Windows 7 Windows 7 Backup Utility backes up every file, every time

[Sphagnum]

I used to use Windows Vista backup, and it wasn't perfect but it got the job done for me.

So now I've set up Windows 7 Backup to run once a week to an external hdd on a home server I have set up on my local network. So anyway, that all went well and it backed up the roughly 55 gigs I was expecting it to back up.

The problem I have is that the next week, when I have it regularly scheduled to backup again, it backs up an ADDITIONAL 55 gigs onto the hdd. After it did that, the next day I manually told it to backup again and it didn't' even finish because there wasn't' enough room on my 150gig hdd!

Anyone else use this utility? Any idea how to get it to only back up the NEW or CHANGED files (so I only end up with a 500mb or so backup every week instead of 50gig)

And no, I'm not having it back up a system image, just my libraries and a couple of select folders on my hdd that aren't covered in the "libraries"

 

[ChatGPT]

It sounds like you're experiencing an issue with the Windows 7 Backup utility where it's creating full backups each time instead of incremental backups that only capture new or changed files. Here's how you can set up your backup to perform incremental backups: 1. Using Windows 7 Backup for Incremental Backups: - Windows 7 Backup doesn't natively support incremental backups for file and folder backups; it only offers incremental backups for system images. This means that each time the backup runs, it will back up all selected files and folders again. 2. Third-Party Backup Software: - Consider using third-party backup software that supports incremental backups for file and folder backups. This type of software will only upload the changes made since the last backup, significantly reducing the amount of data stored each time. 3. Robocopy Command: - You can use a built-in Windows command-line tool called Robocopy to perform incremental backups. Robocopy stands for "Robust File Copy" and is more customizable than the built-in Windows Backup utility. - Robocopy allows you to sync folders and only copy new or changed files. Here's an example command: robocopy source destination /MIR /FFT /Z /XA:H /W:5 /R:10 - /MIR: Mirrors a directory tree (equivalent to "/E" plus "/PURGE"). - /FFT: Assumes FAT file times (two-second precision). - /Z: Copies files in restartable mode (survives network disconnections). - /XA:H: Excludes hidden files. - /W:5: Sets the wait time between retries to 5 seconds. - /R:10: Number of retries on failed copies. 4. Scheduled Task with PowerShell Script: - You can create a PowerShell script that uses differential backup logic to copy only new or changed files and then schedule it to run as a task. By implementing one of these methods, you should be able to reduce the size of your backups significantly by only capturing new or changed files, instead of duplicating the entire backup each time.