to back up. Note that Backup and Restore does not back up Program Files or system files, even if you include the system drive in your backup. However, you can > Include a system image in your backup, provided there is enough space available on your backup destination.
In a final step you can review your settings and manage the schedule of your backup.
Just to mention it, if you selected the first backup option, i.e. > Let Windows choose, you will be taken straight to the above screen where you can review your backup settings and manage the backup schedule. Creating a system image will not be an option.
Click on > Change schedule to create a custom time for your backup.
Click > OK to confirm the schedule, then click > Save settings and run backup in the > Review your backup settings window. This will take you back to the initial > Backup and Restore Control Panel window. The backup you just confirmed will start immediately, but you can stop it by clicking on > View Details. and then > Stop Backup (twice). and either wait for the next scheduled backup, or launch it manually by clicking the > Back up now button.
The Backup and Restore window will now list your backup and you can change your backup settings here, for example change what you want to back up or adjust the schedule. At the bottom of the window, there is a small section called > Restore. To restore backups, click > Select another backup to restore files from and browse for a previous backup you wish to restore.
Restore files from a backup
If you wish to pause the backup for a period of time, you can click on > Turn off schedule in the top right. A > Turn on schedule link will then appear under > Schedule. And that’s it! That wasn’t hard, was it? The only thing you have to remember now is to attach the backup drive when it’s time for the backup to run and you’re set.
If you enjoyed this article, I also recommend the Windows 7 Backup and Restore Guide. I recently wrote an article on 5 Signs Your Hard Drive Lifetime is Ending & What To Do. If you have lost files, you might be interested in How To Recover Deleted Files Using Windows 7’s Restore Previous Versions Tool.
What do you find most challenging about setting up and maintaining regular backups?
Restore files from a backup
Windows 7
You can restore backed-up versions of files that are lost, damaged, or changed accidentally. You also restore individual files, groups of files, or all of the files that you've backed up.
Open Backup and Restore by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Backup and Restore.
Do one of the following:
To restore your files, click Restore my files.
To restore the files of all users, click Restore all users' files.
Back up System files
How partitions and file systems work
If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
Do one of the following:
To browse the contents of the backup, click Browse for files or Browse for folders.
When you're browsing for folders, you won't be able to see the individual files in a folder. To view individual files, use the Browse for files option.
To search the contents of the backup, click Search, type all or part of a file name, and then click Search.
(www.microsoft.com, N.A.)
Open Backup and Restore by clicking the Start button , clicking Control Panel, clicking System and Maintenance, and then clicking Backup and Restore.
In the left pane, click Create a system image, and then follow the steps in the wizard.
If you're prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.
(www.microsoft.com, N.A.)
The question what is disk formatting is often asked on the internet, so we are going to make a brief introduction in this post. Disk formatting contains low-level formatting and high-level formatting. The former is often performed by hard disk manufacturers while the latter is made by users themselves.
Low-level formatting is the process of marking out cylinders and tracks for a blank hard disk, and then dividing tracks into multiple sectors. This process is often called the “real” formatting since it creates physical format which defines where the data is saved. If users perform low-level formatting when data have been installed, all existing files will be erased, and it is almost impossible to recover them. Therefore, some users make such a format to avoid privacy leakage. Nevertheless, performing low-level formatting will bring great influence on hard disk, thus shortening hard disk service time. Therefore, it is not suggested.
To low level format a hard disk, users can make use of specific tools as well as Debug assembler languages. That’s relatively complicated.
After a low-level formatting has been completed, users need to make high-level formatting which makes it possible to save data and should be done on a partition. It is the process of writing a file system, cluster size, partition label, and so on for a newly created partition or volume. And we can also say high-level formatting just clears data on hard disk, generates boot information, initializes FAT, and labels logical bad sectors when the partition has existed. This process does no harm to hard disk in general situations, so we suggest taking such a format to fix a logically damaged partition or device, for example, Windows asks to format a SD card.
It can be every easy to high level format a drive, and users can complete this operation in Windows snap-in Disk Management tool, diskpart, cmd, etc. Nevertheless, if users perform such a format on partitions with data saved, all these data will be lost. Nowadays, many users hope to reformat an existing partition like convert file system, change drive letter, and change cluster size without data loss. Aiming at this situation, we will give a good solution
Disk partitioning is a way of dividing hard disks into sections that function as separate units. Partitions can be set up to organize data or to install additional operating systems for multiple boot configurations. Partitioning involves dividing a disk into one or more areas, each formatted for use by a particular file system.
