Windows Backup vs. Professional Backup Software: Which Should You Use?

What are the built-in backup programs in Windows, and how do they work? Windows operating systems come with several built-in backup programs designed to help users protect their files, settings, and system data. Here are some of the main backup tools and how they function: 1. **File History**: Introduced in Windows 8 and later, this feature automatically backs up your personal files, such as documents, pictures, and music, on a regular basis. It creates multiple versions of your files, allowing you to restore any point in time. To enable it, you need to connect an external storage device and configure File History options in the "Control Panel" or "Settings." 2. **System Image**: A system image is a complete copy of a hard disk drive, including the operating system, programs, settings, and all files. If your computer encounters severe issues, you can use a system image for recovery. Creating a system image typically requires an external storage device and can be done through the "Create a system image" option in the "Control Panel." 3. **Backup and Restore (Windows 7)**: Although replaced by File History in Windows 10, this was the primary backup tool in Windows 7. It could back up specific files and folders or create a full system backup. As with the others, an external storage device is needed, and configuration is done via the "Backup and Restore" settings in the "Control Panel." 4. **Cloud Backup**: Windows 10 also integrates OneDrive, a cloud storage service that can automatically sync your files and provide online backup. By setting up OneDrive, your files are regularly uploaded to Microsoft's servers, offering an additional layer of security. These built-in backup programs typically work by performing the backup process automatically or manually, copying selected data to an external storage device or cloud service. Users can then recover lost or corrupted files or the entire system state through a simple restoration process. For data security, it's recommended to regularly check and update your backup strategy.

Choosing a backup tool is crucial for Windows users. If you're looking for a built-in Windows backup program, then look no further! Your computer might already have the native backup tools for Windows 7/8/10/11 pre-installed, which allow users to back up their computers and files. The built-in tools are "File History" and "Backup and Restore" (Windows 7).

File History is a backup program that automatically saves copies of your files. With the release of Windows 8, it has become the primary backup solution for Windows. In addition, File History is a tool designed specifically for Windows users to back up their personal files.

"Backup and Restore" (Windows 7) is included in the Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions of Windows 7. It's a relatively good user-friendly backup program for backing up your Windows installation. It lets you choose what to back up, where to save the backup, and how often to run the backup. In addition, you can use it to create a system image for future recovery in case your system fails.

How to Use Backup and Restore in Windows 10

Read this article to learn how to use the Backup and Restore feature.

Professional Backup Software - Todo Backup

It's better to use Backup and Restore or File History than to have no backup tool at all. Unfortunately, the built-in backup programs of Windows can only meet your basic backup needs, and neither of these backup utilities offers advanced solutions for data protection. This is not the case with third-party backup apps, though. A professional backup software, like tools Todo Backup, can provide features that are not available in most built-in Windows backup tools. tools Todo Backup is a top brand in the field of data backup and recovery.

Todo Backup Home is one of the most popular backup tools in the market. It's an excellent tool for Windows 11/10/8/7 users to back up their data, thanks to its numerous valuable features and user-friendly interface. It allows you to back up your entire computer, including the operating system (OS), files, folders, disks, partitions, and Outlook emails. Additionally, it enables you to create incremental and differential backups, meaning you only back up the changes made since the last backup.

Guide: How to Back Up Your Windows Computer Using the System Backup Tool

You can create a system backup of your Windows computer by following these steps:

Step 1: Launch Todo Backup on your computer and click “Create Backup” on the main screen, then hit the big question mark to choose what you want to back up.

Step 2: To back up the Windows operating system, click "OS" to start the task.

Step 3: Your Windows operating system, along with all system-related files and partitions, will be selected automatically, so you don't need to make any manual selections here. Next, you need to click on the illustrated area to choose where you want to save your system image backup.

Step 4. The backup location can be another local drive on your computer, an external hard drive, a network, the cloud, or a NAS. Typically, we recommend using an external physical drive or the cloud to store your system backup files.

5. If you wish, click on the Options button to set custom options, such as enabling daily, weekly, monthly, or event-based scheduled backups, and differential and incremental backups. Hit "Backup Now" and the Windows system backup process will commence. Completed backup tasks will be displayed in cards on the left panel.

"Comparison between Native Windows Backup Tools and Professional Backup Software"

Both the built-in Windows Backup utility and professional backup software can meet your needs to back up your computer or personal data. However, in many aspects, the Windows backup tool lags behind professional backup tools.

Here are some limitations of the built-in backup tools in Windows:

• Limited number of system images. Backup and Restore tools let you create one system image per backup execution. Also, you can store only one backup at a time on the target drive. Hence, you must save your backups to multiple target drives to keep multiple system images.
• Limited backup content. The built-in backup utility can back up files, folders, and the system only. In Windows 10, you can add more files to be backed up in File History's backup plan, but in Windows 11, you cannot customize what to back up.
• No cloud storage. Both Backup and Restore and File History allow users to store backups on local drives. However, neither offers a solution to back up data to the cloud.
• No option to restore individual files or folders. File History lets you restore single files to your computer, but this feature doesn't work in Backup and Restore.

Fortunately, with Todo Backup Home, the limitations of the built-in Windows backup tool no longer apply. You can use it to back up and restore your entire computer and automatically back up files, including videos, documents, photos, audio, and more. Plus, you can store backups in different locations, such as cloud storage, local drives, secure zones, and NAS. It can clone HDD to SSD and migrate to an SSD. More importantly, it offers 250GB of free cloud storage space so that you can store your backups in the cloud to protect your data. This helps meet the requirements of the 3-2-1 backup rule.

Final Thoughts

If you only need to back up your computer or files for free, you can choose the built-in backup program in Windows. But if you want a full-featured Windows backup software, Todo Backup from tools is a good choice. We recommend Todo Backup as a Windows PC backup tool because it can meet your various backup needs. It also offers advanced backup options like automatic backup and scheduled backup. It's suitable for home, free, and business users, and it's user-friendly for newcomers.

All in all, Todo Backup is a decent solution for backing up and restoring your Windows system.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is an image backup?

A disk image backup copies everything on a computer's hard drive, from the operating system, boot information, applications, and hidden files to your preferences and configurations. Imaging software captures not just individual files, but everything needed to get your system up and running again.

2. Does Windows 10 backup compress files?

Normally, backups are compressed before uploading to save space. If you see a message indicating a successful backup, you generally have nothing to worry about. However, to be extra cautious, I recommend triggering a manual backup and ensuring it completes successfully.

What is the 3-2-1 Rule?

It's called the 3-2-1 rule: three backups, two different media, one offsite.

4. System Images vs. Backups: Which Is Better?

While regular backups are superior in terms of speed, storage requirements, flexibility, and compatibility, system images have their place, especially when you need to restore your system.