Looking for a reliable local backup solution for Windows 7

Hello:

Let me say right off the bat that I'm not a fan of Windows. It just happens at the moment that I need to set up a Windows 7 system, and namely to set up a local backup. Let me give you the specs:

- Windows 7 Ultimate desktop
- Internal HDD: 932GB
- External HDD: 1.18TB

Initially I set up the built in "Backup and Restore" tool to do the backups, but the person who uses this Windows 7 tells me that the backup works for about a month and then shows an error, "The disk that your backup is saved on doesn't have enough free space" and nothing is backed up since.

Again, I'm not a fan of Microsoft, but I refuse to believe that they could sell a product that is dumb enough not to remove old backups to leave room for new ones. Anyway, there doesn't seem to be any option in the "Backup and Restore" to do that ... to the best of my knowledge. Although maybe someone will prove me wrong?

So my question is, what is the best solution to do local backups on external hard drive on Windows 7?

PS. I'm obviously looking for a "set it and forget it" type solution that doesn't require manual interaction. Is Microsoft capable of providing one?

I have never been a fan of bloating operating systems with features which are essentially the function of third party utility applications. This is particularly true of system and data backup which has such a critical role in system maintenance that it demands specialist software with all the development history to guarantee its reliability. There are a number of packages which fit this bill, the one I have used for years is Acronis True Image. You can download a fully working trial copy here:

I also recommend the industry standard of maintaining the system drive dedicated to operating system, installed application and associated configuration files. All user data should be stored on another physical or logical drive. This ensures more efficient storage of the system drive backup, minimising the size of the backup image and also and avoids unnecessary overhead of transfer of large data files during any backup/restore process.

Complete hard disk recovery solution, backup, drive copy, clone and image computer software

Originally Posted by dc2000

So my question is, what is the best solution to do local backups on external hard drive on Windows 7?

It seems, Handy Backup 7 can work. It's been certified compatible with Microsoft and Windows 7 in particular, so I would recommend this one. It also does require little manual interaction because everything can be scheduled.