Passive backups in W7?

I recently ordered my first ever Windows 7 machine and I'm trying to figure out the best solution for backing up my data. I'm currently on a MBP and using Time Machine with Time Capsule to passively backup my data. There have been a few hiccups, but it's pretty much been set it and forget it, doing incremental backups every hour or so. Is there anything similar for Windows 7? Is the built-in backup program sufficient? Anyone know if I can easily use my Time Capsule with it?

FWIW, I'm getting a Lenovo T420 and I'm also planning on getting a dock. If a wireless Time Capsule solution won't work, I'm considering adding a HDD to the dock and using that for backup storage.

Thanks in advance!

 

Congratulations on your addition of Windows 7. It's definitely a very different experience from MBP. Many, many, MANY customization options and an equal proportion for trial and error.

I, personally, believe that Windows 7 backup is sufficient and you should be able to use the Time Capsule as the external network drive.

You can use Windows Backup in two different ways. You can simply backup your files, where things are compressed and I think are only restorable via Windows.

Or...

You can make what's called a System Image. This makes a snapshot of every drive letter that you specify. If there's ever an emergency that causes you to need to reinstall your OS, you can restore from the backup image and things will be exactly as they were when the image was created.

Another thing about System Images that I really like is that each drive letter is backed up as a .vhd (virtual hard drive). This means that you'll be able to navigate to the WindowsImageBackup folder and find the .vhd for the drive letter that you want to view. Once you've mounted the .vhd using the Disk Management feature in Win7, you'll have full access to that as if it were a real drive. There have been many times where I've deleted a file and that regretted. I was able to mount an old system image and copy the file out of it without the need to restore from a backup or anything.

There are a few 3rd party programs that many people will rave about. All have features that individuals prefer for different reasons. Regardless, Win7 backup is sufficient if you decide it's for you.

 

p.s. - unlike Time Machine, IIRC, you can set the spefic time interval for windows backup. Some do it daily, I do it monthly, with the occasional backup on demand.

 

Many are included as part of suites that carry out some other priority program such as with many anti virus or HD maintenance programs