Windows 7 Backups

[EINREB]

How do you back up a computer without backup software? I have problems backing up my laptop using MS Backup and Acronis backup software. Everything seems to work fine when I back up, but there is always something wrong when I re-load, either sectors are bad, or it can not read some of the data from the disk. I am tired of backing up and then not able to use the backup when I need it; I therefor am looking for a more direct method that works. I guess that dedicated backup software saves memory and is quicker, but if it does not work, it becomes a moot point. And with external disks, available in TBs, who cares about memory space?
Any suggestions or comments?

 

[johnb35]

If sectors are bad or unable to read disk then the drive is bad and it needs to be replaced.

 

[EINREB]

That is the problem I mentioned. there is nothing wrong with the stick, it only reads bad when I use the program. That is why I am looking for a more direct program, where I can use other sticks.
I think that there is something wrong with my USB sockets, for I sometimes can not read at all from the ports, but I am not sure.

 

[jevery]

Like yourself I found backup programs pretty much useless. I finally figured out how to make a little batch file that backs up everything important to me. I use an external drive that my system recognizes as F: when plugged in. A desktop icon runs the file when I’m ready. The batch file deletes the previous backup and then copies everything specified. You can use notepad to modify the batch file as required for your needs - Just make sure to save it as a .bat file. This method has worked well for me for many years and makes re-installation of OS easy. Here’s an example of the batch file I use to copy files from my D: drive to my F: backup drive.

@echo off

echo.

echo.

echo.

echo.

echo Backup important files to External Hard Drive F:

echo.

echo.

pause

rmdir f:\backup /s/q

robocopy "d:\computer files" "f:\Backup\Computer Files" /s

robocopy "d:\documents" "f:\Backup\Documents" /s

robocopy "d:\pictures" "f:\Backup\Pictures" /s

robocopy "d:\music" "f:\Backup\Music" /s

robocopy "d:\videos" "f:\Backup\Videos" /s

robocopy "d:\zips" "f:\Backup\Zips" /s

echo.

echo.

echo.

echo Backup Complete

echo.

echo.

pause

 

[ssal]

I use a free program called "syncbackfree" to do my backup. I have occasionally restored some files from the backup and it worked.

You can create separate backup commands (by files, by folders, etc.) and group them together. When you run the group backup, it process each individual commands like a batch file.

I only back up new files.

 

[EINREB]

jevery and ssal
Thanks for your reply. That I was looking for. Let me try it and see if it works for me.