- System Protection with System Restore and Previous Versions
- Per-User Encryption with Encrypting File System (EFS)
- Full Disk Encryption with BitLocker
- Back and Restore: Safeguard Files and Create System Images
- Even More Protection Features
Back and Restore: Safeguard Files and Create System Images
Unlike with Vista, the Windows Backup and Restore tool (see Figure 4) is included with all Windows 7 editions. Plus Microsoft has made some enhancements.
Windows 7 provides two backup operations: a backup of your personal files and documents, and a complete backup of the computer in the form of a system image file.
You can set Windows to automatically back up your files on a schedule. It keeps track of new and/or modified files. If you ever need to, you can restore individual files, multiple files, or all files of a backup.
You have to manually initiate the creation of system images. Keep in mind that these images will require a great deal of disk space. If your system ever crashes or if you lose a lot of data, you can use the system image to restore everything as it was when the snapshot was taken. They are like Restore Points created by System Restore, but they include your personal data in addition to system files.