Configuring Partitions
Depending on your existing hard disk configuration, you have the following options during setup:
If the hard disk is unpartitioned, you can create and size the Windows Vista partition.
If an existing partition is large enough, you can install Windows XP Professional on that partition.
If the existing partition is too small but you have adequate unpartitioned space, you can create a new Windows Vista partition in that space.
If the hard disk has an existing partition, you can delete it to create more unpartitioned disk space for the Windows Vista partition. Keep in mind that deleting an existing partition also erases any data on that partition.
The MBR, the most important data structure on the disk, is created when the disk is partitioned. The MBR contains a small amount of executable code called the master boot code, the disk signature, and the partition table for the disk. At the end of the MBR is a 2-byte structure called a signature word or end of sector marker, which is always set to 0x55AA. A signature word also marks the end of an extended boot record (EBR) and the boot sector.
The disk signature, a unique number at offset 0x01B8, identifies the disk to the operating system. Windows 2000 uses the disk signature as an index to store and retrieve information about the disk in the registry subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices
The master boot code performs the following activities:
Scans the partition table for the active partition.
Finds the starting sector of the active partition.
Loads a copy of the boot sector from the active partition into memory.
Transfers control to the executable code in the boot sector.
If the master boot code cannot complete these functions, the system displays one of the following error messages:
Invalid partition table
Error loading operating system
Missing operating system
Primary Partition and Active Partition:
A primary partition is in which an Operating System can be installed. One MBR hard disk may contain a maximum of 4 primary partitions. An active partition is based on primary partition. Any one of the 4 primary partitions can be set as active partition. Since there can be 4 primary partitions with 4 different Operating Systems installed, one of the partition that is marked active is used for the initial booting. The active partition contains the boot loader (such as ntldr or bootmgr) to load operating systems from a disk.
Extended Partition and Logical Partition:
Because the primary only can be created four maximum, this need to use extended partition to break the limitation of 4 partitions. In an Extended Partition you can create unlimited logical drives. You can store data in the logical partitions similar with primary partition, but the extended partition is not used to store data, because the Extended Partition is used to hold logical partitions, at the same time, there is one extended partition on a disk.
(http://www.disk-partition.com, N.A.)
MBR - Master Boot Record
Disk Partitions
Partitions, Volumes, and File Systems
NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT
CDFS and UDF
Most machines have 3 primary partitions. also known as Volumes. The fourth partition is known as an extended partition.
A file system is basically the structure used for an operating system. It is used to name, store, and organize files on a drive. The main 3 file systems used are NTFS, FAT32, and exFAT.
A High level format is when you install a drive letter, file system, and root directory on a volume. One of the three primary partitions can be designated as an active partition, which is the boot partitions is the one that directs your system towards the primary active partition that boots your operating system.
(http://www.ntfs.com, N.A.)
CDFS
Stands for "Compact Disc File System." CDFS is a file system used for storing data on CDs. It is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and is also known as "ISO 9660." Discs that store data using the ISO 9660 standard can be recognized by multiple platforms, including Windows, Macintosh, and Linux systems.
CDFS specifies several disc properties, including the volume attributes, file attributes, and file placement. It also specifies the overall data structure of a CD, such as the header size and the data storage area of the disc. While CDFS was originally designed for read-only single-session discs, an extension of the standard allows multiple-session writing to CD-R discs. This means multiple volumes may be stored on a single CD.
The CDFS standard is useful for burning discs that will be shared between multiple computers. Because CDFS is not specific to a single operating system, a disc burned on a Macintosh using the compact disk file system can be read on a Windows or Linux-based computer. Disc images can also be saved using the CDFS standard, which may be used to burn ISO 9660 discs. These files are typically saved with an .ISO file extension.
Universal Data Format, UDF is a file system developed by Optical Storage Technology Association and is commonly used with CD and DVD drives. UDF is supported on all operating systems, which allows a CD created on a Windows machine to be readable on a Macintosh machine.